I did a 6 lap marathon with a half incorporated of similar but slightly smaller size & actually found it helped having people running at different speeds to chase down & focus on & also found that people soon got very stretched out so I doubt congestion will be a major problem (Well hope not anyway)
Not sure its as tough as some mentioned but the hardest I have done is The Yorkshire Wolds Way Half, a 3.5 mile climb at mile 3 is sapping & the downhill is hard too as the ground is so uneven!
You can get 12 week marathon training plans starting virtually from scratch so don't panic, the key is slow increases in your long run. Speed work & hill work are also important, I find some long slow multi terrain races are a good pre taper prep.