Connemara Marathon

Course & Elevation

The Connemara International Marathon, known as the Connemarathon, is a point-to-point road race in Connemara, County Galway, usually held on a Sunday in April. It has a full marathon, a half marathon and an ultra marathon of 39.3 miles, and all three finish at Maam Cross. The full marathon starts at Lough Inagh and takes in the half marathon course, which starts in Leenane; the ultra starts at Recess. The route runs through bogs, hills and lakes beneath the Twelve Pins mountains, rises above Killary Lough, passes through the village of Leenane and goes around the Maam Turk Mountains up to Maam Cross. The organisers promise a stunning start by the lake and a tough second half, and describe the half marathon as having two tough hills. The full marathon starts at 11:00 a.m., two hours after the ultra, and the maximum finish time for it is 6.5 hours. After the race, buses take competitors from Maam Cross back to Leenane, Oughterard, Clifden and Galway City. The first race was held in 2002 with 73 runners, and the field has since grown to more than 3,000.