Hehir triumphs as Abbott Longford Marathon attracts record entry

The 2026 Abbott Longford Marathon attracted a record number of competitors last Sunday with nearly 1,600 registered participants taking part in the biggest and best event ever held in the county town.

Fiona Fenelon, the PRO of the organising committee, said they were delighted to mark the 25th anniversary of the first staging of the runs, with another 10% year-on-year growth in competitors.

“We actually had almost 1,600 registered and that was a record number. It couldn’t have gone better, to be honest,” she explained.

Fiona said across the last two and a half decades Longford’s friendly reputation has attracted people to the town and that was very evident again this year with participants from every county in Ireland and across the world.

Fiona stated the winner of the 39-mile ‘Ultra Marathon’, Annie Shcherba from Ukraine, was an example of the international element and she was attracted by the ‘professionally organised and recognised’ aspects of the extreme endurance event.

Seán Hehir, from Kilkishen, County Clare and a member of Croghan Athletics Club in Wexford, was the winner of the Longford Marathon in 2 hours, 36 minutes and Adele Walsh the female winner of the event 20 minutes later.

Longford-based Detective Garda Clive Glancy was the winner of the Half Marathon in 1 hour, 14 minutes, while Nichola Doyle was the female winner in 1 hour, 24 minutes.

Other winners included Ciaran McGonagle, the winner of the Ultra Marathon, while Longford AC Gold were the relay winners.

Fiona said many people had travelled over to Ireland specifically for the Longford Marathon such as an Indian man, ‘a serious marathon runner’ who was in the country for 10 days.

“He has basically done all of the major marathons and he has completed all of the Abbott World Marathon Majors which is London, New York, Boston, Sydney, Tokyo all of those major events. He was in Longford for two nights before the event and two nights after the event and then after he was going off to another part of the country. So we’re not only attracting tourists into Longford, we’re attracting tourists into the country.”

Fiona said many people are researching and reading favourable reviews of Longford being the ‘Friendly marathon’ and the associated tourism is a major boost for the local economy and businesses such as cafés and restaurants.

She said, “To have Abbott as the title sponsor is also an attraction because they are so synonymous with those big marathons and the fact that you can qualify for those major events here is a big thing. We had a lot of people doing the events, trying to get a qualifying time to get into New York or Boston marathons, for example, just to name a few. So many people spoke to us about the friendliness of everyone at the finish line. That friendliness didn’t just come from the volunteers and organisers, but also from the people around us, the supporters, of course.”

Fiona thanked their sponsors, the Gardaí and added they “could not run this event without the support of hundreds of volunteers who worked as stewards and at drink stations.

“It’s a huge achievement and this is all done through volunteers and that is very important and the council and the guards were superb,” she said.