Running & triathlon

Running in
Ireland.

A calendar built around a handful of very large city races and a deep tail of club events, on an island small enough that runners routinely cross the border in both directions — the scene here and in Northern Ireland is effectively one.

213 running races and 28 triathlons and multisport events, across 26 counties.

241
Events
26
counties

What it is actually like to run there

Eleven years of daily records at Dublin, not a seasonal generalisation. "Warm mornings" counts the share of days starting at or above 24°C — the point where heat stops being a detail and starts setting your pace for you.

Month by month at Dublin

Monthly running conditions at Dublin
Month Avg high Avg low Rain days Warm mornings
January 8.3°C 3.7°C 12.3 0%
February 9.1°C 4.1°C 14 0%
March 10.2°C 4.6°C 13.4 0%
April 11.8°C 5.8°C 12.1 0%
May 15.1°C 8.8°C 12 0%
June 17.7°C 11.5°C 13.8 0%
July 19.3°C 13.2°C 14.5 0%
August 19°C 13°C 13.8 0%
September 16.9°C 11.2°C 13.6 0%
October 14.1°C 9.3°C 13.8 0%
November 10.8°C 6.4°C 13.8 0%
December 9.5°C 5.2°C 14.8 0%

Hottest: Jul

Averaging 19.3°C by day, 13.2°C overnight.

Easiest: Jan

The coolest month, averaging 8.3°C.

Wettest: Dec

Rain on about 14.8 days in an average month.

By county

43 Dublin 43 running 36 Cork 31 running · 5 triathlon 19 Kerry 13 running · 6 triathlon 17 Galway 16 running · 1 triathlon 13 Louth 11 running · 2 triathlon 13 Wicklow 13 running 10 Limerick 8 running · 2 triathlon 9 Mayo 7 running · 2 triathlon 9 Waterford 6 running · 3 triathlon 8 Donegal 8 running 7 Kildare 7 running 7 Sligo 6 running · 1 triathlon 7 Wexford 5 running · 2 triathlon 6 Clare 5 running · 1 triathlon 6 Kilkenny 6 running 6 Meath 6 running 5 Offaly 5 running 4 Laois 4 running
4 Roscommon 2 running · 2 triathlon
4 Tipperary 4 running
2 Longford 2 running
2 Westmeath 1 running · 1 triathlon
1 Carlow 1 running
1 Cavan 1 running
1 Leitrim 1 running
1 Monaghan 1 running

Coming up in Ireland

Dromiskin 5k Dromiskin, Louth Dune Run Bundoran Tullan Strand, Donegal Jerry Kiernan Tralee 10K Town Park, Kerry Medieval Marathon Kilkenny Abbey Quarter Development, Kilkenny The Lakes 10K Road Race Blessington, Wicklow Charleville International Half Marathon Charleville, County Cork

Triathlon in Ireland

IRONMAN 70.3 Cork Youghal, County Cork, Ireland Hell of the West Kilkee, County Clare, Ireland The Lost Sheep Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland Hardman Killarney Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon Gort, County Galway, Ireland

Every sanctioned multisport race in Ireland

13 triathlons, duathlons, aquathlons and aquabikes still to come, from the governing body's own calendar. These link straight to the organiser — the ones with a full Verus guide are listed above.

Date Race Sport Distance Where
12 Sept 2026 Achill ROAR Adventure Race Adventure race — Mayo
12 Sept 2026 Mullaghmore Triathlon Sprint Triathlon Sprint Sligo
13 Sept 2026 Pikeman Rosslare Aquabike Aquabike Standard Wexford
13 Sept 2026 Pikeman Rosslare Triathlon Triathlon Standard Wexford
19 Sept 2026 Cromane Sprint Triathlon Triathlon Sprint Kerry
20 Sept 2026 Ballyhass -Try a Tri Race Triathlon Try-a-Tri Cork
20 Sept 2026 Ballyhass Duathlon Duathlon Sprint Cork
20 Sept 2026 Ballyhass Sprint Aquabike Aquabike Sprint Cork
20 Sept 2026 Ballyhass Sprint Triathlon Triathlon Sprint Cork
26 Sept 2026 Pulse Port Beach Triathlon Triathlon Sprint Louth
26 Sept 2026 Valentia Island Sprint Triathlon Triathlon Sprint Kerry
10 Oct 2026 Carlingford Adventure Race Adventure race — Louth
7 Nov 2026 Westport Sea2Summit Adventure Race Adventure race — Mayo

A further 10 ran earlier this season and will return — their next dates haven't been published yet.

Running here as a visitor

The hardest part of training somewhere new isn't the route — it's not knowing anyone. This is who is in the Republic of Ireland over the next three months: runners who live here, and runners passing through. the Republic of Ireland is big enough that the county pages are the more useful place to look — "somewhere in Ireland next week" doesn't help anyone arrange a run.

Checking who's in the Republic of Ireland…

Running in Ireland: the long reads

The things a race listing can't tell you — what the conditions actually cost you, where people really run, what to carry, and what running is like in every county on the map. 9 guides, 55 minutes of reading.

The conditions

What eleven years of records actually show about running here — and why the rain everyone warns you about matters far less than the wind nobody mentions.

Running in Ireland's Weather: What Eleven Years of Records Actually Show Dublin averages 162 rain days a year against London's 132, but its annual temperature range is only 11°C — from an 8.3°C January high to 19.3°C in July. In eleven years of records no month has averaged a start-line temperature above 24°C. Ireland is wetter than Britain and materially cooler in summer, which makes it one of the easiest places in Europe to race hard. 8 min read

Racing here

How the Irish calendar is shaped, how entry actually works, and what changes when you travel over from Britain to race.

The Irish Racing Calendar: How a Year Is Actually Structured The Irish racing year runs continuously rather than in a season. It opens with the January and February imperial classics — Raheny 5, Trim 10, Dungarvan 10 — builds through spring half marathons, spreads marathons from Limerick in May to Dublin on the last Monday of October, and never really stops, because the climate has no off-season. 6 min read How to Enter Irish Races: Ballots, Platforms and Club Membership Irish races are entered through a handful of local platforms — Eventmaster, MyRunResults, Pop Up Races and Eventrac — rather than the ones British runners know. The two biggest marathons, Dublin and Cork City, are both ballots. Everything else is first come, first served, priced in euro, and generally cheaper than the British equivalent. 5 min read Racing in Ireland from the UK: Travel, Money and What Changes British runners need no visa for Ireland under the Common Travel Area, and can use a driving licence and travel without a passport in principle, though carriers require photo ID. The currency is the euro, not sterling. Flights run from most UK airports and ferries from Holyhead, Liverpool, Pembroke and Fishguard carry cars and bikes cheaply. 6 min read

Where to run

Dublin, the Wicklow mountains, the Atlantic coast, and all twenty-six counties — the terrain, the trails and the local race.

Running in Dublin: Phoenix Park, the Coast and the Mountains Dublin gives you three distinct running environments within half an hour of the centre: Phoenix Park, at 1,750 acres one of the largest enclosed city parks in Europe; a coastal path running from Sandymount out to Howth Head; and the Dublin and Wicklow mountains rising directly behind the southern suburbs. There are 26 parkruns in the county. 5 min read Running the Wicklow Mountains: The Way, the Races and the Ground The Wicklow Way is Ireland's oldest waymarked trail, running 127km from Marlay Park on the southern edge of Dublin to Clonegal in County Carlow. It is the backbone of Irish trail and ultra running, carrying the 127km Wicklow Way Race in July, the 50.5km Maurice Mullins in March, and part of the Art O'Neill Challenge in January. 5 min read Running the Wild Atlantic Way: Connemara, Kerry, Clare and Donegal Ireland's Atlantic coast carries the races people travel for: the Connemarathon through the Inagh valley, the Clare Burren Marathon across limestone pavement, the Dingle Marathon on the Slea Head road and the Kerry Way Ultra's 200km circuit. All of them are wind races before they are anything else. 6 min read Running in Ireland County by County: All 26, and What Each One Has All 26 counties in the Republic have at least one parkrun, from 26 in Dublin down to one each in Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford and Louth. Dublin, Galway, Kerry and Cork carry the bulk of the race calendar; the midlands and border counties run smaller club fixtures that rarely appear in national listings. 9 min read

Triathlon and open water

A small scene with a disproportionate number of hard races in it, and water cold enough to need a wetsuit essentially year-round.

Triathlon in Ireland: The Scene, the Races and the Water Irish triathlon is small, mountainous and cold. Hardman Killarney is billed as the country's only full distance; the Lost Sheep at Kenmare crosses three mountain passes in 83km; the Hell of the West at Kilkee has run since 1985 and is named for the wind. Water temperatures mean a wetsuit essentially year-round. 5 min read

Common questions

How many races are there in the Republic of Ireland?

Verus currently lists 213 running races and 28 triathlon and multisport events in the Republic of Ireland, across 26 counties.

What is the weather like for running in the Republic of Ireland?

Based on eleven years of daily records at Dublin, the hottest month averages 19.3°C by day and the coolest 8.3°C. The wettest month sees rain on about 14.8 days. Mornings are generally cool enough to run at any time of day.

Can I find people to run with in the Republic of Ireland?

Yes — Verus athletes list the town they are from, so this page shows who is already here. If you are travelling, adding your own location means runners here can find you too.

Add yourself to Ireland All races