Dublin Marathon 2026: waves, expo and race-day transport

The Irish Life Dublin Marathon takes place on Sunday, October 25, 2026, starting on Leeson Street Lower and finishing on Mount Street Upper. Collect your number before race day, check your allocated wave and plan your actual transport route. The time your wave starts is not the time to arrive at the venue.

The organizer has issued wave information, and Dublin Bus published its race-weekend diversion notice on October 7. There are also rail works across the October 24-26 weekend. If you have used an older Dublin race guide, check the year of every map and transport notice before relying on it.

What time does your wave start?

The organizer's 2026 final instructions list the following start schedule. Times remain subject to race-day changes.

Do not subtract a short walk from your start time and call that your arrival plan. You still need to enter the controlled area, deal with your bag if using the service, reach the correct wave and allow for queues.

Does wave 4 really need to arrive by 8am?

The wave-allocation page asks runners to reach their wave no later than 8am. This applies to its published instructions even though the last wave starts at 9:45am. Check the e-ticket emailed to you; it identifies your allocation and is also needed for number collection.

There is an unresolved timing inconsistency. The race-day page also refers to arrival between 8am and 8:30am, while its purple-wave bag drop opens at 8:05am. Those details cannot all mean that a purple-wave runner must finish bag drop and reach the wave before 8am.

Follow the latest instructions addressed to you and ask the organizer at [email protected] to clarify your arrival and bag-drop sequence if they conflict. Do not interpret a late bag-drop closing time as permission to arrive just before your start. Until clarified, plan an early journey to the start area and leave time for the remaining steps.

The wave page directs orange and green runners via Merrion Square East and Fitzwilliam Street Lower, blue runners via Mount Street Lower, Herbert Street and Baggot Street, and purple runners via Mount Street Lower, Herbert Place and Baggot Street. Save the official map for your own colour rather than following someone heading to a different wave.

The organizer allows a move to a later wave, but not an earlier one. Confirm the practical process with its team if you need to change where you line up.

Where and when do you collect your race number?

The 2026 expo page places collection at RDS Simmonscourt, with these opening hours:

Bring the e-ticket from your wave email. The organizer's FAQ says collection ends at 6pm Saturday and asks runners to collect their own number. It lists no parking at the expo, so arrange another way there.

One FAQ answer still gives Saturday opening as 11am, while the expo and wave pages say 9am. Check your latest email or contact the organizer if an early Saturday visit is essential. The shared 6pm collection cutoff is the part to protect in your travel plan.

For an overseas runner, a Saturday flight landing late in the afternoon leaves little room for airport delays, travel to the RDS and collection. Choose an arrival that gives you a workable margin. Do not assume you can collect on Sunday morning or send someone without first obtaining the organizer's agreement.

The expo also includes course information, pacers, exhibitors and a live stage. Use it to sort out an unresolved wave or baggage question, rather than carrying that uncertainty into race morning.

What can you leave at bag drop?

Use the official clear plastic bag issued with your race pack and attach its baggage label. The organizer's FAQ says other bags are not accepted in the baggage area and warns against leaving valuables there. A hydration vest is a separate item: it is allowed subject to inspection at the start zone.

The final instructions locate bag drop at Merrion Square North, entered through Merrion Square West or Lincoln Place:

These are service windows, not a complete arrival schedule. The instructions allow a further walk to the waves, and toilets are available in the wave zones. The timing inconsistency described above still needs checking if it affects your plan.

If a supporter holds your belongings instead, arrange where and when you will meet after the race. Skipping a bag does not remove entry controls or crowds, and you should not depend on finding your supporter immediately after finishing.

Will DART services run normally that weekend?

No. Check Irish Rail's current engineering notice, not last year's marathon arrangements. Its DART section for October 24, 25 and 26 lists no train service between Grand Canal Dock and Bray, or between Howth Junction and Howth, and says DART services operate between Malahide and Grand Canal Dock.

It lists closures including Lansdowne Road and Sandymount. This matters for a Saturday trip to the RDS as well as Sunday race travel. A hotel beside a DART station is only convenient if that station and the needed journey are operating on your dates.

The same operator notice contains separate service details and revisions. Check the dated journey planner for your exact station, departure and return before booking around a general network summary. Contact the operator about step-free access or replacement transport if you need it; do not assume a normal train's accessibility arrangements carry over to every replacement bus.

Older marathon traffic pages still describe October 26 and the 2025 northern rail disruption. The current race is October 25, 2026. An official-looking page with last year's dates is not evidence that those same trains will be cancelled this year.

Which buses and trams are affected?

The Dublin Bus notice dated October 7 describes diversions from Friday, October 23, through 6pm Monday, October 26. Some affect Merrion Square before race Sunday. On Sunday it also lists route-specific suspensions and changed termini: route 11, for example, has no service before 11am.

Check your route number and direction, not just whether the bus company is operating. A diverted bus may no longer stop at the place shown in an ordinary itinerary. This also matters for an airport journey after the race.

Transport for Ireland's event page describes a provisional Luas Red Line interruption between Heuston and Connolly around 8:45am to 10:45am, with timings still to be confirmed. It also retains a road-closure table explicitly labelled 2025. Treat that table as historical, and recheck current operator information before travel.

Use the TFI Live app or Journey Planner links on that page for the outward and return journeys. Leave time for the walk from a working stop to the designated wave entrance. For driving, check the race instructions and the car park's own access arrangements; a reserved space does not make a closed road passable.

Where should supporters watch and meet runners?

Start with the official 2026 course and start/finish maps. The course passes through the Liberties and Phoenix Park, then western and southern neighbourhoods before returning along Merrion Road. Choose a viewing area you can reach without crossing the controlled course.

One dependable viewing point can be more useful than promising to appear at four locations. Agree which side of the road you will stand on and what you will wear. Allow the runner to concentrate on the race instead of repeatedly checking messages to find you.

The course includes later climbs through Clonskeagh and Roebuck Road; it is not uniformly flat. Use the organizer's route profile if planning a pacing strategy. This guide does not replace a training plan or individual advice.

After finishing, use a designated post-race meeting area shown on the start/finish map. The race-day guide requires a one-way flow through the finish zone and says family members, including children, must not join runners on the course or cross the finish line with them. Pick a fallback meeting place too, with enough time for the runner to leave the controlled area.

Phone, weather and race-morning checks

The organizer reminds runners that clocks go back by an hour at 2am on race morning. Check that your phone and watch show the correct local time before relying on an alarm, particularly if you have just arrived from another country.

Save your e-ticket, wave colour, maps and accommodation address before leaving Wi-Fi. Charge your phone and keep a supporter contact written down. The official race-day page links to the runner tracker; send that organizer link to your family rather than assuming a generic running app has the live event.

Recheck the forecast close to the event and pack for the time spent waiting as well as running. Do not treat a long-range weather forecast as race-day certainty. For illness, medication or whether you are fit to participate, follow the organizer's medical guidance and speak to your clinician. Do not change treatment based on a travel article.

The official transfer page says the transfer window is closed. Do not buy an informal swapped bib as a way around it. Contact the organizer about an entry issue rather than relying on a social-media seller's reassurance.

Mobile data for an overseas marathon visit

OpenSim Ireland plans are one option for checking diversions, accessing your collection email and messaging supporters when you are away from Wi-Fi. On October 12, the public catalog listed an Ireland 5GB, 30-day plan for USD4.76, marked eligible for top-up, with eir among its named network details.

The practical benefit is a separate, defined allowance for your Ireland trip. Compare it with your home provider's actual roaming terms. If Ireland is already included in your allowance at no extra cost, keeping that arrangement may be simpler. OpenSim does not promise priority service in a crowded start zone or uninterrupted runner tracking.

Use the travel data calculator for the whole visit, check phone compatibility, and review installation timing before departure. Save your critical documents regardless of which connection you choose.

Travelling with supporters or children? Our Ireland with kids guide covers the broader trip. If arriving earlier that week, check the separate October 14 public-sector strike guide; that date-specific action is not evidence of a strike on marathon Sunday.

Sources and updates

Race arrangements and public transport notices were checked on October 12, 2026. Recheck your runner email and the linked operator pages before travel. This guide will be updated when the organizer clarifies arrival timings or when collection, transport, route or entry arrangements materially change.

Hero photograph: the Dublin Marathon in October 2011, not the 2026 edition. Photo by William Murphy, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped, resized and compressed; the adapted image retains that license.