May 3, 2024
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Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 362 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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F. D. from Cleveland area
(5/4/2015)
 "Mostly flat yes, exept Iroquois park..." (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Parking, expo, pasta dinner, race, medal, overall great job Louisville. Post race food: come on you, can do better than a banana, sun chip bag, plain bagel, and milk chocolate. Loved the giant bell you hit if you ran a PR. And 4 hours of running in the rain leave great memories! Churchill down part was great too, I will probably come back. | |
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c. w. from Pottstown, PA
(5/2/2015)
"race geared for half marathoners" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 There are 2 well reviewed marathons in KY (Kentucky Derby and the Hatfield and McCoy). This race gives you a tour of Louisville which is a small city. The course is geared for the half-marathon with 2 loops added on for the full marathon. Besides a 4 mile loop in Iroquois park, the course is fairly level. Considering the rain, the fan turn out was pretty good. I would recommend staying on the south side of the city with all of the work currently taking place on the interstates on the North side. The expo was a bit small but had the essentials. The post race food was okay but did carry chocolate milk. The organizer did send out several e-mail updates before the race and there was no talk of cancelling the race even with the forecast of thunderstorms. | |
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J. D. from Chicago, USA
(5/1/2015)
 "Experience Louisville, worth the trip" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Unexpected wonderful volunteer help in all aspects of this marathon, considering the rainy weather conditions. Thank you! Churchill downs was a great highlight to the course. Saw the jumbotron going with encouraging messages to the runners. Maybe have the race live up on screen? Only had 2 'issues' and one has no control. Be prepared for traffic with major road and bridge construction. However, I don't understand if your going to use a graded corral system to control 13,000 runners, how can you have walkers in corral A and B? Have run larger marathons and understand a tight group early on, but people around me were complaining and running on sidewalks, etc to weave around walkers- in groups. Clean up the traffic jams, auto and people and you have a great marathon experience with solid organization in all aspects. Enjoy. | |
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Mike Weaver from Carrollton, GA
(4/29/2015)
 "Very Nice Run for the Roses!" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a well organized, enjoyable race despite the rainy weather. The run through Churchill Downs was amazing. Number pickup was a snap, host hotel was great, and plenty of places to eat within walking distance. It's a great course with only a few hills worth remembering (mostly in Iroquois Park), and great fan support. Gels, bananas, and Powerade throughout the course. Well worth the drive for me! | |
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C. H. from Pennsylvania
(4/27/2015)
"Great first marathon experience" (about: 2015)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I had a great time at the Derby Festival Marathon this past weekend. The course was relatively flat, except for the park around miles 11-15 which was mostly rolling hills throughout. Running through the infield of Churchill Downs was fun. It was very crowded until after Churchill Downs which was where the half and full marathons split up. The crowd was still decent, despite the pouring rain, and there were plentiful water stops along the way. A little disappointed with the food selection post-race, but overall a great experience. The shirt and hat included in the gift bag were very nice and I was quite pleased with the finishers medal. | |
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C. J. from Charlotte, NC
(4/27/2015)
"Great Half Marathon" (about: 2015)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I drove up from Charlotte, NC to run the 2015 KY Derby half-marathon. Despite the rainy weather, this was a FANTASTIC event. I wish to thank the City of Louisville, the race director and especially ALL of the INCREDIBLE, SUPPORTIVE VOLUNTEERS AND FANS who stood in the pouring rain to support us and cheer us on. It was a wonderful event that took us through old Louisville with the beautiful dogwood trees lining the streets, and around Churchill Downs. What a treat to see the KY Derby contenders warming up on the track as we ran around the infield! Sweet, sweet, sweet! Easy packet pick-up, easy downtown parking. Loved it! Thank you for your hospitality Louisville!! | |
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C. J. from Austin, TX
(4/26/2015)
"Fun, well-organized race" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 These comments refer to the 2015 marathon: This was my 17th marathon and my first time to run Louisville. I found it to be a well-organized, fun race. The weather was not ideal; the forecasted rain held off until about 1 1/2 hours into it, but then the sky opened up and we got drenched. The crowds and volunteers remained enthusiastic despite the rain. A few general observations: - The course is basically flat except for the section in Iriquois Park, roughly miles 11 - 14. The first hill in the park is a doozy, every bit as steep and long as it looks in the course elevation profile. Once you're out of the park it's pretty easy going. - The loop through Churchill Downs was pretty cool; there were horses out being worked even in the rainy weather. - There are some long out-and-back sections on the course where you get to see the runners ahead of (and behind) you. That's kind of neat, but on the other had you spend a lot of time running up and down the same stretch of road. - They did a great job of separating the HM and Marathon finishers so that you don't have to worry about weaving around walkers. - The finishing area in the park next to the carnival/fair was nice, but unfortunately it was a bit of a mudhole. I was too wet and cold to hang around for long. - The expo, medal, and race shirt were ok, nothing spectacular. (You have to look pretty hard to find anything on the shirt to indicate that it's from this race. Hint: There is a small race logo on the back). Overall, I very much enjoyed this race. I recommend it for anyone who wants to cross Kentucky off of their list. | |
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A. H. from Austin, TX
(6/2/2014)
"Pleasantly surprised" (about: 2014)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I came into this marathon with fairly low expectationsI did not expect such a pleasant race. The course was fantastic; the hills in Iroquois Park in the middle weren't as bad as I thought they'd be (and I'm glad they came at mile 12 instead of something like 22!). The city of Louisville was pretty gorgeous to run through (even some of the blighty-er areas). The support from the fans/volunteers was quite solid, since I never really felt that there was a lack of refueling options from either water stops or kindly fans offering orange slices. I'd totally do this one again (after I get in a few other must-dos on my list!) | |
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A. M. from Virginia
(5/19/2014)
"Overall, worth the trip to Louisville" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 12th marathon and my 11th state. I would recommend this race as a great option for 50 staters, for a non-Boston spring marathon option, and if travelling with family/friends and looking for a fun weekend trip. PROS - Great deal for the entry fee (way more 'bang for your buck' than a Rock n' Roll race) - Plenty of places to stay within walking distance of start/finish, and accommodations were reasonably priced - Race expo was easy to navigate, and it had pretty much anything you would want or need - No issues with getting into my starting corrall - Mostly flat course, and the hills in the park were not that bad - Fun to run through Churchill Downs (that was my fastest mile!) - Plenty of water, sports drink, and gels along the course - Not a ton of spectators, but those who were out there were sprited (as were all the volunteers!) - Nice finisher's medal - Running cap was a nice added bonus - Saturday race! Nice to enjoy all the local food, sights, and entertainment with my husband after the race CONS - Lonely after Churchill Downs when the half marathon split from the full (it is what it is, that wouldn't deter me from running this race again) - Orange peels all over the marathoners' side of the course on the way back toward the finish... the half marathoners would eat orange slices provided, and then just toss them in the path of the marathoners, which was rather annoying and hazardous. I almost slipped on a few, and one almost hit me in the head when tossed by a half marathoner. The orange slices are not necessary, and should not be handed out next year if that is where they end up being tossed (into the path of other runners) - Post race food can be improved (how about some hot browns afterwards?!) - Hard to navigate post race area, need more colorful signs with bigger font to identify different locations (food, gear check, reunion area, etc.) - The Downtown Marriott was overrun by a huge group attending a K-12 'Lads to Leaders and Leaderettes' event, and they were VERY VERY LOUD (Obviously not something the marathon organizers can control, this is more of a 'heads up' to future participants) There is room for improvement, but overall I would say the organizers are on the right track. I would do the race again. | |
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J. E. from Missouri, USA
(4/25/2014)
"Well Organized and well done" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Loved the race, the course was tough in the middle as you ran the hills through the park. Awesome to run through the gates of Churchill Downs and it was very well organized. Just needed a few more port-a-pots spread out near the end of the race. Got a tech shirt and cap. |
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