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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 201 to 211]
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J. Y. from Chicago, Illinois
(9/28/2007)
"10 previous marathons and 1 was Louisville" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This run lacked organization. I had problems getting my number and there was no real direction when it came to what needed to be done. I had to go back a second day to ask about my chip. The race was not well marked and the support was very little. | |
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V. R. from Indiana
(8/11/2007)
"OK RACE" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course is pretty, hilly and fun. I enjoyed the course and there were plenty of water stops. The end of the marathon was a bit poorly marked with several chances to take the wrong turn. Finally... awards? Where are they? Supposed to receive in 2-4 weeks? Still haven't got one and nobody answers email. If this were a 5 or 10K, I wouldn't care... but this is a marathon! I can't say I would do again. | |
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J. A. from Jacksonville, illinois
(7/28/2007)
"not pleased with organization of race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I have run 26 marathons in 26 different states and the Louisville Marathon is the most disorganized and least runner-friendly of all the ones I have participated in. I have several reasons for saying this: 1) I had a hard time finding the EXPO room to pick up my number. I went in on the east door and there were no signs indicating where the expo was, so I wandered around the building not seeing any signs. The internet said room 2-C, but I looked down every hallway on the first and second floor before I found it after 45 minutes of looking. 2) I was on the first bus that left and that that let us off near the start area in the dark. The man that met the bus told us to walk straight ahead which we did and it just got darker and darker! We walked back and finally found a policeman who directed us to the right location! They had a guy meet the bus who didn't even know where the start was. 3) There were supposed to be toilet facilities at the start, in a school, but everyone waited at the locked doors to the school waiting for the doors to be unlocked. Finally someone found an unlocked door at the back of the building. They needed signs at the front of the school pointing to the restrooms. 4) After the race started and we did several miles we went down a hill and made a left turn and there must have been 50 porto-potties all in a row. There were way too many in one location and most (about half were not used as everyone used the first 25). However, on the second half of the marathon race you had a hard time finding one. They should have been evenly distributed along the course. 5) The road came to an intersection and I did not see any signs or indications that this was the point in the race where the course split. There were two overweight middle-aged women there in the road waving their arms to their right. You could not hear a word they said because of the noise of the runners talking. All the runners turned in the direction they pointed and nobody went the other way. I was shocked when I crossed the finish for the half! And I was running the full marathon. I had to run back 8 blocks to the intersection to pick up the course. I wasn't the only one; I saw others running back to pick up the course. All other marathons I have been in have orange cones in the road showing the split, big signs on both sides of the road showing which was the full marathon, and had people at the crossroads who were not dumbbells, and knew what they were doing. People at the course split should have bullhorns giving instruction like all the other marathons. 6) Coming back across the bridge from Indiana into town, the course was not well marked and I didn't see any volunteers at the street intersections to indicate if one went straight or turned. In fact I missed a right turn and went straight because there was no indication I saw that indicated a turn. All other marathons I have been on have the course turns spray-painted on the road in orange spray-paint. It would be wise to do this next year. In summary, of the 26 marathons I have run, this has to be the one that shows the least organization and planning, and the one that shows the least amount of runner support on the course. I haven't run all 300 marathons in the USA yet, but I can guess that this is the worst marathon in the whole country. I would recommend that people run the Lexington race instead of this one. | |
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G. M. from Wisconsin
(6/8/2007)
"Well organized race; great race support" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Everything about the race was very well organized from the expo, to the buses to the starting area, to the race itself, to the post-race area. There were plenty of porta-potties and all were very visible at the water stations. I have never run a marathon that had such great police support. Every (and I mean every) street, road, alley - you name it - was blocked off by either barricades or a manned police squad car. The water stations were well organized and the race volunteers were very enthusiastic. I did not mind the small water bottles, though that might bother some people. I carried my own water bottle and the volunteers gladly filled it with PowerAde when I needed it. The choir around mile 8 or so was awesome!! Churchill Downs was fun to run in and seeing the horses doing their morning workouts provided a little extra motivation. At about mile 12 or so, you split off from the half-marathoners (which are many) and it quickly becomes very quiet; though the race support still remained as strong as ever, there are a lot fewer spectators. I wish there were more to help you through that tough 2/3rds of the race. I personally did not like the bridge at about mile 22 or so. At that point of the race, your legs are feeling it and the long, slight incline (out and back) just adds more pain. Some runners liked the bridge though, so I suppose it's just an individual preference. All in all, the race is very fun and very well organized. It's heavy on the half-marathoners, but there were enough marathoners that you never felt alone. I do wish the expo were a little larger. I thought it was small for a race this large. Nevertheless, it's definitely a race worth running. Thanks to all the race volunteers and race committee for a wonderful event. | |
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M. W. from Modesto, California
(6/7/2007)
"Bigger Half Marathon than Full" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The half marathon is much bigger than the full and once you make the turn where the marathon and half marathon split, the streets seemed empty. Other runners were very nice but not very numerous, and the entire event seemed geared toward the half marathon. Perhaps pushing the half marathon start time back an hour or two would be nice. Also, the after-party was picked over by the mass of runners completing the half marathon. They also ran out of t-shirts and I still have not received the shirt. | |
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M. K. from Evansville, IN
(5/16/2007)
"A solid marathon with something different to offer" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a great marathon. Good, quality support. A nice course with some unique things to see. Moderate hills to keep it from being boring. The bridge at the end was a blast. The view returning was worth the price of admission. Some people are complaining about the lack of crowds on the last half but I liked the peace and quiet. The "service" at the second half support areas was much more personal. It had many of the good features of a big race at the start and finish, but for the important 13-25 it was like being in a small-town marathon. I would do this again. | |
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E. G. from Missouri
(5/15/2007)
"Hilly and Hungry" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This course was very hilly! Once you hit mile 12 it was a very lonely road. No fans and a few runners. There were only 2 food stations for the entire course. The other runners were friendly. | |
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J. C. from Knoxville, Tennessee
(5/12/2007)
"My favorite marathon yet!" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I LOVED your marathon!!! The course was AWESOME, and the weather on Saturday was perfect! Getting from my downtown hotel to the start was so easy. I had a preferred start, and that was nice, too. I ran well, which also makes for a great race! Your marathon was my third marathon (Music City in Nashville in '06 and Chicago in '06), and I PRed this time. In fact, I qualified for Boston! I'll be there next April, so I'll just have to read about your race in '08! I have already told so many people in Knoxville about how wonderful the Meijer Kentucky Derby Marathon is! Running in Churchhill Downs was incredible! I also enjoyed running through the two parks - very pretty. All the police on duty were really kind and helpful. My husband and father who were out cheering me on also commented on the wonderful law enforcement of Louisville. The hardest part of the race was knowing I was so close to the finish but still had to run across that bridge into Indiana and back. I struggled with that part of the race. The bottled water was the best! What a treat it was to actually get most of the water down me rather than spilled all over my face and shirt! Overall, I had a great trip to Louisville and like your marathon the best of the three I have run. I will likely run it again in coming years. Thanks for a great experience. | |
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Ron Steinhilber from El Mirage, AZ
(5/10/2007)
"A MUST RUN FOR 50 STATERS" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was very happy with this event. From the signup until we returned from our trip, this was one of our best marathon experiences yet. I have run 11 marathons from California to Maine, and Louisville is right up there. The last race I ran was the Las Vegas Marathon. It was an awful experience, so I really needed a good one in Louisville. The people of Louisville are tremendous...everyone was helpful throughout our trip. While my wife was driving around the course on race day, someone in another car asked her if she needed help getting to her destination...usually she gets yelled at. This is just one example of the kindness we saw in the people of Louisville. The course is somewhat hilly, but very fair. I was on course for a PR until Mile 20, when I hit a wall. I blame my training and the hot day for that more than the course. Running through a couple parks was very cool. As was running through Churchill Downs. While watching the Derby the next weekend, I got chills, knowing that was where I had just ran the week before. The race was well organized. E-mails were sent out prior to race day to keep runners informed. Packet pick-up was not a problem. As was running with my own chip. The vendors were nice and my family picked up a bunch of free goodies. As everybody else said, the spectators were great for the 1st half, then they dropped off considerably. Those that were there for the back half of the race were great. The water stops were well stocked. I agree with another comment that there should be water stops at every mile after 20. That is when we really need it, especially on a warm day like this year. Overall, a wonderful experience. For accomidations, I suggest the Residence Inn on Market St. The people there really know how to treat their guests and it is only a couple of blocks from the waterfront. | |
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B. W. from Louisville, KY
(5/10/2007)
"Great City - Fun Festival - Awesome Experience" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 In 2006, this was the first marathon I had even run. I ran two others before coming back to this one in 2007. I love it. I love that the first half has so much energy and crowd support. There are still fans on the backside along with bands but there is more time for introspection too. I like being able to get out of traffic and see what I have left. There were always runners around me on the back 13 and I had a great run. This is a beautiful course and Louisvillians really have a sense of ownership and pride regarding this event. I highly recommend. Pasta dinner and expo were terrific too. Authentic Kern's Kitchen Derby Pies were even provided at the dinner - a tasty treat before the race. |
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