Race Review: Derby Festival miniMarthon: What's Hot and What's Not

The Derby Festival miniMarathon is held in Louisville, KY the weekend before the Kentucky Derby. Here's a breakdown of the race.


What's Hot:


*The Derby Festivial miniMarathon in Louisville, KY had one of the best courses I've ever seen. It was very flat. The only "hills" were entering and exiting Churchill Downs, under one overpass just past the University of Louisville, and under two overpasses on the way back from Churchill Downs, also near the University.

*The course was well shaded. Open streets were early in the race. With a 7:30 start, those open roads were not a concern. The weather was great today, but had it not been, the shade would have helped tremendously.

*Oranges were handed out somewhere between miles seven and ten. This is only the second race I've ever seen do this. Oranges are better than any energy drink or gel. Big kuddos on this one.

*There was more than enough food at the finish line. The workers were great. If someone requested a second banana or bag of chips, they happily obliged.

*BlueMile running store had a lounge at the expo (though it's not hot that it wasn't with the rest of the expo) with music, food, and discount coupons for their store. This was the best part of the expo by far.

*Running through Churchill Downs. Historic. Enough said.

What's Not:


*The water stops are my biggest gripe. Almost all of the water stops were bottled water. (For some reason, one or two stops were in plastic cups.) Runners had to open up their own bottles! This is too much effort during a race. It also caused lots of jamming at the water stops because it wasn't as easy to hand out as a cup. To top it off, people were throwing bottles over other runners to dispose of them. It would have been very easy to be hit by a flying bottle. The worst part about the water bottles was the caps. Caps were all over the course and hard to avoid. I have a feeling a few sprained ankles were caused by those caps today.

*Powerade wasn't handed out until mile seven.  For runners that depend on the energy drinks more than water, keep this in mind if you want to sign up for this race.

*It took too long to get to the water at the finish line. Honestly, that's the first thing I want when I finish running.

*For such a big race, the expo was too small and there was nothing there to pump runners up. At a big race, there is usually an atmosphere that gets runners excited about the next day. Not here.

*There wasn't a mile marker at every mile. The mile markers were very low to the ground and hard to see, too. Only about four places on the course had the running time rather than being located at each mile marker. Make sure you have your own Garmin if you want to know where you are at in the race.



What to Watch For:

*At the first overpass, there are a lot of filled potholes. Make sure to take your sunglasses off here because the ground is very uneven.

*Mile 8, at Churchill Downs, has a slight slant in the road. I had ankle pain (that made me wonder if I could finish) for most of that mile. My friend had the same problem here.

*Around 4th and Cardinal, coming past the University of Louisville the second time, has square bricks in the road for a very short while. Some of the bricks are loose. Watch yourself as you go over these.


Final Verdict:


Would I run this race again? Absolutely! I hope they fix the water/energy drink situation, but this race is a new favorite. I think it would be a great place to set a PR. I'm even considering making this my annual semi-local race. Hope to see you there next time!