Thousands of runners who have entered a lottery to enter next year’s KBC Dublin City Marathon face an anxious wait to see if they have secured a place for the event.

In so many ways, this was a day of celebration. New stars emerged for Irish marathon running in Stephen Scullion and Aoife Cooke, home-grown heroes of what was a glorious festival of celebratory suffering on the streets of the capital.

“Everything does happen for a reason,” says Ann-Marie McGlynn, and when you trace the path of the 39-year-old’s career, it’s hard to disagree.