I have read through some of the comments for the 2006 marathon and would like to add my own. I went to KY to see another place and do another marathon. I was a little hesitant about doing the full when the mini is so popular. But I am glad that I did the full! I had a great time. I was able to run with a friend for the whole race and keep her from bowing out at the halfway point. I was anticipating a hard time with the number of people prerace and for the first 12 miles, but really have little to complain about with that. I was able to always get to a water/powerade station even with the amount of people for the first half. I found the extra aide stations in the first half to be an added bonus with fruit galore. I would have liked to see a few of the oranges in the second half, but I dont believe that they were course sanctioned and just the kind people that were supporting the event. I thought that the crowds were great even at 7:30am. I was prepared for the drop in runners and spectators for the second half, but did not have any complaints for this as well. I found the pace groups to be great even if I was a little ambitious with my pace thoughts prerace. I loved the parks, I didnt realize there were so many trees there. I thought that running through Churchill downs was at a great time in the race and was a lot of fun to hear the announcer on the speakers. I found the personalization that the race directors took out on the course was great. I actually had one guy ask me by name how I was doing around mile 18. I found it rather easy to find a decent hotel just by looking up the course map online and then having a map where the hotels were. Basically if you stay downtown anywhere you are going to be in a great place for the finish. I would suggest staying over for Sat. night instead of trying to leave Sat. It is pre Derby week there and so the hotels book fast, there are tons of things to do all week if you stay.

I think that powerade is a great sports drink and I am glad that this race has yet to switch to gatorade endurance. I find that to be rather hard to swallow when running and way too salty for my taste. I would have liked to get the 2 tickets for Churchill downs that was advertised, but since it was only $2.00 for someone to go with us it was not a big deal.

All in all I would highly suggest this race and have told my fellow running buddies at home that this should be on their list of races to run. Thank you for the great time!

This was a very well organized race. Very nice course - especially for the 1/2 marathoners. It was a nice touch swinging into IN over the bridge. Basically all asphalt, which is nice. Decent expo. It does feel like after the split, you're by yourself. Emphasis is definitely on the 1/2 marathon, but hey, that's ok. Kudos to the LPD and all of the volunteers. They did a great job.

Negatives:
Shirt was pretty lame. After race, not much to snack on. I think you had to pay for real food, which I thought was a little ridiculous - after paying to get in the race and pumping $$$ into the local economy. Bathrooms at the start could've been better.

Overall, though, a very nice experience. Probably one of the better choices for KY, if you're into the 50-state thing.

I have no complaints about this one; not even the hills. Thank God for the rain... it cooled things off. The support from Louisville was great in spite of the weather. Thanks to all of them for coming out to cheer us on. Crossing the bridge around mile 22 and running into Indiana was one of the great highlights, along with Churchill Downs. It's very doubtful I would have gotten the chance to be inside the Kentucky Derby otherwise.

This was my 1st KY Derby Marathon and overall I thought it was a nice course and well organized.

After running Knoxville last month, this course seemed extremely flat to me. There were hills in the parks, but there seemed to be more declines than inclines. I set a PR and beat my Knoxville time by over 15 minutes.

Police and volunteer support were excellent. Even with the weather, crowd support was also really good, especially on the first half, but not bad for the back half either. Lots of music, which helps me a lot.

Water bottles were nice for grab and go, but there was a lot of waste. After the first water stop, my husband and I started sharing a bottle and that worked much better. Would be nice if they handed out gels at a couple of stops, but the jelly beans at 2 stops, and oranges/bananas were plentiful. There was plenty of food at the finish, even though we finished in just under 5 hours.

My biggest complaint for the organizers would be to have more signs posted at start and finish for the people who have never done this race before. We took a bus from downtown - very easy - but after being dropped off, we wandered around for 20 minutes looking for the bag checkm which was at the front of the start line. People up there were wandering around looking for porta-johns, which were back where the busses had dropped us off. At the finish, we wandered around yet again looking for our bag and finally had to ask a racer where he got his. I was also disappointed to see that when we found our bag, it was lying on a table under a tent with a few others, totally unattended.

Again, we had a great time and I would recommend this to 1st-timers as well as old pros. Maybe if they would have a finisher's shirt for the full marathon or something special, it would entice more people to try the full and take the focus off the mini.

This was my first KDF Marathon and I really enjoyed it! The course was great. Challenging hills in the two city parks, Churchill Downs was exciting to run through (not to mention to see the horses running too) and I really enjoyed the 2nd Street bridge over the Ohio River into Indiana.

I traveled from out of town and stayed at the host hotel (Galt House). The only negative about the whole race weekend was that our check-out time was at noon. The race started at 7:30 a.m. and that did not allow runners who were slower than 3:30 to get back into the hotel room to clean up after the race. The hotel did not allow any late check-outs, even for marathoners.

Outside of that, the race is great to run the first half with the half-marathoners and then break away from them at the 12-mile mark. The fans made all of us who split to run the marathon feel great as they cheered us on. Fan support was great, the police did a SUPERB job with traffic and all aid stations were awesome! Keep handing out those water bottles instead of cups.

Way to go KDF Marathon, I really enjoyed your race and I know other runners will enjoy it again next year. This is a great race to do, so consider it for one of your next spring marathons.

I made the 6+ hour drive from Michigan to run this, and I am glad I made the trip. The expo was kind of small (I thought it would be much larger), but the pasta dinner that night was good. Catching the buses in the morning to the start line went smoothly. I was actually glad there was a light rain through most of the race, as it kept the temperatures down. The race started on time and it didn't take too long to get to the start line. The first 12 miles are crowded with a lot of 1/2 marathoners, but not so much that this slowed you down. There were a lot of hills in both parks, but I didn't mind, as it lets your legs use some different muscles. I enjoyed the challenge of the hills. The run through Churchill Downs was great - my favorite part of the race. Everyone was so quiet running this section; we were all soaking in the history and atmosphere of the track.

At mile 12, I was warned that when the 1/2 marathon turned off the crowds would be sparse, but it did feel like I made a wrong turn. Not many spectators but the volunteers and spectators that were there were great. Going over the bridge towards near the end was challenging. The finish line went smoothly, lots of bagels, bananas, etc. The medals were kind of disappointing - kind of small and not very colorful. But overall, I really enjoyed the race and set a PR by over 5 minutes.

You don't need to enter CD. I really couldn't see anything. On a rainy day a LOT of the wonderful people of Louisville came out. (I did the half.)

This was my 9th marathon and first Derby Marathon. The Louisville Police Department did an outstanding job blocking off roads, giving encouragement to the runners, and monitoring the course. You won't find better protection for runners at your mega marathons.

Spectators were very enthusiastic and stood out in the rain to support the runners.

Some hills on the course, especially in miles 3-5 and 15-18, but they were not too tough. The big negative of the course is having to cross the 2nd Street Bridge at 22 miles. The bridge has a loooong incline, but the worst part is that it is made of concrete, so my legs definitely felt that.

The finish is in the heart of Louisville with great crowd support. Just watch out for walkers finishing up the half marathon, or you may literally run into one the last 600 meters.

This marathon is a keeper. For 50-stater wannabes, this is the Kentucky marathon for you.

I have run several marathons before this, and 2 KY Derby Mini-Marathons. I had held off running the KY Derby Marathon because so many people run the mini, and so few run the full marathon. However, the route now goes through Churchill Downs, and with the out-and-back into southern Indiana, I gave it a try. I was very pleased with the route, and I never felt alone, even after the mini-runners split off around mile 12. There was never a lack of support, and the police did a great job of keeping the cars away. The organizers had several EMS riding on bicycles that kept a constant check on us.

The new course was a winner!!! PR'ed by 8 minutes even with the bridge at the end. It's nice to have the descent off the bridge at mile 24.5. Have run all the the KDF Marathons and will continue to do so as long as I can!!!