By John O’Regan
The Donadea 50K has firmly established itself as one of the highlights on the Irish Ultra Running calendar. Since its inaugural event in 2011, which featured an invitational field of 18 runners, it has grown steadily. Now in its 15th year, the race boasts nearly 400 registrations. The race has always operated with a waiting list due to high demand, and this year was no different. However, extra spaces were made available thanks to the use of an offsite car park with a shuttle service.
Since that first event, there have been 2,162 finishers, comprising 1,773 men and 389 women. The record for the most finishes to date stands at 13, held by David O’Donohue. Remarkably, the race was one of the few that managed to operate during the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a temporary move to the confines of Mondello Park.
Over the years, the Donadea 50K has been the venue for numerous national records and has hosted the Athletics Ireland 50K National Championships since 2013. The current records for the 50K distance are held by Gary O’Hanlon of Clonliffe Harriers for the men, with a time of 2:49:13 (Donadea 2020), and Caitriona Jennings of Letterkenny AC for the women, with a time of 3:16:33 (Donadea 2025). Another record worthy of mention was set by Sorcha Loughnane of Donore Harriers in 2024 when she ran a then-national record of 3:18:04, a time that was ratified as an age group world best performance, beating her previous best time of 3:20:33 set in 2022 (also and age group WBP).
The man behind the event is Anthony Lee of Donadea Running Club. I caught up with him after this year’s race to ask a few questions about the event.
1. What inspired you to start the Donadea 50K back in 2011?
At that time, I was training for a 48-hour race and was due to do a 50km training run. I thought it could be a handy race for like-minded people. I sent the word out to a few running friends that I was going to do ten laps of Donadea if anyone wanted to join me. I invited around 20 people who I thought would be interested. In the end, I didn’t get to run and ended up being the race director of what was to be the first Donadea 50K.
2. How did you manage the growth from a small field to becoming one of the most popular ultra marathons in Ireland?
What is special about Donadea is the unique atmosphere. It has organically grown year on year, thanks to several factors: a super team of volunteers, the crowds of supporters, and, as I am told, my unique charm and way with words. The inclusion of the dreaded 5-hour cut-off puts the fear of God into people, and the atmosphere that builds to that 5-hour mark is really very special. If that atmosphere could be bottled, it would be a best seller.
3. What challenges did you face in the early years of organizing the race?
In the early days, there were not as many people running ultra distances, so the groundwork had to be done to convince marathon runners to step up to the distance and try it out. The early years of the race were about creating awareness.
4. Can you share some memorable moments or stories from past races?
There are so many amazing memories from Donadea, but a few that come to mind are witnessing Gary O’Hanlon breaking the Irish 50km record in 2015, a record that had stood since 1978 (Mick Molloy). Also, two female world age group records by Sorcha Loughnane of Donore Harriers in 2023 and 2024. A personal favourite of mine was seeing my baby brother Brian as the last finisher in 2020. That was a special moment, and the photo captured was even more special.
5. What strategies do you use to attract top runners and maintain a high level of competition?
I offer elite entries to all former winners and have cash prizes for the top three male and female finishers, with a bonus for national records. In 2026 I will introduce an extra bonus for any Male who runs under 3hrs and Female under 3hrs20.
6. How does the local community in Donadea support and engage with the race?
We are very blessed to have a lovely community who all enjoy the event. The local cafes and eateries come on board and even create various unique branded drinks and foods. The local running club, which I am also a member of, is hugely involved in the running of the event. We are extremely fortunate to have such great support from our volunteers, Niall the forest manager, and his crew at Donadea and Coillte.
7. What changes or improvements have you made to the race over the years?
I am very conscious of keeping the unique soul of the race and have tweaked elements with live timing available, added various age group prizes, and the unofficial Kildare 50K championships for good measure. I think everyone who experiences Donadea will agree that our race MC makes the day even more special.
8. Can you talk about the environmental and sustainability initiatives you have implemented for the race?
We are very conscious of our beautiful natural surroundings in the forest. We operate a Leave No Trace policy and try to minimize single-use items where possible. We have removed the option of bottles and use Refill Ireland as our go-to water supplier. We insist on carpooling for the event and some years have even given our participants a locally grown pot plant in place of a finisher medal.
9. What are your future plans and goals for the race, both in terms of scale and impact?
If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. I think the number of participants we maintain is just right and feel it would not be the right decision to grow the numbers. This would also negatively impact the forest and the high standards we set for ourselves in creating the unique and special atmosphere. Quality rather than quantity springs to mind. I would like to see more females taking part in the race, as we currently have approximately a 25% female sign-up rate.
