Weather Forecast for the 2024 Cork City Marathon

Update - Sun 2nd June 6:30am: This is the latest satellite photo. Expect lots of sunshine and warm conditions. 

With less than two days to go to the Cork City Marathon on Sunday, we can now get an accurate forecast of what the weather might be like.

On the 2nd of June, there will be a large high pressure area located off to the west of Ireland. This will dominate the weather and it means that rain or showers are highly unlikely.

As winds move clockwise in a high pressure system, it means there will be a northerly airflow over Ireland. This may result in areas like Donegal and Derry getting cool moist air in from the sea but by the time that airflow reaches Cork, it will have lost a lot of its moisture and won't be as cool.

For example, there is expected to be a 5 degree difference between the peak temperatures in Derry and Cork next Sunday.

The net effect is that the skies are likely to be blue and sunny in Cork for the start of the full marathon at 8:15am, 10k at 8:45am and half-marathon at 10:15am. The temperature is expected to be around 12 degrees C for the start of marathon and 10k. It will gradually creep upwards and should be around 18 degrees at about 1pm.

For the 10k, the race conditions should be mild and they will miss the worst of the heat. 

For the second half of the marathon and for the half-marathon, there will be sections of the course which are sheltered from the effects of the cooling northerly breeze and there will be hot air coming up from the road surface. The reality is the temperatures will be higher in places that the forecast might suggest.

Most of the three courses are generally in an east-west direction and the northerly breeze will be a crosswind. There are places where it will be a head wind or a tail wind but in general, it will be a cooling crosswind.

Clothing... The key thing to remember it that it is likely to be sunny and this is June. A few inexperienced runners will no doubt turn up to the start lines with jackets and extra layers because they will cold. The key though is once each race starts, it will feel warm after 10 minutes.

The main thing is to wear single layer singlet or dry fit top with shorts. Consider sun screen and a hat for protection. Don't overdress.

If you feel a bit cold on the start line then you have the right amount of clothing for a race.

Times... As per usual with Cork, it's the wrong time of year for running fast times in a marathon. Be mindful that you may have to take on extra water and your times may be a bit slower than planned.