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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 291 to 301]
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David Lynch from Floyds Knobs, Indiana
(10/17/2005)
 "Mostly Flat, with a few minor hills at 5-6 & 15-18" (General Comments)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a mostly flat course that wanders through some of Louisville's historic neighborhoods, through the city's 2 major parks (that's where the hills are), and finishes downtown. This is a point to point course, and transportation is good between start and finish. I talked with one of the race coordinators this weekend at the Louisville Marathon. He said the course is changing this year to run through the Churchill Downs infield, and they are trying to get permitted to run across the 2nd street Bridge into Southern Indiana. That will add a whole new Dynamic to the race. The race is run parallel to a mini marathon, and spectatorship is huge intil you reach the 12 mile mark, and the two races split, and then its like you've just made a wrong turn in some parts of the 2nd half. The course is marked well and has good police support (thanks LMPD). In 2005... the water stop at marker 19 was not manned, which upset me, but the next leg was downhill so I guess it could have been worse. | |
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J. L. from Youngstown, OH
(5/23/2005)
 "Okay Little Marathon" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Nice expo and packet pickup. The free tickets to Churchill Downs were a good touch. The shirts are nice quality but all they say is ?mini-marathon.? I understand that the mini is more popular and is older, but they couldn't have put both ?marathon? & ?mini-marathon? on the shirt? Like other comments noted, the police were great & friendly, and there were a lot of spectators out for the 1st half. But for the 2nd half, you were pretty much by yourself. Fluid stations were well stocked. The course was well marked except for 1 or 2 trouble spots. The medals are a little small but nice and unique. The start line needs work. Lots of slow walkers lined up near the front and created a crush for people behind them. If they work on the marathon and give it some more focus, this could turn into a nice area-marathon. | |
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m. c. from new york
(5/10/2005)
 "Excellently done. Nice course, mostly flat." (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I loved the KDF Marathon, and had a wonderful time in Louisville. Not only is the city gentle and friendly (especially from my point of view as a New Yorker) but the marathon was well organized and well staffed. They did a terriffic job. I give this event 5 out of 5 stars and a 'total thumbs up'!! They delivered what they promised! | |
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R. B. from Bloomington, Indiana
(5/10/2005)
 "Amazing First Marathon" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I cannot add too much to the comments that have already been made... ~The course was great with the hills in Iroquois and Cherokee Parks adding just the right amount of flavor. Running through these parks you almost forget that you're mere miles from downtown Louisville. ~Amazing organization and traffic control. ~Organizers have, obviously, attempted to address the lack of spectators in the second half of the course with 'scream teams' but it hasn't taken off yet. ~Even finishing sub-four hours still felt a bit like the party was over (since 5500 of the mini folks had already finished). ~Already making plans to run in 2006 -- Amazing first marathon and I'm hooked. | |
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Ken Cooper from Ellicott City, Maryland
(5/9/2005)
"Best Marathon Event To Date!!!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 From my perspective, it was first-rate. I have talked it up from the moment I landed back home in Maryland. This was my 14th marathon and truly it was the best yet... not my time - the event itself. The course is fabulous, hydration stations were staffed and energetic, scream teams along the way were a big help. I loved the mini-bottles of water. That was a huge hit for me. I'm accustomed to paper cups. The water bottles made it really easy for me to Gu and go. Very nice touch. The course has lots of eye candy, which is great for distracting oneself from the pain. I found the rolling hills at 3 and... 13 (I think) to be welcomed and at a beautiful area. The ever-constant change in the course scenery was really great. I thought the police support was fantastic. To have so many officers involved was really reassuring. To get such significant road blockage made it really great to not have to worry about traffic. That was a huge bonus from what I've run at other venues. They did a fantastic job of traffic control... and they were nice. Many of them shouted encouraging comments and were always responsive to any runner's 'thank you.' Packet pick-up was easy and well organized with friendly staffers. I'll definitely be coming back down next year. I've convinced my brother-in-law who lives there to do the marathon and both of our wives to do the mini. Good times!! | |
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PokeSaladAnnie Ann Singer from Suffern, NY
(5/7/2005)
 "Kentucky for 5 1/2 hour marathoners" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Being a 50-states marathoner, I really should pick races with longer finish allowances. Very thankful to have my two male escorts after mile 13.1 at a 6:15-finish pace we were alone on the last half of the course. We are all 60+ years of age. Water and sports drink were provided to the end as were time clocks. My finish bag with my clothing were nowhere to be found at the end. Could have been put on side of tents for those of us who like to have warm clothing at end of race. Pasta dinner was good, Kentucky Derby Queens greeting us and young girls were very helpful by food tables. Kentucky Derby Pie... hummm good... goodie bags and expo were fine. I drove course the day before... tricky at times... twists and turns. Course hills were few and very easy. If you can do a marathon in 5 1/2 hours this is a nice marathon. This is my 22 marathon state and 34 marathon. Bus to start was great... driver was very friendly and fun. Bring throw-away clothes... 45-degree temperature cold waiting around for start. Poor coverage in newspapers the next day. I think they could list age winners. | |
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M. P. from MN
(5/7/2005)
"Flat pretty course with plenty of water stops..." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 But oh those walkers! This was my 39th marathon and my 30th state. While I fully support walkers, I expect them to line up according to their pace just like everyone else. This is not only a courtesy but a saftey issue also. It was several miles before I finished passing them. One group was walking 6 abreast! I would like to suggest the 1/2 marathon folks start 5 minutes after the full marathoners as this may eliminate some of the problem. Perhaps firmly suggesting the walkers line up after the 12+ minute per mile line would help too. There truly is room enough for everyone be they runners, trotters, walkers, or wheelers. Enough about that. The weather was cool, overcast and with an intermittent breeze. A pack of Elvi provided much appreciated entertainment. There were plenty of water, sport drink, fruit stops. Towards the end I begged some chips off a volunteer as I badly needed salt. Many thanks to my angel as they were the best chips I ever had in my whole life! The course was pretty and flat except for some gently rolling hills in the the 2 parks we went through. Trees and flowers were in full bloom. The urban areas were a mix of income levels. Along the way we also passed Church Hill Downs and the Louisville Slugger factory and museum. The finish line was well staffed and had an abundance of food. I did find my gear bag sitting on the steps of the convention center unattended. It would have been upsetting if it had been taken as my rental car keys were in the bag along with my Boston jacket. Perhaps a volunteer could be recruited to watch over the bags. I had a great mini vacation in Louisville. The peole were kind, the room was affordable, and there were lots of restaurants to choose from. | |
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B. H. from Indiana
(5/6/2005)
 "Worst marathon in my 40." (about: 2003)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I have run 40 marathons in the past 30 years and this was the most disappointing. My marathons include 6 Boston's and 15 New York's, so I am no novice. I believe there are 15 miles of hills with little respite. The last four miles from about mile 22 are desolate with no spectators. There were no post-race results or gatherings. Even the morning newspapers had the marathon on page 4 after the horse news and only listed the top ten. I still do not know how I did in my age group since age groups are not given on their website results. The Derby Marathon has a long way to go. I would drop it if it were me. Louisville obviously doesn't care. | |
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J. E. from Illinois
(5/6/2005)
"Pleasantly surprising marathon." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first visit to the City of Louisville. Overall, I really enjoyed the city and the marathon. The race was well organized. I was able to step right onto a bus without waiting, the race started on time, the aid stations were well stocked, there was plenty of food at the finish line, the course was well marked/identified, etc. Also, I really liked the course with the two parks (very beautiful) and running past Churchill Downs as highlights. I didn't mind the 'solitude' of the second half and actually found it refreshing to be running with fewer people. On the other hand, the crowd of runners in the first half made the first half exciting and fun as well. The course does have some hills but my legs responded to the change in stride and I was able to take advantage of the downhills. My time was 5 minutes off a personal record. Compared to Nashville, which I ran last year under similar conditions, I preferred Louisville in way of the course and the convenience of the expo and finish line to the same downtown area. Afterwards, I took advantage of the free tickets to Churchill Downs and had a great post-race recovery while watching the ponies run. | |
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E. K. from Denver, CO.
(5/5/2005)
"Great mix of urban and scenic." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A superbly organized event, marathon had good spectator turnout and enthusiasm, even on a cool, wet day. Water stops were exactly where promised (water and Powerade available). Course was well secured: police and barricades at almost every intersection. A big thank you to police and volunteers, who were all very supportive. Good sponsors and refreshments after race. The course was an interesting mix of urban and scenic park surroundings. Cherokee Park was particularly beautiful. This is definitely a race to repeat. |
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