"Boogidy boogidy boogidy, let's go racin'"- Darrell Waltrip
Yes, it has been a while. I didn't have much to say that hasn't been said already about the Boston Marathon Bombing and my training has been in taper mode, so there really wasn't much I thought I could write about that would be meaningful.
It has been a couple of weeks, but yes, I do have something to talk about: The Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon Race Report!
Last weekend, my friend Rebecca and I traveled to Louisville, KY to run in the Kentucky Derby Marathon. I ran in the mini marathon and Rebecca did the full Monty. Rebecca and I ran together until the two races split, which was at mile 9.
We stayed at the Galt House Hotel, which was the host hotel for the event. It was a nice hotel. You could take the covered walkway to packet pick-up at the Convention Center. The start/finish line was only blocks away, which was good to loosen up before the race or to cool down after.
The marathon was not the only event that was using the Galt House Hotel. Kentucky Muscle, a body building contest, was also holding a contest at the hotel. Talk about a real mix of people! Marathon runners + Body Builders = interesting people watching! There were a lot of orange spray-on tan people in bathrobes who carried around full-length mirrors wandering about.
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| Notice the orange tinge... |
Back to the race report...
Packet Pickup:
The packet pickup was located at the Convention Center. It was easy to get to and well organized. A nice thing in our packets were disposable gloves for the start of the race- sweet! The marathon packet had a Asics hat in it, the mini marathon packet did not.- incentive to run the full. The expo was ok. If you forgot something, you could have easily picked it up at the expo. Humana had a photo booth to take pictures.
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| Rebecca and I having fun at the Humana booth. Which way to cross the finish line? |
The Race:
The mini marathon race was well organized. The route went through many neighborhoods and parks. The best part was running around the infield at Churchill Downs. They were exercising the horses so we could watch the horses as we ran around. Beautiful. I have never been to Churchill Downs- it looks a lot bigger in real life than on TV. I would love to go someday and watch some races.
At mile 9, the mini marathon split from the marathon and headed back into town. The race went through the University of Louisville campus. It was neat to run through the 2013 NCAA Basketball National Champions campus. For the most part, the mini marathon course was flat with no substantial hills.
The Volunteers:
The volunteers were fabulous! All water stops were well supported and had plenty of water and Powerade.
The Finish:
The mini marathon finish was well organized. We got a Mylar blanket and our medal and then proceeded to help ourselves to some snacks. There were bananas, peanut butter Ritz crackers, some biscuits, bagels, Sunchips and cookies. There was plenty for everyone. The friends and family reunion area actually was the Kroger's Fest-A-Ville. The Fest-A-Ville had a carnival, a stage for concerts, food and lots of fun. It was a great place to hang out and wait for Rebecca to finish her marathon.
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| Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon Medal |
The Marathon:
The marathon route went out to Iroquois Park (which was hilly) and back into town. One word of caution to the back-of-the-pack marathoners: The course closes 6 hours after the start of the marathon (NOT after the last runner starts the race). If you cannot finish the race in 6 hours, you will be asked to run the rest of the race on the sidewalk. All water stations were also shut down, so bring your water with you.
Will I run it again?
Yes! I had a great time running the race. I would run the mini marathon again. Initially, I was supposed to run the marathon, but got injured with Achilles Tendinitis. This marathon as well as Detroit's marathon are still on my bucket list.
Next week:
Indy Mini Race Report
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