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Lap of the Gap Glendalough Co. Wicklow
Dawn mist over the Sally Gap, Wicklow Mountains
Earn the view

The road to
Glendalough

Forty-two kilometres of mountain road through Wicklow Mountains National Park — waterfall, gap, and Guinness Lake. The only road marathon run inside the park, now for the tenth time.

Enter the 2027 race See the course
262
days to the gun
Date
Sat 22 May 2027
Elevation
800mmarathon
Field
300marathon places
Provisional — awaiting confirmation
Distances
42.2km · 21.1km

Cyclists have owned this loop for a century. Since 2016 it has belonged to runners too — a diamond of mountain road that climbs out of a monastic valley and does not level off until Laragh.

You will not find a personal best here. What you will find is Glenmacnass falling away on your right at eleven kilometres, the Sally Gap opening flat and treeless at the top, and Lough Tay black in its corrie as you turn for home. Around 750 runners from some forty countries make the journey each May. The village feeds them afterwards.

Our story, and the club behind it
EditionTenth, 2027
OrganiserGlendalough AC
StartUpper Lake, Glendalough
FinishLaragh village

Two ways up

Choose your distance
Lough Tay from the Sally Gap road
42.2km · 800m up

Lap of the Gap Marathon

Glendalough to Glenmacnass, over the Sally Gap, past Lough Tay, down through Drummin and Oldbridge to Laragh. Ireland’s highest road marathon, and one of its hardest.

The course
Mist on the Upper Lake at Glendalough
21.1km · 340m up

Glen to Glen Half

A lap of the Upper Lake park, the climb to the waterfall, then the long descent to Laragh. The honest way in.

The course
The profile

Eleven kilometres of climbing, all of it earned

The marathon leaves the valley floor at 130 metres and does not settle. Glenmacnass is a long grinding pull; the Sally Gap is exposed and flat enough to hurt; the descent past Lough Tay is fast, and the backroads at 35km are where the race is decided.

0 km
Glendalough, Upper Lake
130 m
11 km
Glenmacnass Waterfall
300 m
21 km
Sally Gap
500 m
27 km
Lough Tay
420 m
35 km
Drummin & Oldbridge
300 m
42.2 km
Laragh
150 m

Indicative profile — full GPX and course maps on the race pages

Entry

Places are released in three phases

The field is capped so the mountain road stays a mountain road. When a phase sells out, the price moves on — it does not come back.

01 Super Early 40 places, returning runners €69
02 Standard Opens when phase one closes €79
03 Final Until the field is full €89
Enter now Half marathon pricing and transfer terms on the entry page.
Thank you for an amazing experience. I loved the family feeling, the friendliness. You gave your time. Hangovers today are well deserved.
Mary McKeever, Glen to Glen Half
Race morning Full race-day guide

One hub. One walk to the start.

01
Dublin bus or Laragh shuttle

Both drop you at Race HQ. No private vehicles on the Upper Lake road.

02
Race HQ, Upper Lake Park

Registration, helpdesk, toilets, bag drop, key box and race information.

03
Walk to your start

Half marathon about 200m. Marathon about 500m. Both signed from HQ.

04
Run the gap

Aid stations at set intervals, and semi-self-sufficiency on the high ground.

05
Finish in Laragh

Food, bag and key collection, and the return bus to Dublin.

Golden hour on the Wicklow Military Road Cloud sitting low over the gap Late light across the heather

Saturday 22 May 2027. The tenth lap.

Train for the hills. Book the bus from Dublin. Bring someone to stand in Laragh and shout.

Enter 2027 Travel & stay