Good race but police tried to stop the marathon at Breckenridge St about mile 20. Said we missed cutoff. 5:30 pace crew right behind me argued and finally continued race against police orders. I followed and finished just before 5:30 pace group. At finish line no bottled liquids and no sports drink - second year in a row. Couldn't find email for race director. Sad slow death of a good marathon. Thanks to the good volunteers that helped. Don't run this marathon unless you are an elite runner. Go to Knoxville, Cincy, Land Between the Lakes, Hatfield - McCoy, or St. Louis instead.

There was a cut off time of six hours from the gun start, not from the last runner crossing the start line or when you crossed the start line. From the official website: 'Maximum time limit is 6:00:00 (6 hours)'.

What was not published was a cut off time just before mile 21. I made it to mile 21 at 4rhs 17 min and was the last person let through. There was a very angry cop stopping everyone from turning down Breckinridge Street, forcing them to finish down the half marathon course, running about 22 miles of the 26. The cut off time just before mile 21 needs to be published.

I totally enjoyed this marathon. I had read the complaints from previous years and I feel that the major problems were addressed this year. Getting to run through Old Louisville, Churchill Downs, and U of L, made for an excellent running experience. It was crowded at the beginning, but the Half Marathoners split off much earlier than in other races, so I was able to run in more of a rhythm after that. It was a good idea to separate the Marathoners from the Half Marathon walkers when the course reunited. The hydration stops were somewhat inconsistent, but I was able to get water at every stop and Powerade at most. I do want to thank the volunteers who were out there especially at the later stops. I always carry a gel and a couple of chomps with me so the ones on the course were just a bonus. Iroquois Park was hilly, but very scenic. The steep hill at mile 23 was a little harsh, but oh well. Overall a very nice run!

The Good. The course map had me scared that the park was going to be hilly, when we got there it had two short hills and the rest felt more downhill than up. The water stops were excellently organized! The crowd was amazing.
The bad. I started in corral E and my clock time was 10:13 slower than my actual time because we didn't go through the start until 10:13 after the gun. The first 3 miles were CROWDED!
Advice. I PR'ed by 30:46 so it is a PR course. Conserve energy for the first 19 miles and go steady, the real hills are two steep hills between 21 and 23, one of which is brutally steep and long. Excellent race! I loved it!

After reading last year's comments, I was a little concerned about the race and logistics but it seemed smooth to me. The expo was okay other than it snaked through the room and made moving around in there a little tight but its manageable.
I was able to move into Wave A and out of C to start since I wanted to be with a faster pace group. I was a little upset with the race in that regards. They didn't know what Waves the pacers were assigned to and neither did the pacers I talked to. I asked to get my Wave changed but I was pretty much told no and don't worry about it. It worked out fine since I just talked to the volunteer at the gate to Wave A who let me in.
Since I was upfront, I didn't run into a lot of other issues that some other commentors have mentioned. Honestly once the full split from the half, I was very lonely and didn't see too many other marathoners the rest of the way, but I kind of expected that given the size and my pace.
The hills did NOT match the elevation chart that they provided. Those smooth hills were actually several steep up and downs in the park and toward the end. Had I known that, I would have approached the race differently and ended up a little burned out at the end.
The post race area is huge but laid out a little weird. There was tons of food and liquid, though it felt like a lifetime to walk around there. The whole park down there was actually very nice and allowed the kids to have a bit of fun while I recovered.
I was frustrated at the lack of clocks at the mile markers. There were some at the relay points and another some place odd like 23.3 or something goofy. It was just off to the side between some mile markers. The text updates were nice, but it would have been nice to have a 35k or 40k update.
Overally, I was happy with the overall course and event. Louisville is a nice area and it was something I'll remember.

I chose to run this race for the opportunity to run through Churchhill Downs and it was really cool! The half course is easy and mostly flat, nice folks along the route. Plenty of water stops, Powerade and seemed to be enough toilets. The only complaint I had was the finish at the park, very crowded, runners need to be 'funneled' better after the race, but here was plenty of food and drinks. Reunion area was not well marked. Overall a really good race. Louisville is a very cool city with lots to see and do especially during Derby week. HOWEVER do not stay at the Galt House Hotel, the race hotel! Very run down, no breakfast, nothing for runners, $9.95 for internet access.wo Marriots and Hampton Inn were closer to the start/finish line, and were probably nicer and had something for the runners in the morning. Check the prices and make your own decision but take my advice and book one of the other hotels. But run the race!

Loved this marathon. Weather was perfect. Volunteers were exceptional.
Running through Churchill Downs and watching the horses taking their morning runs was beautiful. I stayed at the Hampton Inn Downtown and recommend it very highly - just a short walk to start and from finish lines. Dry bagels at the finish were dreadfull, saw lots of them discarded as I left the park.

They must have fixed the start from previous years, I found it very spread out with enough room for everyone. As in every race, there were people who started way ahead of where they should have, but this wasn't a big problem. I started in Coral E, and crossed the start 14 minutes after the gun.

The course itself I thought was great! Nice mix of city, country, nice neighborhoods, and a cool park. The people that complained about hills aren't used to running in hills, I think. 21 or 22 of the miles were flat as a pancake. There were rolling hills through the park miles 12-15, and a few rolling hills from 22-24.

My biggest complaint was the finish line area. There were people about 20 yards back with blankets, which was appreciated. 20 yards behind that were the medals, and another 40 yards or so after that was a cup of water for you. Then you had to search for anything else. I did find the food (bananas, chips, and bagels), but I never did find the free beer. You had to hunt to find things, which isn't cool after running a marathon. As someone mentioned earlier, they have plenty of room to make it a much better finish area.

There was heavy security this year, and I always felt safe on the course. It is completely closed off to traffic except for a few busy cross streets.

Overall a good marathon, I recommend it.

Would recommend this course for season runners. The course has a six hour time limit so new runners should be aware of this before running. I ran with the 5:45 group and the police started opening streets before the 6 hour time limit. Recommend sweeper on course and police should not open streets up till sweeper passes.

The Derby Marathon has grown quite a bit due largely to the half(mini) marathon. Both the marathon and mini marathon share the same course for the first nine miles. As with any large field(18,000 total) event, the course was congested for the first several miles. This proved troublesome as the water stops were not on both sides of the course and did not have nearly enough volunteers to deal with the crowds. There was also no sports drink at several of the water stops in the middle portion of the course. The course itself offers a nice mixture of city streets, Churchill Downs, and Iriquois Park. Finish area was well stocked with food and beverages. Medal is quite nice while the technical shirt design is not very creative compared to most marathons.