Over 40 years ago, on Saturday November 5th 1983, a similar successful event was staged on Griffith Avenue, with leading Irish athletes such as Eamonn Coghlan, supporting and competing. Officially called the 'Dublin Straight Mile', it had significant support and profile at the time.
At the original event in 1983, South African-born American Sydney Maree, who briefly held the world 1,500 meters record that summer, won the race in 3 minutes 49.30 seconds.
Spain's Jose Manuel Abascal was second and Ray Flynn of Ireland finished third.
The top five was rounded out by Britain's Graham Williamson and Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan, the world 5,000 meters champion.
Below you can find archived photos of the event, news clippings and the official race results.
If you have more details on this event, please get in touch with any information, photos, or footage you might have!
Fast forward to 2019, and we revived the race and opened it up to those who run for fun, as well as the athletes amongst us and have since established the event as Irelands Premier one mile road race and a steady fixture on the athletics calendar.
The Griffith Avenue Mile event was held on September 22nd 2019 - the first time the race had been held in nearly 36 years. The event was a not for profit community and volunteer led event brought to the Marino and Drumcondra area by the All Hallows Area Association and the Marino Athletics Club. By all accounts it was a resounding success, thanks to our many sponsors and supporters, and huge support in the Marino and Drumcondra communities.
You can check out some of the photos we captured on the day on our Instagram page here.
We were unable to repeat the success of the event in 2020 or 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic but were delighted to again take to the streets in 2022 and 2023.
Registration for the 2024 event being held on Sunday September 22nd is now open and you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep abreast of plans for this year.
Our objective is two-fold:
1. To promote community spirit and encourage social interaction between young and old who live, work and play in and around Griffith Avenue; and
2. To promote the beauty and amenity of the special tree lined avenue that is Griffith Avenue through a novel and interesting public event.
The One Mile Road Race of the year. Learn more.
Griffith Avenue, Marino
Dublin, Ireland
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