The race is very well organized. The start, finish, water stations everything was well executed. There were no staffing or similar problems anywhere. Indeed, everyone associated with the race was incredibly friendly and helpful. I ran the full with two others and two people in my group ran the half. My group had all variety of runners, slow fast in between. All had a great time. As to the course, the official description is a bit misleading. It says it is a generally flat course. True for the first half. Not for the second half. None of the hills are that big. They just keep coming! If you are looking to PR there are better races. That said, you will get a course that goes through some very scenic areas, especially in the first half of the race. Plus, if you like having people cheer you on, there is no shortage of them in Cork! One thing to consider is the way the half and full marathons interact. The half starts an hour and forty-five after the full and joins it at about the full's 15 mile mark. It gets really crowded! Many of the streets are not that wide. You will suddenly find yourself with relatively little running room and weaving through the slower half marathon runners. If you are trying for a BQ or PR the midway congestion is likely to be an issue. One last caution. The official race hotel was The River Lee Hotel. It is a very nice hotel. However, it is about a mile from the start and finish. There are many hotels that are closer and I would recommend booking one of them if you are from out of town.

Hot and very humid this year with some poor course marking/lack of marshals at critical points which let the overall good organisation down this year. Some inconsistent pacers and some good ones this year.

The Cork Marathon this year was run in (at times) torrential rain, with temperatures at around 8 Degrees C, and with strong winds buffeting the runners. As a result this race was a like a wrestling match with runners battling the elements! The course itself would have been wonderful in nice early summer weather. The first 16 miles are in a large loop taking you across the estuary and back into Cork. Once back in Cork the course takes you through various neighbourhoods before circling through the countryside back into the town centre. Due to the weather there were almost no spectators during the first loop but back into town the (thin) crowds were wonderfully enthusiastic. At around mile 16 the half marathon joins the race. Initially I found this terribly annoying - because the Half starts 1.5 hours later... So just as you start to wear down all these fresh runners come whizzing past! However, around Mile 22 this turned into a blessing in disguise: since your bib has a different colour people can easily distinguish you from the Halfers! I was encouraged by loads of spectators and other (Half Marathon) runners. Your bib is personalized and I have to say I have never heard so many people call out my name in encouragement! About 1000 people took part in the Full race, and I would estimate another 5000 in the Half. As with most smaller races picking up your bib was easy. Turning up before the race was just as convenient. There are a number of good hotels right in the city centre, meaning I could leave my hotel 15 minutes before the start! During the race they only provide water (albeit in handy little 250 ml bottles) and only on 3 occasions is an isotonic sport drink available. There are no gels, bananas or energy bars available... Previous reviews have commented the race is hilly - I did not think so. There are one or two climbs around the 22 mile mark but nothing to really test you. Other reviewers have stated it was easy to get a late check-out. Not so in my case with the Clarion Hotel. They insisted on a 09:00 check-out. However, they did store my luggage and allowed me to take a shower at their health club free of charge afterwards! All in all a nice race - great spectators but with the lack of amenities on the course I consider this race back to basics! The rough, exceptional weather did have its charm (and made me feel hard-core) but if the weather had been softer this would have been an awesome experience!