Dublin Women's Mini Marathon
| Dublin Women's Mini Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Date | First Monday of June |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Mini marathon |
| Established | 1983 |
| Course records | 31:28 ( Sonia O'Sullivan, 2000)
|
| Official site | www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie |
The Dublin Women's Mini Marathon, a 10k road race changed title sponsor in 2015 to the Vhi Women's Mini Marathon and will be known as such during the sponsorship (Vhi Healthcare). The Dublin Women's Mini Marathon is an annual charity road race that occurs each June bank holiday Monday in Ireland. The event is an all-female mini marathon over 10 km in the country's capital, Dublin.
First run in 1983, this event has seen its numbers rise through the years, with 31,000 women recorded racing in 2001 and, for the tenth consecutive year, upwards of 40,000 women participating in the most recent mini-marathon on 1 June 2015. Those to have won the race include Kenya's Magdaline Chemjor and Irish Olympic silver medalist, Sonia O'Sullivan, whose 2000 record time of 31 minutes and 28 seconds has yet to be beaten. Over €198 million has been raised for charity and a total of over half a million women have run the race, some doing so each year since the beginning.
It is the biggest single day charity event in Ireland and the biggest all-female event of its type in the world. Similar events in the UK and US attract only half these figures.
A small group of enthusiastic male athletes gathered in the Mill House in Stillorgan in 1983. They concluded that an all-women's race would be suitable for increasing female participation. The Evening Press were named as sponsors and Dundrum as the host club.
Several Irish women's distance runners have taken part in the race. Catherina McKiernan recorded her first of four wins in her autobiography, Running for My Life, saying: "I enjoyed every moment of it. The crowds were more incredible that I expected, and it was just something I always wanted to do."
In recent years, charities have used online services such as Facebook, Twitter and podcasting to promote their involvement.
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Wikipedia