Over 100 Irish Runners set to take over Italian Marathon on Sunday

While the Brescia Marathon in Northern Italy may not have been on the top of many runners plans for 2026, one Dublin club are set to send over 100 runners to take part in the marathon, half marathon and 10k races taking place this Sunday.

The self-professed drinking club with a running problem, Artane Beaumont are no strangers to bringing the club overseas. Following on from the success of the groups trip to the Gent marathon in Belgium, an international marathon was always on the agenda for the Dublin club.

We sat down with chairperson and co-founder of ABRC, David Gilloughley to learn more.

PR - The number of people from one club going to an international marathon is unprecedented, even to major marathons. Tell us about the journey to choosing a marathon like Brescia, and why so many people from your club are going.
DG - To be honest, we are a new club and approaching our 2nd birthday in April. We know there are a lot of great athletics clubs in the area and around the country, but our main focus was creating a community for people to join and take part. We don’t care how fast you can do a 10K or a marathon, we care that you want to come out for a run, and be part of our club, so our emphasis has always been on that community, and runner engagement whilst having the craic along the way. Through word of mouth, we’ve surpassed 300 adult members in 2 years, and are the fastest growing club in Ireland.

On why Brescia, we wanted to find a marathon that still had that feeling of being a small marathon and not a major city race. The other thing the committee looked at was finding a race which had an option for everyone so finding a race with a 10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon was key. Once we let the members know, they were amazing and signed up en-mass. Everyone has their reason to go and what they want to accomplish, but the fact that we’re going over as one club, and team, one community makes it so much more special.

When it comes to so many people going, we love having the craic and supporting each other. We ran the Gent Marathon last year and did the Antrim Coast Half Marathon during the summer. Any excuse we have to get together as a large group and run, and enjoy the social aspect, we embrace. Once word got out it was going to be getting to run somewhere warm and sunny at the start of March, people kept entering. We are delighted to be honest.

PR - With that many people taking part, there are always going to be issues cropping up. Have the race organisers been supportive?
DG - I honestly can’t say enough for the ABRC committee who are behind the planning of the Brescia Marathon. We knew we’d have big numbers on the back of last years successful foreign trip. From day 1, we’ve had a great line of communication with the organisers. There are always going to be a few questions here and there, but they’ve been really proactive and have been amazing.

PR - Tell us about the preparation for the race, your training, how the club has been preparing
DG - We’re so lucky to have a great committee and leadership in the club. We have club training available to members 4 times a week, on Tuesdays in ALSAA, and locally on Thursdays, and Saturdays as well. We cater for everyone’s pace, and we have a clear training plan of the mileage people need to be doing, and the routes they will be running. The key really is being organised. We have our club WhatsApp group where we communicate with everyone, and we’ve great banter. But more than just banter, the members are great at supporting each other and their achievements such as PBs. We even saw people getting PBs in Naas last weekend and they were celebrated, it didn’t matter if it was a 90 min half marathon or 2h30 half marathon, each achievement is just as important. As I always say, “Time is only a number”.
We also have runners getting injured, and knowing they have a support group who are texting and looking forward to welcoming them back, it’s just been amazing really. To see some of those injured runners still coming along on the trip to support their club mates is a true reflection of the supportive and inclusive ethos within our club.

PR - Have you any more marathons planned this year as a group?
DG - We only have one marathon abroad as a group per year. We want to make it special and get as many people going as possible as we want it to be meaningful. People are taking time off work, might be getting their kids minded, and we have to respect that. With one big trip per year, we have that, and we’re able to make it special and memorable.

PR - Has the club got much support in the run up to this?
DG - We have indeed, and Run Republic have been great and supportive as always. We have some great sponsors in the club as well such as Tuite Air Conditioning, Impasto 48, JJ Corry Irish Whiskey, and our local Credit Union, as well as other great sponsors.

PR - What’s next for Artane Beaumont Running Club?
DG - As a club, we’ve just started our Couch to 5K program, and we’ve been blown away by the interest with over 80 people turning up to our first night and the numbers growing since that. Our goal is to make sure all those amazing people develop a love for running, and just getting active to be honest. We have a great team of leaders for the couch to 5K, so we’re really looking forward to supporting those new members and introducing what our club has to offer to another group of people from within the local community.

Apart from that, we’ve got our very own ABRC Backyard Ultra Twist taking part on 18th of April so it’s just around the corner, and we’ve a great team taking part in the Dublin Half Marathon in May, and we’re looking forward to our second birthday party after this race where will also have our yearly club awards night. We’re conscious we don’t want to do too much, so once we have a few nice goals and milestones, it’ll keep the club growing and kicking on.

PR - This all sounds amazing, and well done to you and the committee on what is clearly a great job with the club. Just one final word for the club or anyone before we wrap up.
DG - There are literally almost too many to mention, every single person is amazing and on their own journey, we love cheering them all on. I have to give a big shout out to everyone on the committee and those non committee members who take on lead roles within the club and just keep giving back to others which is what this club is all about. I’m lucky enough to have got the ball rolling in setting up ABRC with Gally, Matt and Brian, but having such a passionate, and dedicated group behind us makes it easier. Every one of them are helping with training, long runs, hill sessions, advice. If someone is busy with work, or on holidays, there are 2 people ready to jump in and take the load. I also have to give a big shout out to Gally, my sidekick in the creation and running of the club, who will be running the London Marathon this year. Last year he ran the Dublin Marathon in full fireman gear, and has been relentless with his training, I think he’ll do some amazing things in London, and the entire club will be cheering him on. I also want to give a shout out to Sinead D’Arcy who is also taking on the London Marathon. She has put a load of work in during the year and I know she’s going to do amazing.

From speaking with David, and from meeting other members of the club, it’s clear to see that Artane Beaumont really have something special in their club. While athletics is about performance, and competition, the vision and drive of ABRC is same as Run Republic in so many ways, in not just focusing on the winners, or track and field, but celebrating every achievement of every runner. Regardless of ability, a marathon is still 26 miles, a 10K is still 10,000 metres, and we must all complete the distance to finish. It is clear that ABRC have fostered that sense of community and celebration, and we wish each of their members the very best of luck this weekend in Brescia.