This was my fifth FM and the best in terms of course. Old Louisville, UofL campus, Churchill Downs, Iroquois Park, the Highlands, it's a great tour of the city! The weather was perfect, that helped me get a PR by 5 minutes.

Two things that aren't a big deal to me, but may be a big deal to some folks: crowd support and finisher medal. Not much crowd, but a great/heavy medal. If I had a negative, it was just the fact that I had to walk three blocks to actually be 'out' of the finishers' area. I needed to get to my car pretty quickly after the race, and I was parked very close, but the area was pretty well fenced off. Of course, some of that may have been extra post-Boston security.

It's my first marathon that I would love to run again!

Loved the course for its beauty. Interesting downtown, you run a loop through Churchill Downs infield with peeks at horses working out, then a hilly but scenic park at the halfway point, then more lovely neighborhoods. Sure there are a couple of not-great neighborhoods, but hey they had some friendly folks out there and cheering just like everywhere else. Not super-fast because of the rolling halfway point and rolling miles 22 - 24-ish (tough at that point!). Sparse but friendly spectators, if you like crowds you'll be disappointed, especially at the finish. My only beef was I've never seen such a mess at waterstops, although this was only through the first 8 mi (the half marathoners split off after Churchill Downs). I didn't take any fluids until mile 10 (not a big deal, it was cool and cloudy). This was because runners had to come to a complete stop and fill their own cups, the poor volunteers were simply overwhelmed. There were plenty of tables and cups, just seemed like a few more volunteers would do the trick. I know you can do this, Louisville! I would recommend this one, there's loads to do in the area, it's beautiful, it's not expensive, but maybe bring some water for those first few miles just in case it's warm.

So most comments seem to be from the marathoners who dog the mini runners. I'm sorry but 13.1 miles is nothing to balk at. Your 26 is much longer yes we all get it. We deserved food just as you did. I thought the course was lovely and scenic. Not nearly as hilly as the elevation chart seemed. The start was over crowded and the course got crowded much of the way but also made you feel a part of something and together with others. Finish was frustrating in that it was hard to see how to get back to the parking garage. Also no water bottles at the end just small cups of water. Wish there were oranges at the finish. They had them on the course which was nice. Churchill downs portion was priceless. Great race. Recommend it!

I ran the full marathon. After reading the comments from prior years, I was concerned, but in 2013, all problems were addressed.

1. The start line is more organized with port-o-potties.
2. Corral system did help in keeping congestion down.
3. Support throughout the course was excellent. Plenty of water, Gatorade and gel.
4. Running through Churchill Downs was awesome...can see the horses running.
5. Course safety was excellent. Most of the roads were completely closed and intersections that were not were patrolled well.
6. Finish line was great. Plenty of water, Gatorade, chips, fruit, etc.
7. Medal and shirt were awesome!
8. Expo was well organized.
9. This is a Saturday race, making it difficult for hotels to give late checkout, but I did call the YMCA (within one block of the Marriott) and learned that they have $10.00 day passes allowing you to use the facilities and shower before heading home. Parking is only $1.00 for three hours, so for $11.00 total, you can relax a bit and shower before heading home.

Let's start with the expo. I asked where along the course gels would be given out. I was directed to 'the course map' which I'd previously inspected to no avail, but considered I had missed the info the first time. But it wasn't there. While looking for the non-existent info on the map I another volunteer came up and asked if I had any questions. I asked the same question. He didn't know, but said I should carry my own since you can't rely on the gels to be given out where they're supposed to be, wherever that is. Later, in the hotel room I found written material in the goody bag about the course, etc that said gels would be at miles 18 and 22. Good enough, but on the marathon website I found a response to someone's email indicating they'd be at 10, 16, and 22 for the marathoners. If there were any at 16 or 18 neither me or anyone else in the pace group saw them. At 22 I got one, but others didn't because I think there was only one person handing them out. I was running with a group of 4 at this point. The hydration stations failed. I normally hydrate at every other station but here the cups had maybe an inch of fluid, so I had to try to drink at every one or get two drinks per station even. There were too few volunteers. I was running with a small group of 6-8 initially after the half split off and it was chaos. I can't imagine what those running in a larger pack experienced. Also there didn't seem to be any standardization of water at the first table and powered at the second.
Backing up to pre-race. We approached from the direction the race went and were in A corral. The bag check was at the complete tail end of the start. We couldn't get there due to the throng of people, so we gave our bags to a friend who wasn't running to check for us. The bag check truck was gone by the time he got there. Why I don't know, it was going to be 2 1/2hrs before anyone finished. Our friends who did make it to the bag check said it was chaos, with only 4 volunteers taking bags.
One friend cramps so bad that he pulled out at mile 20 where the half and full split again he walked it in the last 2 miles on the half course but didn't cross the finish line because he didn't want to get a time that wasn't legitimate, so he jumped the rail. But, he still wanted to get into the finishers area to get some fluids, and get his checked bag, after all, he still covered 22 miles. Get this, he wasn't allowed into the finishers area by the gate staff even though he had a bib on and everything! Really?
The organizers need to step up their game or fewer marathoners will show up till this goes back to only a half marathon event.

Today I ran my 36th Mini. You know I must love it to keep coming back, but the organization seems to get worse each year. The convention center has always been open in the past for rest rooms and shelter before the start and after the finish. Today the rest room areas were locked. Big disappointment. I much preferred the finish line up where it used to be. I live 85 miles away and drive in on race day. Having to make a special trip to pick up my bib is a major inconvenience and expense. If a group of us could send our email/ID with one person that would be a great help. What's up with the lack of water at the finish? I agree with the comments I read after the race. Forget the Marathon unless you can figure out how to do a better job. In 36 years this is my first letter of complaint and I'd like to know that someone actually reads it. Also, the results page is pitiful compared to the past. I have typed in my name and the name of many of my friends who ran and get no results. In the past being able to search the results several different ways was excellent.

Loved this marathon! Great course, beautiful route...you even get to run through Churchill Downs! Hilly at the end, but a good challenge. I would definitely do this race again!

I ran this marathon because it was a reunion race for the 50 States Marathon Club. The race committee did an amazing job of welcoming us and being hospitable towards the club; thank you!!

Louisville was a great city and there are a lot of fun things to do. The race itself brought us through some interesting areas of the city and I loved going through Churchill Downs! That in and of itself was priceless.

The race is dominated by the half marathoners and the course was crowded until they broke off. The second half of the race is challenging but scenic.

I was VERY disappointed with the finish line area. No chocolate milk as promised and the only food I could find was a stale bagel. Some SERIOUS improvements need to be made here. I suspect the half marathoners took the food but I can't be sure.

On course the use of plastic cups was annoying. For a shorter race I don't mind plastic cups but for a big race like this it was annoying to run on the ones on the ground; plus, you can't pinch them to drink from.

I stayed at the Hampton Inn which was in walking distance of the expo, start, and finish. Highly recommend!

One final area of improvement: the race committee needs to do a better job of responding to Facebook posts. Some questions went unanswered for WEEKS and some never got answered. Don't have a FB page if you're not going to respond to people.

With some improvements this race could be an awesome one!

This was my 4th marathon and I set a PR of 9 minutes. I enjoyed the course, even the hilly portions. However, at the start, I could not find the port o johns anywhere! Then at the finish, I was given only 1/2 cup of water. They were out of water and all food. Nada. This is inexcusable. I finished in 4:36, which is slow, but still!

I LOVED Louisville! The people were wonderful, the hotel fabulous, the town really nice.

The marathon? What a bummer. Having run the Flying Pig a couple of years back, I agree with the writer who says that KDF and Flying Pig make stark contrasts.

Plus: As others mentioned, the loop through Churchill Downs was really keen! The hills in the park were tough but it sure was pretty. The town itself is worth the visit.

Negative:
1) Start was a nightmare. Too many people in too little space. Of the 30+ marathons I've run, this had to be the worst start I've seen.

2) Also, like others, I never found porta-potties. Seems they were all at the finish and, thus, behind us as we started. Not intuitive. Made the worst start ever even more hideous.

3) The expo was nice for the size of the marathon, but limited attention to key details was a problem. When I went to pick up my number the folks there said, 'We're out of safety pins (for the numbers).' They suggested I go buy some?! I'm from out of state so I asked where and they were 'sure there was a pharmacy somewhere nearby.' Not helpful the night before a race. If there was a pharmacy so close, someone on the race committee needed to go buy those pins themselves and make them available.

4) I agree that the finish was strange - I wandered around until I found bagels and bananas and that was that. Not much considering the size of the run.

5) The course wasn't very spectator friendly. That is, my husband and I were staying at a race hotel (inside the loop). He wasn't allowed out in his car due to barricades. Result? We mapped out where I'd see him at various mile markers but he couldn't get 'out' of the course. This should be taken into consideration -