Visiting runners negotiate the ups and downs of the capital's streets

More than 5,000 runners travelled from over 50 nations to compete in the Dublin City Marathon.

Britain supplied the largest contingent of more than 2,000 athletes while over 1,000 participants travelled from the United States.

Fáilte Ireland estimated that the event generated over €10 million for the economy, with many visitors taking a holiday around the event.

Yesterday's event compared favourably with other marathons, according to some overseas competitors.

However, previous events attracted some negative criticism from participants who contributed to Internet discussion forums on marathon venues.

A Washington runner wrote that he had always wanted to run the Dublin marathon but would never set foot in the city again after last year's experience.

"I have never experienced and will not forget the sight of children throwing stones at the runners around the 16-mile mark," he wrote. "At another part, I saw a car being burnt out." He almost cancelled the remainder of his visit because of the "certain menace in the air" on the streets of Dublin but said he was glad he didn't as the Irish welcome was alive and well outside the city.

A New York runner wrote about children trying to give wrong directions to runners, spraying water in their faces and mooning at volunteers. "I think the Garda spent more time chasing them down than they did looking after the runners."

Yesterday, overseas competitors appeared to be happier with this year's event, though there were some gripes.

Kenny Herriot from Scotland won the wheelchair event but had been worried that the potholes and uneven surfaces might catapult him out of his wheelchair. "Some of the road surfaces were unbelievable," he said. "I hit a couple of bumps and all I could do was pray that I didn't burst a tyre."

Aymeric Mesa-Juan from France was temporarily disconcerted when he discovered that the distance was marked in miles, not kilometres. "That was difficult because I had practised in kilometres and I did not know how fast I was going when it was in miles," he said.

Julia Myatt from Stoke-on-Trent was delighted with her performance, having cut 10 minutes off her personal best. "It was a good course, not too flat or too easy," she said.

For spectator Dympna Byrne, the day could not be faulted. She travelled from Manchester to see her son Daniel competing to raise funds for autistic children. "Oh, it's absolutely marvellous. I'm on a high myself," she said.