Great Limerick Run Marathon

The Race

History

The Regeneron Great Limerick Run traces back to the Limerick City Marathon and has run under its current Great Limerick Run branding for well over a decade, historically staged on the May bank holiday weekend that coincides with Limerick’s Riverfest celebrations. The event has drawn corporate title sponsorship from Regeneron, the biotechnology company with a major manufacturing presence in Limerick, and now sits alongside a half marathon, a 6-mile race, a marathon relay, a Fittest Company Challenge and a children’s Run for Fun as part of one race weekend.

The marathon starts at Pery Square in front of St Michael’s Church and finishes on O’Connell Street in the city centre, run entirely on closed roads under Athletics Ireland certification. The 2025 edition produced a winning time of 2:26:38 from Kenyan runner Freddy Keron, with 1,417 total marathon finishers, 73 of whom broke 3 hours.

The course

The marathon starts at Pery Square, outside St Michael’s Church in Limerick’s Georgian Quarter, and finishes on O’Connell Street in the city centre. The route runs through the city centre, along the River Shannon, out to the University of Limerick campus and its sports facilities, past Thomond Park (home of Munster Rugby), across the Living Bridge, and through the Raheen and Dooradoyle suburbs before returning to the city centre finish.

Total elevation gain is 196m (642ft) across the full 42.2km distance, officially described as scenic and flat with only mild elevation changes. Reddit runner reports describe “drags” rather than significant hills, concentrated around the Ennis Road late in the race, worth flagging as lived experience rather than measured elevation data.

Km 0-5 (Mile 0-3): Pery Square and the city centre.The race starts at Pery Square outside St Michael’s Church in the Georgian Quarter, heading into Limerick’s city centre streets. The first water station arrives at approximately mile 3.

Km 5-14 (Mile 3-8.5): Along the Shannon toward the University. The route follows riverside paths along the River Shannon before heading out toward the University of Limerick campus, taking in its sports facilities. Water stations follow at approximately mile 6 and mile 8.5.

Km 14-27 (Mile 8.5-17): Thomond Park and the Living Bridge. The course passes Thomond Park, home of Munster Rugby, and crosses the Living Bridge, a pedestrian and cycle bridge on the University of Limerick campus, before continuing toward the outer suburbs. Water stations at approximately mile 12 and mile 17.5.

Km 27-37 (Mile 17-23): Raheen, Dooradoyle and the Ennis Road drags.The route heads into the Raheen and Dooradoyle suburbs on the city’s western side. Runner reports describe this as the section with the most noticeable “drags,” gentle sustained rises rather than sharp hills, particularly around the Ennis Road late in the race. Water stations at approximately mile 20, 22 and 23.5.

Km 37-42.2 (Mile 23-26.2): The finish on O’Connell Street.The final water station comes at approximately mile 25.5, ahead of the finish on O’Connell Street in the city centre, where the organiser describes cheering crowds and a deliberately built-up finish-line atmosphere.

This is a closed-road course throughout its main distance, marshalled by stewards and Gardaí at road-closure points; runners are asked to keep to the marked route and not take shortcuts, a rule the organiser states explicitly in its published race rules.

Logistics Map

The map below shows the course: from Pery Square along the Shannon riverside to the University of Limerick campus, through Raheen and Dooradoyle, to the O’Connell Street finish. Tap a marker for details.

Pacers

Marathon and Marathon Relay runners start together at 9:00am; the Half Marathon starts separately at 11:00am (pacers at 1:30, 1:40, 1:50, 2:00 and 2:10) and the 6-Mile at 1:30pm. There is no marathon pacer slower than 5:00 published, consistent with the 4:00pm course-closure cutoff from a 9:00am start.

What to wear

Early May in Limerick generally runs cool at the 9:00am start, and the west-of-Ireland climate means genuine rain is a realistic possibility on any given race day. Given the course closes at 4:00pm, seven hours after the start, runners toward the back of the field should plan for a materially different set of conditions by the time they finish than those the elite field experiences in the opening two and a half hours. Outside assistance, including support from cars or bikes, is explicitly prohibited by the organiser’s published rules, so runners should carry any personal nutrition themselves rather than plan on a support crew.

Entry

Entry is direct and online only, with no ballot, via eventmaster.ie. Online entry closes on 30 April or when the event sells out, whichever comes first; there is no race-day or in-person sign-up under any circumstance. The minimum age for the full marathon is 18 on race day. Entry includes a timed race bib, the full closed-road course, a finisher’s medal, a T-shirt, water at aid stations, and a banana and refreshments at the finish.

Non-AAI-member entrants must purchase a 2 euro one-day Athletics Ireland licence as part of registration, with proceeds supporting the AAI high-performance programme. Race packs are collected in person at the UL Sports Arena on the Saturday before the race, 11:00am to 4:30pm; runners can instead pay for postage, in which case packs are dispatched to arrive 3 to 14 days ahead of the event, with a replacement available at the Saturday collection window if a posted pack fails to arrive by the Friday before race day.

Entries cannot be refunded under any circumstance but can be transferred to another named person, subject to a deadline tied to race-number allocation, or deferred with medical certification of injury or illness. Cash prizes are paid to the top three men and women (1,000/750/500 euro) plus age-category winners (150 euro each for over-35, 45, 55 and 65), with additional time bonuses for Irish-passport-holding athletes running under specific fast qualifying times.

Fast Runner / GFA Standards

Not applicable. Entry to Regeneron Great Limerick Run is open to all, with no qualifying-time entry pathway. The race’s time-bonus cash prizes for sub-2:22 (men) and sub-2:43 (women) Irish athletes are a prize-money structure for elite athletes, not an entry-standards table.

Race Weekend

Expo

Race pack collection, functioning as this event’s equivalent of an expo, is held at the UL Sports Arena (University of Limerick) on the Saturday before race day, from 11:00am to 4:30pm, with no race-day collection under any circumstance. Runners who paid for postage do not need to attend unless their pack fails to arrive by the Friday before the event, in which case a replacement must be collected at the same Saturday window.

Race Morning

The marathon and marathon relay start together at 9:00am from Pery Square, in front of St Michael’s Church; the half marathon starts separately at 11:00am and the 6-mile at 1:30pm, all from the same general start area. As the race falls on a Sunday, all on-street parking is free citywide, though restricted in areas affected by the route; a free Park & Ride service runs between Limerick Greyhound Stadium and Mount Kennett Place from 07:30 to 18:00, a roughly 6-minute journey, and multi-storey car parks including Q-Park Harvey’s Quay and Arthurs Quay Shopping Centre offer paid alternatives.

Toilets are provided at the start on Pery Square, at the finish, and at points along the route. Bag drop is available for one small bag per runner; multiple bags, loose items, suitcases and large bulky items are not accepted, and bags must be collected by 5:00pm. Runners must have their race number clearly visible on the front of their running top; finishing without a visible number forfeits the finisher’s medal, with no exceptions stated. Timing chips record splits at 10km, halfway and 30km. The course has a hard closure at 4:00pm, with an intermediate cutoff at the halfway point of 12:45pm.

Nutrition on Course

Water stations for the full and relay marathon are positioned at approximately miles 3, 6, 8.5, 12, 17.5, 20, 22, 23.5 and 25.5, nine stations across the full distance. No confirmed sports-nutrition brand, gel provision or cup type has been sourced beyond water; the entry-inclusion list states “water at the aid stations” without naming any additional on-course fuel. Runners may carry their own food or drink, but outside assistance from cars or bikes is explicitly prohibited under the organiser’s published rules. At the finish, all finishers receive a banana and further refreshments alongside their medal.

Spectating

The course’s point-to-point shape through the city centre, the University of Limerick campus and the western suburbs gives spectators several realistic viewing points without needing to cover the full distance themselves. The Living Bridge and University of Limerick campus area, roughly mile 8.5 to 17, is a genuinely pleasant car-free viewing point given its pedestrianised paths. The finish on O’Connell Street offers the most concentrated crowd atmosphere, by the organiser’s own description.

Spectator itinerary:use the free Park & Ride from Limerick Greyhound Stadium to Mount Kennett Place, then walk into the city centre to see the start at Pery Square (9:00am marathon start) and later the finish on O’Connell Street. Both points are within easy walking distance of Mount Kennett Place. No confirmed public-transport routes to the University of Limerick or western-suburb sections of the course have been sourced beyond this.

Post-Race Food

The only sourced, race-specific food provision is the organiser’s own finish-line offering: a banana and refreshments alongside the finisher’s medal on O’Connell Street. No named restaurant in Limerick city centre has been sourced with confidence for this page; check current listings around the Milk Market and the Georgian Quarter for dining options.

Where to Stay

The finish on O’Connell Street sits in Limerick’s compact city centre, and proximity to the finish, not the start at Pery Square (itself only a short walk away in the adjoining Georgian Quarter), is the guiding principle for where to stay: the two points are close enough that most city-centre accommodation serves both.

The Georgian Quarter

Around Pery Square itself, this puts a runner directly at the start line. No.1 Pery Square, a restored Grade 1 listed Georgian townhouse hotel overlooking People’s Park, sits on the square itself, a genuine five-minute walk from the city centre despite its quieter, residential setting.

Limerick city centre

Around O’Connell Street and the riverfront, this is the strongest base for a travel guide: restaurants, the Milk Market, and the shortest possible walk to both the start and finish.

Across the Shannon on the Ennis Road

The Limerick Strand Hotel offers a riverside alternative within walking distance of King John’s Castle, and also happens to be the marathon relay’s team reunion point, making it a natural base for anyone running as part of a relay team.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

There is no ballot for this race, so demand builds steadily rather than spiking around a single results date; the main driver of accommodation pressure is the event’s historical alignment with the May bank holiday weekend and Limerick’s Riverfest celebrations, which independently draw visitors to the city regardless of the marathon. Runners should book city-centre accommodation, particularly smaller boutique properties like No.1 Pery Square with its 21 rooms, as early as possible once entry is confirmed. Race pack collection is fixed to the Saturday before the event at the UL Sports Arena, which effectively requires travelling runners to already be in Limerick by Saturday afternoon rather than arriving race-morning only.

See & Do

These sit at or close to the finish, or on the course’s own route.

King John’s Castle

Approx. 1 km (0.6 miles) from the finish. A 13th-century Anglo-Norman castle on King’s Island overlooking the Shannon, with an interactive visitor centre covering the castle’s excavated foundations. A short, flat walk from the O’Connell Street finish.

Hunt Museum

Approx. 0.7 km (0.4 miles) from the finish. A substantial private art and antiquities collection housed in the city’s 18th-century Custom House on the Shannon, with pieces ranging from Bronze Age Ireland to a small Picasso work. Flat, indoor and low-effort for tired legs.

Milk Market

Approx. 1 km (0.6 miles) from the finish. Limerick’s long-running covered and open-air food market, busiest on Saturdays but with weekday trading too; a practical, specific option for post-race food shopping or a casual meal among local producers.

Thomond Park

Passed directly on the course, roughly mile 8.5 to 17. Home of Munster Rugby, visible directly from the marathon route itself; stadium tours run on non-match days for runners wanting a closer look at the ground the following day.

People’s Park and the Georgian Quarter

Approx. 0 km (0 miles) from the start. The tree-lined park the marathon starts beside, surrounded by Limerick’s best-preserved Georgian terraces including the Pery Square houses themselves. A flat, short walk suited to the morning after the race.

Reading recommendation

Angela’s Ashesby Frank McCourt. McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of his childhood in 1930s and 1940s Limerick remains the single most internationally recognised piece of writing associated with the city, and its Limerick geography, the lanes, the Shannon’s damp climate, still maps onto the modern city a runner will walk around after the race.

After the Race

Great Limerick Run Marathon runs in May. These itineraries stay close to the Shannon Estuary and County Clare, or extend further into the west of Ireland.