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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 261 to 271]
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S. S. from White Plains NY
(5/12/2006)
"Good course but low spectator turnout" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The course was good, especially the run through Churchill Downs. The two parks were the major hills and the bridge to Indiana was tough especially 22 miles into the race. The course and staff were great but a low turnout for the marathon. The race needs to push the marathon more to get people to run it. Only 850 or so runners out of over 8000 runners ran the full marathon. Also the expo was real small. This is the only marathon I have run that gives you water bottles at water stations. Overall I would recommend this race because of the course and organization but the race needs work to meet the medium to big marathons out there. | |
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B. C. from Columbus, Ohio
(5/12/2006)
"Great race - even for first time marathoners!" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I thought the marathon was very well organized. I enjoyed seeing everyone on their front porches cheering for us - especially during the half marathon portion. The community is so supportive. It's very impressive. I loved running on Churchill Downs. At mile 8, we all needed a boost and it was really cool. I thought it was neat how the UPS workers lined up their trucks and clapped hands with us. The sport beans were awesome. I think I must have had 30-40 of them in my stomach by the time I finished the race! I thought the course was well marked and very good. More bands and cheerleaders along the entire route would be helpful, but overall, this was an awesome race (my first marathon and I loved it). I would (and have already) recommend it to anyone that asks. | |
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D. A. from East Lansing, MI
(5/11/2006)
"Mini-marathon was definitely the main event" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 All in all I thought it was a great experience. However, it certainly did seem that the mini-marathon was the main event and that the full marathon was something of a side attraction. For mini-marathoners, water stations every other mile are more than sufficient, but at least after the 13.1 mark, water/Gatorade stations at every mile marker would have been nice. The best part of the race was the excursion into Churchill Downs, which was a thrill for someone who had never been there before. The orange slices, bananas and Sports Beans were an excellent touch that I had not seen before, and thought was terrific. Also, the free beer at the end of the race was great and provided some great post-race photo ops. | |
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M. B. from Rockford, IL
(5/11/2006)
"Very organized event, good course" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my third time running the KDF Marathon. Overall I was pleased with the organization of the race. I didn't experience any problems and water stations were spaced out perfectly. This year the course took us through Churchill Downs and over a bridge into Indiana. While the course changes may be aesthetically pleasing, I could have done without them. The bridge actually added hills late in the race that were slightly challenging. The spectators were lively and did a great job, but there was a serious lack of support on the back side of the course once the half and full marathoners split. Overall it was another good experience and I have a new PR. | |
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R. H. from St. Charles, Missouri
(5/10/2006)
"A nice run for a rainy day." (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Here are some thoughts: 1) The website needs to be updated regularly and needs to contain more additional information. While it covered some of the basics I thought it left a lot to be desired when it came to information for an out-of-town runner. 2) The packet/t-shirt pickup could use a little more direction. There wasn't anyway to know that the marathon was a separate pickup area from the mini. The workers there were very friendly. 3) The bus pickup at 4th Street was terrific. 4) The bus let us out and we followed everyone to the porta-johns thinking that was the direction to the start of the race. Only later did we find out that the start was on the other side of the buses and a half a mile away. Information signs would have been greatly appreciated. 5) Due to the lack of signs or corrals, runners didn't know how to line up properly and many walkers were near the front. This is not a unique problem to your marathon. 6) My wife and daughter who walked the mini thought the water bottles were great. I on the other hand thought they were a problem. You don't need that much water when you are running; it is harder to drink quickly out of a bottle rather than a paper cup and the lids on the roads were extremely dangerous. The volunteer workers were very enthusiastic. 7) The course winding through the park was beautiful. I know it's not your issue, but the runners in this race were the most inconsiderate runners that I've ever run with. On the turns in the park I can't count the number of times I was cut off or ran into. The trip around Churchill Downs was terrific. The trip into Indiana and back was challenging. I'm not sure how scenic it was at that point because I was too tired to look. 8) The spectators, volunteers and police were terrific. It was great to see so many out there on such a rainy day. 9) The post-race area was good. I don't care for the medal - too commercial. The band was really good and the beer was cold so we enjoyed it. All in all a very good race and I had a PR. I'm not sure I'll be back due to wanting to run other races at that time of year, but I will recommend it to anyone I talk to as a good race to run. | |
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J. B. from East Tennessee
(5/9/2006)
"Highly Recommended!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my favorite course of the 5 marathons I have run. As others have already said, running in Churchill Downs was a treat but I enjoyed the parks and running across the bridge into Indiana just as much. There were enough hills for variety but no killers. I was able to PR by 13 minutes and finally Boston-qualify, so of course I liked the course. The organization at the start was a little lacking, especially the fact that the porta-potties were at least a 10-minute walk away from the start line (really inconvenient for last-minute pit stops). Crowds were great for the first half but pretty sparse between miles 12 and 25. That was fine by me but not if you like getting the verbal support. Finally, I wish all marathons would follow suit and hand out small water bottles at the aid stations like they did in this race. That's a real plus if you use gels. | |
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K. W. from New Hampshire
(5/9/2006)
"great running in louisville" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have read through some of the comments for the 2006 marathon and would like to add my own. I went to KY to see another place and do another marathon. I was a little hesitant about doing the full when the mini is so popular. But I am glad that I did the full! I had a great time. I was able to run with a friend for the whole race and keep her from bowing out at the halfway point. I was anticipating a hard time with the number of people prerace and for the first 12 miles, but really have little to complain about with that. I was able to always get to a water/powerade station even with the amount of people for the first half. I found the extra aide stations in the first half to be an added bonus with fruit galore. I would have liked to see a few of the oranges in the second half, but I dont believe that they were course sanctioned and just the kind people that were supporting the event. I thought that the crowds were great even at 7:30am. I was prepared for the drop in runners and spectators for the second half, but did not have any complaints for this as well. I found the pace groups to be great even if I was a little ambitious with my pace thoughts prerace. I loved the parks, I didnt realize there were so many trees there. I thought that running through Churchill downs was at a great time in the race and was a lot of fun to hear the announcer on the speakers. I found the personalization that the race directors took out on the course was great. I actually had one guy ask me by name how I was doing around mile 18. I found it rather easy to find a decent hotel just by looking up the course map online and then having a map where the hotels were. Basically if you stay downtown anywhere you are going to be in a great place for the finish. I would suggest staying over for Sat. night instead of trying to leave Sat. It is pre Derby week there and so the hotels book fast, there are tons of things to do all week if you stay. I think that powerade is a great sports drink and I am glad that this race has yet to switch to gatorade endurance. I find that to be rather hard to swallow when running and way too salty for my taste. I would have liked to get the 2 tickets for Churchill downs that was advertised, but since it was only $2.00 for someone to go with us it was not a big deal. All in all I would highly suggest this race and have told my fellow running buddies at home that this should be on their list of races to run. Thank you for the great time! | |
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Robert Gustafson from chattanooga, tn
(5/7/2006)
"Very nice" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a very well organized race. Very nice course - especially for the 1/2 marathoners. It was a nice touch swinging into IN over the bridge. Basically all asphalt, which is nice. Decent expo. It does feel like after the split, you're by yourself. Emphasis is definitely on the 1/2 marathon, but hey, that's ok. Kudos to the LPD and all of the volunteers. They did a great job. Negatives: Shirt was pretty lame. After race, not much to snack on. I think you had to pay for real food, which I thought was a little ridiculous - after paying to get in the race and pumping $$$ into the local economy. Bathrooms at the start could've been better. Overall, though, a very nice experience. Probably one of the better choices for KY, if you're into the 50-state thing. | |
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O. D. from Atlanta Georgia
(5/4/2006)
"Great Race!!!!!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have no complaints about this one; not even the hills. Thank God for the rain... it cooled things off. The support from Louisville was great in spite of the weather. Thanks to all of them for coming out to cheer us on. Crossing the bridge around mile 22 and running into Indiana was one of the great highlights, along with Churchill Downs. It's very doubtful I would have gotten the chance to be inside the Kentucky Derby otherwise. | |
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A. H. from Knoxville, TN
(5/4/2006)
"1st KY Derby Marathon" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 1st KY Derby Marathon and overall I thought it was a nice course and well organized. After running Knoxville last month, this course seemed extremely flat to me. There were hills in the parks, but there seemed to be more declines than inclines. I set a PR and beat my Knoxville time by over 15 minutes. Police and volunteer support were excellent. Even with the weather, crowd support was also really good, especially on the first half, but not bad for the back half either. Lots of music, which helps me a lot. Water bottles were nice for grab and go, but there was a lot of waste. After the first water stop, my husband and I started sharing a bottle and that worked much better. Would be nice if they handed out gels at a couple of stops, but the jelly beans at 2 stops, and oranges/bananas were plentiful. There was plenty of food at the finish, even though we finished in just under 5 hours. My biggest complaint for the organizers would be to have more signs posted at start and finish for the people who have never done this race before. We took a bus from downtown - very easy - but after being dropped off, we wandered around for 20 minutes looking for the bag checkm which was at the front of the start line. People up there were wandering around looking for porta-johns, which were back where the busses had dropped us off. At the finish, we wandered around yet again looking for our bag and finally had to ask a racer where he got his. I was also disappointed to see that when we found our bag, it was lying on a table under a tent with a few others, totally unattended. Again, we had a great time and I would recommend this to 1st-timers as well as old pros. Maybe if they would have a finisher's shirt for the full marathon or something special, it would entice more people to try the full and take the focus off the mini. |
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