Auckland Marathon: Brigid Dennehy targets historic third straight win and new record
One year after smashing the women’s Auckland Marathon record, Brigid Dennehy is determined to push herself even further in 2026.
The Irish runner has won the last two women’s races at the event and victory on November 1 would make her the first athlete to produce a threepeat at the Auckland Marathon.
The 32-year-old told the Heraldthe race holds a special place for her, not only because it has produced her fastest time.
“You really appreciate being able to sleep in your own bed the night before,” the Auckland-based runner said.
“You’re running on the roads that you run regularly, so it’s familiar. You’ve got your friends out on course and then I think the other thing is along Tamaki Drive, it’s an out-and-back in the second half of the race, the toughest part of the race, and you’re actually running back against the crowds, which is really special because you have people that are still running and they’re cheering you on and it’s really nice.”
Dennehy explained that her goal last year was to break the course’s record after falling short in 2024 with a time of 2h 41m 31s.
“In 2024 when I won the Auckland Marathon, I actually didn’t realise how close I was to the record.
“I think there was a problem with the tracker on the day and I had a lead of maybe five minutes, so I felt confident towards the end that I’d get the win.
“And I asked someone, ‘Oh, am I close to the record?’ and they’re like, ‘Oh no, I think you’re a few minutes off.’
“It was until I was like 400 metres towards the end, I realised I was still under the record time and I started sprinting and I missed it by two seconds.”
Her time of 2h 38m 10s broke the previous record by more than three minutes and helped her achieve her personal goal, but she was surprised by how well she performed.
“I was delighted, over the moon. The plan wasn’t to break it by that much.
“I just wanted to run under 2h 40m but going by feel and I got stronger as the race went on, so finishing, breaking the record and also feeling good and having had such a positive experience from the race, because the marathon isn’t always positive, it was great.”
However, her preparation this year has been slightly different to the last two years.
“I spent about six weeks overseas in August and September over in Europe, spending time with family.
“I did a bit of racing, I actually made my first Ireland team [at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon] back in August, but I then didn’t get really into the marathon training probably the past six weeks.
“So it’s definitely been a shorter block, whereas previous I would have done at least 12 weeks.”
Despite the shorter timeframe, her mission is still to produce another personal best.
“If it turns into more of a race with the girls, if we’re running together, fantastic and if I find myself in a position running with them that the record is in sight, that’d be amazing.
“I guess if I ran the record it would also be a personal best, so to run a personal best on Sunday is definitely a goal.”
Looking longer term, Dennehy is keen to pull on a green singlet again.
“My long-term ambitions are definitely to represent Ireland again in the marathon at a global world championship and I’m not sure when that’s going to happen, whether it’s going to be in the next two years or the next six years, but it’s definitely on my mind.”
About 18,000 people have signed up for the Auckland Marathon on November 1, with entries open until 5pm on October 31.
Samuel Sherry is a live news sport journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Auckland.