Louisville Marathon

Very fast course. I could easily see going for a PR on this course. Very accurate distance and very flat. I was by myself the entire race and I found the course pretty easy to follow. The roads and intersections were handled very well for a race this size. Plenty of water stops and volunteers. Some spectators along the way, but not many. On the negative side, the parking at the start was kind of far away for a race this size, but for a city race, it wasn't that bad. The medals were small, but unique and there were a lot of awards going 3 deep in 5 year age groups. The awards were great. Trophies for the overall and masters and glasses for the age groups. The volunteers were extremely friendly and nice. There was free live music and Barbecue hamburgers and hot dogs after the race, free messages. As far as traveling, we were able to stay 10 min away on the other side on the bridge at a reasonable rate and had a big plate of Spaghetti and meat balls for $11 at a place called Rocky's that was right on the river. Also, the shirt was excellent. One of my favorites. Overall I liked this race and would do it again and would recommend it for a BQ or PR.

This event is an OK local training run, but a poor travel 'marathon experience'. Limited website; high cost; no pre-race comm.s; disorganized bib pickup; wet grass parking area; boring, tough- to-follow course (saw 2 other runners in the last 7 miles); zero spectators; 'medal' was a cheap, small piece of tin necklace...thought they were joking. Positives were: friendly volunteers; occasional small bottles of water; blocked intersections; mostly decent mile markers; couple of blocks of downtown views; cool weather. Other Kentucky options are likely more rewarding for '50 Staters'.

I would strongly recommend this race for experienced runners. It's small, so you may be alone at times, but it is very well run. Good: well marked course, nice views of the river, pretty flat, nice/consistent aid stations, nice necklace in lieu of medal Bad: walking across a cold/dewy field to get to the start, volunteers seemed uninformed (according to my spectators)