I have done the half marathon for years here and decided to tackle the marathon this time. The expo was okay, though I did not try the pasta dinner. Great long-sleeve, technical shirt (that I can't wear until next winter)! The new course starting and ending downtown was awesome - no longer a logistical nightmare. Racers did not exactly start in their correct corrals, but I found my way to the middle and stayed there. The first nine miles were crowded but doable, with marathoners and half marathoners running together. Ran through Churchill downs - saw a few horses in the distance practicing - and then the half marathoners peeled off. The run through Iroquois park was HILLY! On the way back into the city we joined the half marathoners again - most were walkers. That was difficult to maneuver through even though they were just walking. Most were walking 4 or 5 abreast. We lost them again and the last few miles were HILLY! I was so happy to see the finish line. Post-race food was okay - bagels, chips, bananas, PowerAde, etc. I would do the race again.

Although the course was modified because of the recent storms, it was a nice course. I thought the hills between 21 and 24 miles (because of the placement in the marathon) were harder than the hills through the park. Fan support from 9 through 17 was limited if there was any at all. The only complaint that I have is that after running 18 miles the last thing I want to do is weave my way through the half-marathoners who you join back up with; the road should be split so that the marathoners have the right side of the road to run on unobstructed.

The mini bottles of water are awesome - I wish more marathons would do this.

I'm glad that I chose this as my KY marathon.

I liked most everything about this race:
The expo was big enough and pick-up was easy
T-shirt and medal were both first rate
The corral system worked well (too bad not everybody respected their assignment)
The course was interesting and fun- especially the tour of Churchill Downs and the miles in Iroquois Park
The water stations were very well stocked with gels and fluids. I especially liked the small water bottles
The citizens were very supportive
The finish area was fun.

However, the one thing I did not care for was the merge between the half and full. The street where the merge took place was wide. Why couldn't the halfers (the back of the pack as I was coming through with a 3:47 finish) be given their own section and the full runners given one lane of a four lane street. This 2 mile section was very frustrating.

However, the positives far outweigh the negatives and Louisville is a fun pretty, very friendly city. Very highly recommended.

The race course was expertly identified to provide shade and moderate downhills through much of the second half of the course. The spectators were excellent and motivated. It was a real cool experience to run through Churchill Downs.

My only concern is rejoining the race course with the walking half marathoners. It was dangerous because the marathoners had to constantly avoid the walkers. I hope nobody got hurt. Clearly, there need to be two lanes for running and walking in the future.

You can tell that this run is built for the 'mini'. When running the with the 'halfers' the course is well marked and has plenty of water etc. When running late in the full marathon course I don't thing I saw any mile markers after 20. Iroquois park was extremely hilly at the mid-point of the race which I was prepared for that but there was another big hill at about mile 23. That one was a killer at that point in the race. In their defense the race had to be rerouted due to high water at the river front. I don't know how that affected things. The volunteers were great. One thing that I thought was weird was they handed out bottled water at the water tables. That seemed to be wasteful to me and probably created more work for the clean-up crews.

The weather was great at the start but a little warm later in the race. Being the end of April it could have been a lot worse. The course took you through several neighborhoods and one park. The highlight of the course would be going thru Churchill Downs Horse Track. The water stops were well stocked with little water bottles and sports drink. The only negative thing I will say is the where the 'mini' marathoners and full marathoners share the course around the 17 mile point. The mini marathoners were walking and all over the street. Potentially a dangerous situation because you have marathoners running sub 8 miles mingling with walkers. I don't think it would have been too much trouble to station a few course workers directing them to the left side of road. The full and halves shared the road for what seemed to be 2-3 miles. The hills in mile 23 and 24 were a bit of a pace breaker, you just had to be smart running up them. The full marathoners mingled with the halves again for the last 200 yards. Again they were walking and all over the road. OKC has the same issue and they stationed course workers to keep the full and halves separated.

Louisville is a nice place to visit. I came with my New York City bias but was very impressed with downtown Louisville and all it has to offer. Restaurants, museums, and entertainment where all first class. You do not realize how nice Louisville is until you see it. The city was a very pleasant surprise to me. As for the race it was well run. The one big complaint that I have is the same as in a lot of other races where the 1/2 marathon has taken over. When the two courses join together the slow 1/2 marathoners make for moving road blocks that you have to keep running around. Please keep the 1/2 and whole separated so the marathoners do not have to keep running around the 1/2 marathoners. This race is really for those who do the 1/2. The half marathoners out number the whole by about 10 to one at least. The course is nice with just the right balance of hills and flats. The expo was small for a race this size. The spectators where great. I would recommend this race but beware of the 1/2 marathoners they rule this run.

This was my 6th Derby Mini and I really enjoyed the new course. I love that we now start and end downtown - the downtown feel and aesthetics are such a better way to start the race than the Kenwood/Iroquois area in years past. I also enjoyed that it is now a completely flat course. Support and spectators and always great in this race. I have always loved that they hand out bottled-water - I may not always be ready to walk during water stops and it's nice that I can hold onto my water and drink it when I'm ready. There are a few things I would make improvements on: 1st - the finish is WAY TOO CONGESTED. It's very confusing and it should be spread out down River Road more rather than curve around to the waterfront. 2nd - In no other race have the sponsor logo been plastered on the front of the shirt AND the medal. I don't particularly like advertising Wal-Mart on the front of my shirt, and especially the medal. I feel this cheapens the look of the medal.

First off, many thanks to all the volunteers that helped made this event possible. The Kentucky derby marathon is definite a great venue with a nice destination location with plenty to do. As for the marathon itself, the course was scenic and moderately difficult. The course provided plenty of hydration stations and all were manned by enthusiastic volunteers. I love that the Powerade drink was coming directly from a premixed bottle a provide a consistent mixed throughout the race...very unusual to see in a marathon. They also provide a great tech t-shirt and a nice medal. I was pleased to see that half marathoners were given a different shirt.

Over all, this event is well organized and I have one suggestion. If there is ONE thing that needs rectification, is where the half runners re-unite with the full runners (mile 8.5 & 17.5 respectively) around 3rd and Central Ave. It was a zoo...thousands of slow (mostly walking) half participants clogging the way for us full runners actually 'running' the course. I think this problem could EASILY be resolved by coning the road so that half folks stay to the left as they turn left onto 3rd and let the full runners stay on the right side of 3rd...just leaving 1/3 of the road coned just for the full runners would remedy this problem...

Other than that, great job and I would definitely recommend the race!

If this half/full marathon doesn't exceed 25,000 people within the next 2 years, I'll be surprised. The on-course organization was spectacular, most of the water was given out in mini water bottles which meant you didn't have to drink it all at once. The energy gels were handed out at the most perfect moment.

The course was very flat for the first half then VERY hilly for the second half. I've run the Taterbug 30, and believe the second half's hills were quite the challenge.
Whoever put a gi-normous hill at mile 22 should be placed into a mental hospital. Then the next one at 23 was uncaring!!

Seriously though, the course was there to challenge and challenged it did. The park at mile 11-15 was hilly but fun. The downhill finish was appreciated.
Congrats to all the people who kicked this course's butt, because it kicked mine!!