Started the 2012 racing season in Louisville and was fired up going into the race. Overall it was OK but there was so much that could have been done better.

The Good: The course was laid out well and the stretch through Churchill Downs was a nice touch. I loved the hills in the park as they added some needed variety. The medal is nice. The city support was plentiful when I rolled through...thanks Louisville PD!

The Bad: The expo was a crowded serpentine and too much space was given to the pasta dinner. They had too many reserved tables that went unused at the dinner so us non-special folks had to sit so far back you couldn't hear the speaker. I ate and left. The start area was very crowded and I never found porta-johns...saw many people using alleys and trees. On the course, they used non-flexible plastic cups which were hard to drink out of...give me paper I can pinch any day (or use straws like Lincoln NE).

The Ugly: The finish area was an afterthought. You got your medal, a bottle of water and your photo...you didn't find bagels/bananas unless you wandered around and these were open to the public who were obviously enjoying the fruits of my labor. No more drinks after that initial water bottle. No massage tables to be seen (I heard they were there but you had to make reservations...really?) The free beer was good if you didn't mind the walk. Bottom Line: I felt like I was at a carnival game: 'Thanks for playing...now clear out.'

The space is there for a well-organized finish area. The event has the potential to be so much more...I don't think I'll go back to find out though.

After reading the comments from past years, I went into this marathon with low expectations. Based on the comments, I was really concerned about the hills. For the most part, the course is pretty flat, with the exception of going through the park (miles 10-14) and then at the end (miles 22-24). At the park, sure there were hills, but it was very shaded and there were some good downhills as well that allowed you some time to recover. The other main concern was merging back in with the half marathoners for the later part of the race. I did not experience any problems with them getting in my way and I appreciated the added support from the crowd and 1/2 marathoners. In many marathons, this is when there is no crowd support to be found. The expo was a little weak, but definitely acceptable for the size of race. Overall I would highly recommend!

The course was lovely for a big city race as long as you prepare for the hills and running through the Derby area was a plus. There were too few port a pots until mile 8. The clear cups with the blue stripes were confusing- at a distance it was difficult to tell if water or blue Powerade was in the cups. This was confounded by having water 1st at some stops and Powerade 1st at others. I echo comments from others about the food. I am a mid pack marathoner and there was no Powerade left and only bagels and bananas at the end.
Finally, my 'small' shirt was the size of a men's medium.

1. Full /half merge not a problem this year.
2. I took a little over 4 hrs for marathon. Not great, not terrible. Only bananas, bagels, water at finish. Get a separate line or area for marathoners. I saw half finishers walking down the street w/ enough snacks to feed their families.
4. Last 10k is brutal. Several tough hills.

I ran the Derby Marathon in 2012 and then the next week did Flying Pig in Cincinatti. What a stark contrast. The Pig knows what they are doing, and KDF obviously doesn't. The course was good. I live in Louisville, so I trained on all the hills. Water stops were good and plentiful. STarting line was CROWDED. Why are they bunching you up down Main St. You've got the whole road, spread people out. The Finish line, NOTHING TO EAT!! I just ran 26 miles and literally there was nothing at the finish line. At Cincy they had yogurt, chips, cookies, plenty of water gatorade. At Derby, I was offered a half cup of water. Why don't you guys just stick with the Mini. The marathon is a joke. Just add 2000 more people to the mini.

I discovered the Marathon Guide ratings in 2006 and have been posting ever since; I think this is the first time I've given 5 stars all around. Is it the best course I've ever been on? No. Best organization? Not really. Best spectators? Probably not. But it was pretty darn close on all three. And given some of the postings from previous years, I went in with rather low expectations.

It is not a PR course, at least for this flatlander who didn't do much hill training. But it goes through some great neighborhoods. Churchill Downs, with horses out on training runs, was a treat. Iroquois Park, despite the mega hills that took a lot out of me, was quite pretty. And the University of Louisville was just good fun.

I had no problems with half-marathon walkers, apparently a big issue previously. They stayed on their side and we stayed on ours, other than the water stops.

All in all, a good time. I recommend this race.

This was my third marathon and I was impressed. The course was nice and the crowds were supportive. There were more spectators on the back quarter of the run than I had expected. For me the highlight was Iroquois Park (despite that merciless incline!) it was unreal gorgeous. The organizers did well to separate the half-folks where our courses overlapped, where I'd read it to be an issue in the past. I was only disappointed that the food was picked over at the end. Only bananas and cheap bagels. For the cost, I had hoped for more. The medals and shirts were high quality though. I loved the hometown pride, Louisville did not disappoint.

Beautiful course! Running through Churchill Downs was the highlight. Good support and plenty of water/Power Bar shots along the marathon route. The second section of hills around mile marker 23 was harder than I planned for. At the finish the food was limited and the chocolate milk that was promised was no where to be found.
If I do this run again, I would probably just do the half.

I have run 50 marathons in 12 years of distance running and I accomplished a PR at the 2012 KYD Marathon, at the age of 50. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn  I'm saying it to give credit to the race organizers. The long and short of it is that they have gotten enough right with this race that if you put your work in you can PR here. Yes no race is perfect and I could dwell on some negatives but it would unfairly detract from this simple fact  this is a great place to shoot for a PR. Of course no guarantees you will do it, but the course/organizers will not let you down. ... On one specific problem area (in past years)  I believe they must have taken some adequate steps to address the problems with the marathon runners re-joining the half-marathon runners late in the race because I experienced absolutely no traffic problems that seem to have plagued prior races.

Louisville is a very nice mid sized city of about 500,000 residents. It is small enough that it is easy getting around and large enough that it has many other interesting features outside the actual running events. I recommend a tour of the Louisville Slugger Museum and factory tour. Running through Churchhill Downs, the Mecca of horse racing was a nice addition. There were only a few challenging hills despite Louisville being right on the Ohio River. Race and spectator support were adequate. It did seem a long way from mile 26 to the finish; but, I liked the slight downhill for what seemed like more than a mile at the end. Overall the organization put on a nice event and as always kudos to all the volunteers who allowed the runners to indulge themselves. I definitely recommend this event...especially for the 50 Staters. The event is easily driveable from metro Chicago at about 5 hours.