Sorome Negash eyes follow-up success in Dublin Marathon

Sunday next will see the 44th staging of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon, with Sorome Negash of Ethiopia, who won the women's race in the 2023, set to defend her title.

Negash posted a time of 2:26:22 last year and will face competition from fellow Ethiopian Muliye Dekebo, who has a personal best of 2:25:35, and Asmirach Naga, who placed third in her marathon debut at the Rabat Marathon with a time of 2:26:55.

Ann-Marie McGlynn, who competes for Letterkenny AC was the first Irish woman home 12 months ago, when finishing fifth, and again will be looking to retain her national marathon title.

Gladys Ganiel (North Belfast Harriers) Caitlyn Harvey (Road Runners AC) and Grace Lynch (DSD AC) and Aoife Kilgallon (Sligo AC) will be the other home-based names to watch, with the latter finishing the Sligo Coast to Coast 10 Mile race in a respectable 57:12 despite windy conditions.

Spain’s Aya Lamdassem is the leading contender for the men's overall win, with a personal best of 2:06:25 achieved in Seville in 2022 and a season-best of 2:09:43. He also finished fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Also in contention podium positions are Aweke Ayalew from Bahrain, Ethiopia's Abebaw Desalew and and Cypriot Amine Khadirir.

Of the Irish contingent, Hugh Armstrong from Ballina AC has set his sights on winning the national marathon for the fifth consecutive year, this after an impressive year in which he won all four races in the Irish Life Dublin Race Series, including the five-mile, 10km, 10-mile, and half-marathon.

This will be Armstrong's second time competing in this race; he placed third in the National Championships in what was his marathon debut in 2019. With a personal best of 2:12:26 from the 2020 Seville Marathon, he will face strong