Glendalough Lap of the Gap marathon

The Glendalough Lap of the Gap Marathon consist of a large diamond-shaped looped (the literal ‘Lap of the Gap’) with a total of 4 km of ‘tail’ leading in and out of it. The race begins at the side of the Lower Lake in Glendalough before covering roughly lightly undulating kilometers to the village of Laragh (where the finish line is located). It is here you begin the roughly 38 km of the ‘diamond’ climbing first to the upland pass of Sally Gap at ~500m (the titular gap!) which you reach just after 22 km. From here your journey back to the finish line in Laragh begins via the scenic Lough Tay (Guinness Lake). The route takes you from green rural roads up to dramatic open mountain roads among dark heather and back again. As you re-enter the village of Laragh you have less than 1 km to the finish.

The Glen to Glen Half-marathon course begins with a 1 mile loop of the iconic Upper Lake Park where you run past the shores of the Upper Lake in Glendalough. The next part takes you from Glendalough to the village of Laragh at the 3 mile mark (4.8 km). You now enter the nearly 5 mile (8 km) out and back part of the course where you climb first up the Military Road to Glenmacnass Waterfall and then turn downhill back to Laragh at 12.5 km. Once you re-enter Laragh village you have less than 1 km to go first through the village and then up the short sharp climb to the finish at Brockagh Centre. The route is mainly on rural backroads with a short section of paved parkland walkways on the first mile and a busier section between Glendalough and Laragh early on.