The marathon is made up of two laps of the half marathon route. You may be lulled into a false sense of security when you start this race as you head out into Sunnyside and onward to Hatfield for the going is relatively easy. Before you have even hit the five-kilometre marker you will begin to feel the bite that lies in this route, brace yourself for the hard work goes on for over ten kilometres. It is not all bad news however; the finish is a comfortable two kilometre downhill canter to the end. Knowing the route ahead of you is sometimes an advantage, many times a disadvantage. On the second lap you know that the hard yards will be played out on the testing part of the route so take it easy on the first lap. You also know the last stretch is relatively easy but there is also a story to tell. There is an 800 metre sting as you take the final turn from Florence Ribeiro into Totius, it is felt on the first lap and it becomes the devil on the second. (Profile and route by kind courtesy of Lennard van Wyk.)