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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 61 to 71]
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T. S. from Indianapolis
(5/6/2012)
"I'll Have Another" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I discovered the Marathon Guide ratings in 2006 and have been posting ever since; I think this is the first time I've given 5 stars all around. Is it the best course I've ever been on? No. Best organization? Not really. Best spectators? Probably not. But it was pretty darn close on all three. And given some of the postings from previous years, I went in with rather low expectations. It is not a PR course, at least for this flatlander who didn't do much hill training. But it goes through some great neighborhoods. Churchill Downs, with horses out on training runs, was a treat. Iroquois Park, despite the mega hills that took a lot out of me, was quite pretty. And the University of Louisville was just good fun. I had no problems with half-marathon walkers, apparently a big issue previously. They stayed on their side and we stayed on ours, other than the water stops. All in all, a good time. I recommend this race. | |
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Jason C. from Cincinnati, OH
(5/5/2012)
"Beautiful Run" (about: 2012)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my third marathon and I was impressed. The course was nice and the crowds were supportive. There were more spectators on the back quarter of the run than I had expected. For me the highlight was Iroquois Park (despite that merciless incline!) it was unreal gorgeous. The organizers did well to separate the half-folks where our courses overlapped, where I'd read it to be an issue in the past. I was only disappointed that the food was picked over at the end. Only bananas and cheap bagels. For the cost, I had hoped for more. The medals and shirts were high quality though. I loved the hometown pride, Louisville did not disappoint. | |
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J. G. from Voorhees NJ
(5/4/2012)
"Great run, but two hilly sections" (about: 2012)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Beautiful course! Running through Churchill Downs was the highlight. Good support and plenty of water/Power Bar shots along the marathon route. The second section of hills around mile marker 23 was harder than I planned for. At the finish the food was limited and the chocolate milk that was promised was no where to be found. If I do this run again, I would probably just do the half. | |
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J. K. from Grand Rapids, MI
(5/2/2012)
"Great place to PR" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run 50 marathons in 12 years of distance running and I accomplished a PR at the 2012 KYD Marathon, at the age of 50. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn I'm saying it to give credit to the race organizers. The long and short of it is that they have gotten enough right with this race that if you put your work in you can PR here. Yes no race is perfect and I could dwell on some negatives but it would unfairly detract from this simple fact this is a great place to shoot for a PR. Of course no guarantees you will do it, but the course/organizers will not let you down. ... On one specific problem area (in past years) I believe they must have taken some adequate steps to address the problems with the marathon runners re-joining the half-marathon runners late in the race because I experienced absolutely no traffic problems that seem to have plagued prior races. | |
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Mark Piercy from Naperville, IL
(5/2/2012)
"Great mid sized city marathon." (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Louisville is a very nice mid sized city of about 500,000 residents. It is small enough that it is easy getting around and large enough that it has many other interesting features outside the actual running events. I recommend a tour of the Louisville Slugger Museum and factory tour. Running through Churchhill Downs, the Mecca of horse racing was a nice addition. There were only a few challenging hills despite Louisville being right on the Ohio River. Race and spectator support were adequate. It did seem a long way from mile 26 to the finish; but, I liked the slight downhill for what seemed like more than a mile at the end. Overall the organization put on a nice event and as always kudos to all the volunteers who allowed the runners to indulge themselves. I definitely recommend this event...especially for the 50 Staters. The event is easily driveable from metro Chicago at about 5 hours. | |
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Debbie Shelton from New Albany, IN
(5/2/2012)
"Improving Every Year" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Congratulations to the Race Director and the Committee on a great event. Well done!! I believe the event is now much more reflective of the area and the KDF than in years past. I ran the inaugural KDF Marathon in 2002, the 2012 Marathon, and several KDF Marathons in between. The thing that strikes me the most over the last 10 years is that the coordinators LISTEN and take to heart meaningful comments provided by the participants. Just a few examples of improvements include course changes, a medal that reflects the event, and course support beyond that provided for the Mimi. This was my first run on the 'new' course and I'll admit I like the original one better. However, I recognize many benefits to the new course, particularly the elimination of the logistics of busing people to the start. Additionally, more spectators are present at the last half of the event (not a requirement for me, but it is for many). It is easier for families to see their runners at the beginning and the end. I heard many out-of-town runners comment on the thrill of running through Churchill Downs and the beauty of Iroquois Park. I'll wrap up with a big Thank you for your hospitality for the 50 States Marathon Club's Spring Reunion. I can't wait to see what's next! | |
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K. S. from Louisville, Ky
(5/1/2012)
"1st marathon - loved it" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 1st marathon. I have run the half about 7 times before and i wanted to up my challenge. I am from Louisville, so it was great to have family and friends to cheer me on. I ran with the pace group, which I highly recommend. It is free and they keep you at a steady pace so you won't bonk at the end. This race is done with the half, but it wasn't an issue for me (4:30 finish). Loved the expo. Could use a few more fans last 6 miles. I highly recommend this race and I will do it again. | |
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p. w. from marietta GA
(5/1/2012)
"more emphasis on half marathon" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I agree with other posters from previous years, the half marathon is huge and the full is sparse. They announced 18,000 runners at the start, I'd bet only 2000 were in the full at best. Problems with this: 1. The full and half run together for almost 8 miles - not too bad, BUT the marathon comes back to that split at about mile 17-18, and all over the road are half marathon walkers. Signs need to be better to put the halfers on the left and allow the full runners a clear path on the right. Both dangerous and energy consuming to duck and weave through the halfers. 2. Th full course takes a hard turn away at mile 20, and that last 10k is a hilly challenge for that late in the race. 3. I hated how the halfers hogged a lot of the finish line food. When i finished i saw a box for fig newtons and i thought 'oh yeah - that sounds great!' and I don't normally even eat them but marathons make for strange cravings. Imagine my disappointment when i only found empty boxes but saw halfers walking around with multiple samples of them and the Ritz cracker packs. I know its a problem at many races that run both events, but with the huge disparity in numbers, they should almost have a separate line for the full runners. Expo was great - not too big, not too small or crowded. water stops were frequent and well staffed. I did not like the plastic cups that you could not pinch, but that's a relatively minor thing and i know you can't help who donates what kind of cups. parking near the start/finish was cheap and easy to find. Road closures were not a problem. | |
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S. S. from USA
(4/30/2012)
"Disappointed" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 As a back-of-the-packer I understood that after 6 hours I would need to get on the sidewalks which was fine. But they started taking down the course at about 5 hours, pulling up the cones and the mile markers. The course is not well marked on the street. Luckily someone with me had a phone and could pull up the map. If not for her, I would still be wandering around Louisville. No aid stations after 5 hours. No finish line mat, no clock but I did get a medal at the end. My advice-take a readable map with you if you are a slow runner or a walker. | |
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T. T. from Valparaiso, Indiana
(11/7/2011)
"Full marathon is an afterthought" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I've run this twice, and probably won't be back. I was at an expo for another race this week, and none of the problems have been addressed. In some ways they've gotten worse. Specifically: 1) The merge between the full marathon and the half marathon is a complete fiasco, and remains unchanged. This has the effect of putting the full marathon runners back into a giant pack of slow-moving walkers at about mile 18...right out of the hills, when the race is really starting to hurt. The full marathoners are so out numbered at this point, nobody cares, you have to zig in and out to make progress. 2) They continue to expand the field. They are adding 2,000 more entrants this year to an already overcrowded event. I suspect most of these 2,000 will be walkers, which will further aggravate problem #1. The root of all this is that the full marathon is really an afterthought. For many years, this was just a half-marathon, and less than 10% of the runners now run the full. In addition, the event has become increasingly about half-marathon walkers. Organizers don't seem to care much about the full marathon, and the experience reflects this. I really think they out to just take it back down to a half, that's clearly where all the focus lies. If you are looking to chat on your phone while walking slowly through Louisville, and get a shirt out of it, this is the event for you. If you are remotely interested in pushing yourself for 26.2 miles...you're probably better off at another event. |
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