Special atmosphere and a sea of bright yellow for Ellen at this year's Cork marathon

The Cork City Marathon is an event like no other on Leeside and there was a special magical atmosphere in the air once more for the 2026 edition.

This morning, 12,300 participants took to the streets across the full marathon, half marathon national championships and 10k events.

There was a mood of positivity from early morning right across the city and at the finishing line on the Grand Parade.

No matter what corner of the course you turned, stories full of inspiration there to greet you.

Without question this year arguably the standout was Cork turning yellow in memory of Ellen Cassidy, the 24 year old runner who tragically passed away after the 2025 half marathon. Over 200 of Ellen’s family and friends came out to run in her in memory of her.

Among the tributes as part of the Cork city marathon this year saw Ellen’s name feature inside a yellow heart on all 2026 finisher medals.

The Ellen Cassidy Perpetual Cups were awarded for the half marathon, while an inaugural Ellen Cassidy Spirit of Running award was also established.

There was a yellow balloon release ahead of the half marathon start, while a yellow memorial bench will be installed along the Marina Promenade in Cork city.

One of the many runners participating in memory of Ellen was her close friend Katie Walshe from Douglas, who ran the race with Ellen on Cork marathon day last year.

“It has been great everybody coming together. You can just see yellow everywhere," she told The Echo.

“Everyone coming together has made this ten times easier. This isn’t something you could have done alone. You needed the numbers. By god we got them and everyone was brilliant.

“People who knew of her, they knew how special she was and knew she deserved the massive respect of this event being in her name.” 

From people running to beat a personal best, to people raising awareness for a very worthy charity, every runner had a motivating factor and a story behind running.

Another of the many running for a worthy cause close to his heart was Cork man David Deasy, from Killeens, in aid of Breakthrough Cancer Research.

“This is personal to me. A friend of mine was diagnosed not too long ago, so I am dedicating this to him.

“That word cancer effects everybody and every family all around the world. So if I can contribute in such a small way, then it is absolutely fantastic.” 

Another inspirational story example was that of 45 year old Youghal man Gary “Gazz” Roche, who took on his first ever marathon this weekend, just two years after beginning his running journey through the weekly Youghal Parkrun 5K.

As for the race itself, Donegal man Stephen McAuley was the overall marathon winner, finishing in a time of 2:22:42. He said he could feel the support and love from the people of Cork right throughout his successful run.

Melissah Gibson came first in the female marathon in a time of 2:40:41, following a win last week in Edinburgh.