The absence of defending Irish women’s title holder Ava Crean clears the way for a new champion in Sunday’s Dublin Marathon

When Ava Crean crossed the finish line as the first Irish woman in last year’s Dublin Marathon, with her time of 2:34:12 good enough for sixth-best woman overall and some nine minutes faster than she’d run before, she straight away became a sort of outlier of her generation.

Because at age 19, Crean was by some distance the youngest woman to win the national marathon title, which is awarded to the top Irish finisher in Dublin. The previous youngest before Crean was Carey May, who at age 21 won the women’s race outright in the first running of the Dublin Marathon back in 1980.

Irish women’s marathon running was in a very different place in 1980, and May had to endure all sorts of obstacles – before, during and after the race. Starting with the notion that no woman of any age should even consider running 26.2 miles.

With her performance last year, Crean also broke the clear and present trend of Irish women’s marathon runners reaching their prime when well into their 30s or 40s. And in many cases after childbirth. Ann-Marie McGlynn, the mother of two who’d won the previous back-to-back Irish women’s marathon titles, was 45 when she finished runner-up to Crean last year.

Nichola Sheridan, who was the third-best Irish woman in Dublin last year, turns 30 next Thursday, and last Sunday week she finished third overall in the women’s race at the Melbourne Marathon. Her time there of 2:29:13 was the fastest by an Irish woman this year, moving her to sixth on the Irish all-time list.

Based in Sydney for the last year, Sheridan returned to the family home in Meath on Wednesday and is still tinkering with the idea of running again in Dublin on Sunday. She’s leaving that final decision as late as possible before Sunday morning’s start, although either way, her marathon running career is only getting started.

“I definitely know there’s a lot more to come,” says Sheridan, whose time in Melbourne improved her previous marathon best by just over four minutes. “Since I started training with this group in Australia, there are so many areas I know I can improve on. Already my coach there, Gary Howard, is sending me videos of my running gait, and what needs to be improved.

“And when you’re in that training environment, it does just bring you on so much. Because just in normal conversations, people are talking about the World Championships, and the Olympics, and it does feel a lot more within reach.”

Sheridan’s trip home was already planned months ago, in part to celebrate her 30th birthday next Thursday along with her twin sister, Gillian. Sheridan also points to the influence of Mayo-born Sinead Diver, now running for Australia, and who at age 49 finished one place ahead of her in Melbourne last Sunday week. In 2022, Diver, a mother of two, ran 2:21:34 at the Valencia Marathon, although the official Irish women’s marathon record still belongs to Catherina McKiernan, who ran 2:22:23 in Amsterdam, 28 years ago this month.

At age 42, Fionnuala McCormack has been Ireland’s leading women’s marathon runner for over decade now, and this time last year finished 10th in the New York City Marathon, just seven weeks after finishing in ninth at the World Championships. The mother of three is the only Irish woman to compete in five Olympics, but with LA less than two years away, she’s still eminently capable of making it Olympics number six.

Also lining up in the Dublin Marathon on Sunday is Judith Storm, who has been enjoying her most successful marathon running season to date. The City of Derry Spartans AC runner has also been improving again this year at age 39. After running 2:47:07 on her Dublin debut last year, she lowered her best to 2:39:09 in Belfast in May, and then won the Belfast Half Marathon in September in 1:14:14.

A mother of four, including triplets, Storm only took up running after moving to Derry in 2022. “It would be an absolute dream of mine to go a step further and be crowned national champion of Ireland,” says Storm. “I want to show women, especially mums, that they don’t have to put themselves last, and that it’s never too late to start something new.”

Sorcha Nic Dhómhnaill, who turns 42 in December, is also among the contenders to land her first senior title on Sunday. After the birth of her daughter Siún in April last year, she returns to the marathon distance with a best time of 2:38:19, set in Berlin in 2022.

Nic Dhómhnaill also won the Dublin City Half Marathon in May, in a course record of 71:25, after which she spoke about her return to competitive running after several years away: “You’re still busy with a baby, but it’s a different kind of busy. I’ve missed a good few years, so hopefully I can just continue going like this for a while more.”

Also catching up fast on all the above is Meghan Ryan, a 32-year-old from Dundrum South Dublin AC, who finished as the fourth-best Irish woman in the Dublin Marathon last year. Although she’s been running with her home club since the age of 12, Ryan also believes her marathon running career is only getting started.

“Last year in Dublin was only my second marathon,” says Ryan, “and because my first marathon didn’t go very well, it took a while for me to feel ready, and to convince my coach Donal Hennigan to give it another shot.

“Last year, I was also juggling a lot going into the marathon. I’d just gotten married, we’d sold our apartment, and were buying a house. So, there was a lot going on, life-wise, outside of running.

“We haven’t changed much, but going into this year, I think the consistency helps. It’s also been a bit more settled. I still work full-time [as a business analyst with Aviva], but I’ve been lucky, sometimes getting through a marathon block healthy and fit is a challenge in itself.”

Ryan did achieve some success on the track and cross-country, before ultimately turning all her attention to the marathon: “I had a few years where I didn’t really progress at all, then in my mid- to late 20s, I ended up winning a medal in the national senior 3,000m, indoors, in 2018, and then in the national senior outdoor 5,000m in 2021.

“I always knew I wanted to do the marathon, but I wanted those individual medals on the track before I moved up. Not to say you can’t do those, but I definitely wanted to get that out of my system.

“Donal Hennigan has coached me for the last 20 years, in DSD, and he would also take the view of a longer-term development. In the marathon, it’s still quite early days. I don’t do massively high mileage, and I feel like there’s room to grow in the event. I am 32, but I always say to Donal, you’re not allowed to retire until I’m at least 45, and ready to retire.”

Crean, meanwhile, isn’t among the starters in Sunday’s race due to a long-term hip injury, which has slowed her progress. As for her own marathon future, she said during the summer: “Missing Dublin is disappointing, but at the same time, I’m 20 now, there’s going to be another, I don’t know how many, probably another 15 more.”

Which going on the current trend of success among Irish women’s marathon runners would certainly appear to be the case.