Really though, a good little marathon. The course was run along the 'River Walk' probably @ 1/3 concrete & 2/3 asphalt and it was really nice. Kind of cool the way the city did this & unique the way the course played out. Unfortunately the city of Louisville seemed apathatic (no mention in the next day's paper and no crowd) about the 600 or so of us runners (including half). Nonetheless the organizers did everything in their power to make it a good, fun run. If you need a crowd, not the place for you, but otherwise mostly flat & scenic PR course. A few glitches here & there but the race director graciously corrected any problems pronto. Sooner or later I will do this one again... I love the River Walk.

Running on the sidewalks in the downtown area was mandated by the police this year because the Lewis & Clark Expedition 200-year anniversary arrived in Louisville last week and there was concerned about the runners safety while running in the street with an extraordinary amount of auto traffic in the waterfront park area.
Stating the course was 3/4 concrete is incorrect as most of the riverwalk is asphalt.
The committee received numerous compliments regarding the race and course this year. I hope some of this years participants will post their comments here.

This was my first. I thought it was, for the most part, very flat. I enjoyed the experience very much(although I didn't think that from mile 22 on at the time). However, there was a a lot of concrete! There were also a few spots in the woods before mile 12 that were not marked very well. I thought there was good police support, but besides a few family members shouting to people from time to time, the only fans were the folks at the aid stations. I would like to run again though to improve on my time of 4:56.

Steve Dutton and his support crew significantly improved the appeal of this marathon. The new course on the Ohio River is fast, scenic, enjoyable and much safer for the runners. There were plenty of friendly volunteers at the aid stations and along the course.

Good course bordering the river with plenty of scenery. Majority of race on a 10' asphalt walking trail, part of which covered with a tree canopy with a few stretches of barren concrete. Majority of the distance was an open course, but since you are on the walking trail, it doesn't pose a problem. Volunteers & police were present at majority of street crossings. Small field with half, 7-miler and marathon all sharing same course, but organization was good on segregating the distances and didn't have much congestion. No expo, just packet pick-up and the finish was somewhat anticlimactic. More runners than spectators and medal given to you in a small plastic bag as you pass the finish. That said, set expectations accordingly and you will have fun on this course. It is pancake flat with sufficient aid stations and the weather is reasonable.

I did not enjoy this race at all. The support staff was excellent and very kind, but the spectator support was nonexistent. If you are accustomed to having crowds encourage you at mile 20... this is not the race for you. Race organizers could encourage the local media and area high school bands to come out and support the runners. The scenery was pretty but monotonous. I did enjoy the 15 - 16 miles through the wonderfully manicured community. Nice change of scenery. I would have truly enjoyed seeing those homeowners out cheering on those running down their sidewalks!! Unfortunately... I will not run this race again.

I am registered for the 2003 race but am concerned.

The new course appears 3/4ths concrete road and concrete 'River Walk'.

Whats up with that?

I was a little hesitant to run this race given the reviews from the prior years. The marathon this year proved that this race director really listened to past comments and responded favorably. The course was very flat with scenery galore(especially on the river walk)! Aid was plentiful and the little bottles of water served by cheerful Boy Scouts were a nice, sanitary touch. The police were omni-present and I saw several drivers pulled over by the police in an effort to keep the runners safe. My suggestion would be for the first six and1/2 miles to be closed to traffic or have more volunteers slowing the cars down. Maybe an earlier start would solve this? Also, I am still awaiting the results for the Clydesdale division. In any event, this was a first-rate marathon and I will be back next year to run it.

I would like to comment on points made by this years participants.
(1) The police car went too far east and did make the turnaround mile long. He was supposed to position his car at the marked turnaround spot.
(2) I agree that running the first 6+ miles (out 3+ and back) is dangerous with cars. I don't understand why this cannot be changed, but the police have refused to close the course for such a
small race.
(3) As far as the runner that was hit this year by a car. He was on a 4-lane
one-way street running in rightmost lane, when he was hit by a drunken driver, who had 3 other lanes to drive.
There was no excuse for him to be driving in the 2nd lane. The police were called and the driver was found and arrested.
(4) The course is basically the same it has been for years. It is run in an area which has little impact on residents. Unfortunately when the road was widened from 2 lanes to 4 lanes, approximately a one-mile stretch was concreted. This mile is roughly the 8th and the 24th mile of the marathon.
However, I believe the beauty of the park and riverpath back to downtown is worth the ordeal of running this stretch of concrete.
(5) As far as the number of spectators,
this is a small 300runner marathon, with a 7 miler and 1/2 marathon included
which raises the number to approx 1000 runners. It is a running club's marathon, with little backing from the city of Louisville - I thought the police did an outstanding job especially for the late runners/walkers who were finishing in the 6th hour.
(6) The course is very flat and scenic along the river.
(7) The KY DERBY MARATHON is held in April and is run thru the city with the roads closed. It is run in conjunction with 1/2 marathon which has been in existence for 30 years and has plenty of spectator support. Unfortunately the
last 13 miles was run with little spectator support as this was only the first year for the marathon. The KYDERBY MARATHON Course is also very scenic running thru 2 parks, but is not flat. There were 7000+ 1/2 marathoners and 1100+ marathoners this year.

This was my first Louisville Marathon and while I really enjoyed some aspects of the race, I really had a problem with other aspects. First, the course was a very flat, fast course with lots of great scenery, especially along the river and through the park. Also, volunteers at the water stations did a great job and were very enthusiastic. My only complaints are that the first turnaround had no one their to direct you or a cone at least to mark it, so I missed it by 30 seconds out and 30 seconds back to it. The other complaint is the same as someone mentioned earlier--they have to do something about the cars along River Road, at least one lane if nothing else. As we all know, many drivers feel the need to honk and dodge at you because they feel you don't have a right to be on the road, so you need to separate the cars from the runners. This race has great potential, I think with a little work it could be a highlight for many in the future. Finally, you need to get the word out a little better, I saw very few spectators (those I did see were phenomenal, thanks!).