The tale of the track - The Tralee International Marathon Route

Now that the Tralee Marathon is only days away, my thoughts drift to the course itself and what challenges I'll face on the day. There are a number of pitfalls throughout that will require patience and concentration to negotiate but overall the course has been less kind in years gone by.
The start of the marathon is, in my opinion, where most problems can and often do occur and the Tralee marathon route serves up a few challenges within the first few miles.
Firstly, the full and half are beginning at the same time which can add to the nerves, crowding and anticipation at the start as it potentially doubles the jostling for position that usually occurs at the start of a marathon. There is also the narrow path on the canal to negotiate after about 1/4 of  mile which is built to cater for at most three abreast but will have to cater for a lot more on the day. The second mile which goes from Blennerville to Cockleshell and returns to Lohercannon involves the worst surface of the route but this only lasts for about a mile so patience is key.
From here on out, with the exception of hills at Ballyvelly (about half a mile) and the long pull of Caherslee, the road to the Spa and a sharp uphill mount at the Kerries the course is good surface wise and also has long stretches of flat as well as the odd nice downhill thrown in for good measure.
A mental speed bump to overcome also however is that this route will have to be done twice, which is never easy psychologically but with a postive attitude, patience at key points and a bit of endurance and strength throughout, the last mile and victory lap to the Tralee Wetlands will make all the hard training worth it!