Both the 15 mile Maxi-Marathon and the Half-Marathon start up near Molls Gap. For the first miles, you run downhill with views of the upper lakes of Killarney in the valley below with the mountains in the background.
In parts, the road flattens out but it soon starts dropping again.
As the road is closed, it is the only chance to run on this twisting course which would be normally be busy with traffic. Running past the many lakes and open woodland, it makes a nice contrast from the usual type of race. It is a really scenic route and it would be a great way for any tourist to see the countryside from a unique viewpoint.
Around the 9-10 mile mark, you reach the end of the downhill running and you turn off left into the park proper with narrow little tracks....not really an issue as the field was well thinned out by this stage. There were some small climbs here, most very short but certainly not as easy as the downhill running of the previous few miles.
As you can see from the photo above, this will be the type of course that most of the 10k runners will run on. As you get near the finish, the Maxi runners will put in a small extra loop while the Half and 10k runners will head towards the finish.
A really nice place for a run........weather permitting! The current forecast is.......Saturday will be cool, fresh, brighter day with a mixture of cloudy periods and sunny spells.
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