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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 211 to 221]
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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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K. S. from North Carolina
(5/9/2007)
"No crowd support" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 The course was really hard. The hills got really bad at miles 17 through 20ish when most of us are about to hit "the wall." There was absolutely no crowd support once we parted ways from the half marathoners! I would never run this race again. There were, however, plenty of water/snack stops. | |
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Tim Whitmire from Charlotte, N.C.
(5/7/2007)
"A very well-organized race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 In the broad scheme, organizers have done a great job with this race. Pre-race logistics were smooth packet pickup was easy, the buses ran early and often and there were enough port-a-jons near the start area. The course is great and encompasses many of the city's highlights. You'll run through both of the city's Frederick Law Olmstead-designed parks and take a lap around the infield at Churchill Downs one week before Kentucky Derby day, which I thought was just awesome. The course also goes through the University of Louisville campus and takes in the city's revitalized waterfront and makes a quick trip over the Ohio River to Indiana. Though I didn't have my best day racing-wise, I felt the course was fair not too flat but not too hilly. Aid stations were properly spaced, well-staffed and clearly differentiated between water and PowerAde. The volunteers were awesome and the general fan support along the course was strong. The finish area was well-organized, with a smooth transition to the recovery area, medals, chip removal, food and drink and then the post-race party. The medal is attractive. My two quibbles: Louisvillians (if not the organizers) still view this as primarily a half-marathon. There was a real letdown in terms of pack energy and fan support after the great bulk of runners peeled off at Mile 12. That letdown made what always is the toughest part of any marathon - miles 13-19 - even harder. I would encourage organizers to step up the marketing of this race as a full marathon and try to build the 26.2 contingent up so the contrast isn't as stark. Like others, I was disappointed with the quality of the race T-shirt, both in design and in knit, fabric and construction. One thing race organizers might want to look at that might help marathoners feel a little more loved would be to offer a special, technical finisher's shirt as well as a medal to marathon finishers. Birmingham does this, and it's a nice touch to have that in addition to the same cotton race T-shirt everyone else has. | |
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J. D. from Dayton, OH
(5/7/2007)
"Fantastic RACE!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Wow, what a great race! I had never run in KY before and what can I say? Louisville knows what they are doing. I saw the comment about the shirt from someone else, and I thought it was fantastic. It looked like a NIKE shirt, TOP-NOTCH! Water was good, and crowd slimmed down near the finish, but then someone at the finish line gave me a HIGH-FIVE and that made it all worth it. | |
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M. F. from South Carolina
(5/6/2007)
"Quality Race" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This race gets an A+. As a first-timer, I didn't know what to expect; what I found was: - An organized expo - Shuttles to the start - A fun course - Well-policed intersections - Plenty of food at the finish Although the final 14 miles lack the spectators of the 1st 12, I enjoyed the 2nd half more. Thanks to the volunteers and special thanks to "Bill," the 4:30 pacer, for his help at mile 15. | |
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K. D. from Carbondale, Illinois
(5/5/2007)
"Challenging course; great race!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I truly loved this race. It started out by having an easy expo and low-key pasta dinner the night before. I stayed at the Residence Inn which was perfect since I could walk to the Convention Center and to the buses on race morning. The buses were super easy to the start. I loved that the high school was open for the bathrooms and to keep warm. Everyone seems to think it's a bad thing that the second half of the race is thinned out - but I welcomed it with open arms! The first half was too crowded for me - I just wanted to be able to run my own pace without weaving around people. So I liked the second half way better than the first. Also, I loved the water bottles and always reached for the ones with caps so I could carry it with me for a mile or so since it was pretty hot. The course was pretty hilly, but doable. I loved the lap in Churchill Downs. I didn't love the bridge at the end, but again it's doable. I ran with the 3:50 pace group (hi, Pacer Tom!), which was great and ended up having a PR by 8 1/2 minutes! The end was great, gear check retrieval easy, and I loved being able to walk the couple of blocks to my hotel. All in all, this is a must-do marathon! Any of those 50-staters should absolutely run this one for Kentucky. | |
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J. K. from a hot tub in my backyard looking at a full moon
(5/4/2007)
"Well Organized, Fun Marathon!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon is a great event! Here's why: Overall, the buses to the start were on-time and easy. Drivers knew where they were going, always a plus! The start line was fun, including the bugle guy from the Derby. I did find amazing that we started on generally a residential street. Don't the residents complain about the noise and mess? Just wondering. The course: I enjoyed running through the two parks was nice, a woodsy break from an urban area. Running through Churchill Downs will forever be memorable - every time I now watch the derby, I will smile a bit knowing I too ran in Churchill Downs. It did get a little lonely in miles 18 through 20 or so, maybe another band would help. Then, crossing the bridge over the Ohio was fun and a killer - tough incline twice late in the race, but hey who said marathon are easy. Finish line and post race goodies - good. The free beer with the coupon was a deal! Many heartfelt thanks go to the volunteers who cheered us on and made it happen. Many thanks to the Police Officers who handled traffic control, where they often deal with irate drivers. Other stuff: Expo, it was okay, nothing special. Pasta Dinner: Well Done, nothing fancy, pretty typical, but good food and well organized. Finishers Medal: very nice design. T-shirt: Frankly, ugly graphic, but hey I bought the other one for $10, so, I'm happy. Suggestions: I always prefer a water-stop every mile at least from mile 16 to the finish. It's one thing to look forward to. Other than that, BE PROUD THE DEBRY MARATHON IS a well organized, quality event. I will strongly recommend it to all my running buds. | |
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Jonathan James from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(5/4/2007)
"Beautiful Course, Nice Vibe, Beautiful Weather" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The first half of the Marathon was decent...good crowd support, not too busy on the course, but the hills were more than I bargained for. A woman at the expo made it sound like these were just a couple small hills, but hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it's relatively flat, these hills felt more like mountains. The 2nd half of the Marathon was lonely (runners were few-and-far-between) and the number of spectators dwindled until Mile 22. The bridge was a nice distraction and offered a nice view of the downtown waterfront. Well, as nice as it's gonna get at Mile 24! I recommend visiting the Muhammad Ali Center the day before the race for some inspiration. Chicago was a nice first marathon (lots of spectators and huge race expo) but I really enjoyed the scaled-down aspect of the Louisville Marathon. Shuttle buses were great, expo was relaxed and enjoyable, Louisville food is amazing and the hotels are phenomenal. I was a 1/2 block from the finish line, perfect for that post-race ice bath in the hotel. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE DERBY FESTIVAL MARATHON. Toughest part was the 10 hour drive home to Canada. | |
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Roger Hauge from Minnesota
(5/4/2007)
"Running the infield at Churchill Downs was great!" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The half (or mini marathon) still predominates, as it has a long history and strong identity. However, the marathon is a nice work in progress with an interesting and moderately challenging course. The highlight is definitely running the infield of Churchill Downs (site of the Kentucky Derby) and watching the horses and trainers go through their paces like they are flying while we plod along on our own two legs! Website could use better hotel/location info and, as someone else said, water in bottles is somewhat cumbersome. | |
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Kathleen Buckley from U.S.
(5/4/2007)
"Good race, good route, could have had colder H2O" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It was a good marathon; I liked the route, and crossing over the Ohio River. On the down side, I think the PowerAde and water could have been kept colder. |
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