The first half is nice out to UL with a nice river path back into the city. From half way it got tough for me. The half marathon runners flooded the course really throwing you off your stride which didn't thin out for at least 4/5 miles. The second half is hilly and into housing estates. The finish is nice but the lack of organisation is shocking compared to other city marathons. No massage or proper rest areas. You had to walk at least 800 meters through huge crowded areas of people drinking on the street to get to your bag. A lot of the areas were blocked off and no proper directions to the bagging areas which was right by a 10k start which went just as the marathon ended. Officials seem to have no knowledge of where to go or able to help. The expo is also very poor no vendors, miles outside the city and they ran out of t-shirts. How can you run out of t-shirts when you know how many entered the race? Seriously guys you can do better. I love Limerick and the charity aspect is great but too many events on one course and the organisation is shocking. Sorry.

Really enjoyed this marathon! The course was very varied; the bit around the university campus was very scenic and serene, and the latter segment around the leafy suburbs was fun. The bit after the half way point is reasonably hilly! Good support from locals on the 2nd half of the race. The start point was in a lovely Georgian square and was very easy to get to and very relaxed. There were lots of water stations (incl. Lucozade) and toilets all along the course, and loads of volunteers along the route. The course starts and finishes in the city centre and goes back through it twice during the course, so it's a great course for spectators, and there are lot of hotels within walking distance, as well as easy parking and public transport. The atmosphere around the city was really great. It would be great to have more info (regarding logistics) on the website (the race instructions were helpful but were only issued 5 days in advance), and bib pick up in the city centre would be great (though I had the bib posted out to me anyway). Overall I'd recommend it and I'd definitely do it again.

I was expecting a little more than what this race had to offer. Although, the main point of this run was charity. I think the organizers were more focused on that aspect of the run, not the actual run itself. Packet pick up was not so great. Very little parking so it was difficult getting in and out. I think they did well managing traffic given the set up. It was quick in and out. No expo, no vendors. I was hoping for something. The course was ok, very nice in some areas and blah in others. There were a few out and back points which I find annoying. Also, I think they should have routed us by the castle if they put it on the finishers medal. Course was relatively flat on the first half but there were some hills towards the end. Aid stations were good, I liked the tiny water bottles instead of cups. I was able to carry one a long and sip frequently. Then get another once I was out. I didn't see a lot of food at the aid stations, but the spectators were giving so much out I wasn't even looking. The half marathoner's and 10k runners were blended midway through the course so we could all finish at the same time. Although this thinned out the start line, it was a lot of foot traffic mid race. I found myself trying to get around groups of walkers and slow runners mid race. They could have had them run a separate lane for their first two miles to spread it out a little. Spectators were scattered thru the entire race. It thinned out in a few places, but I was pleasantly surprised by how many people came out. Finishing area was ok, plenty of food but few choices. Finisher medal was very nice. There was a massive crowd getting out of the finishing area, made it hard to find my party coming out.