Corey J Filbert's Staging Area

This was my first marathon. Louisville is great. The course is great – scenery etc. Runners even enter Churchill Downs – awesome. After running through Churchill downs, the marathon runners branch off. There is little to no support for marathon runners in the last half of this race especially in the 16-20+ mile area – when you need it most. If you are in the back, you are on your own especially to figure out which way to go to stay on course/directions. There are some hills in the park after mile 11 nothing too bad. My recommendation is to NOT do this as your first marathon. Maybe run the mini and look for another marathon where the full 26.2 is better supported. After putting in the training and showing up, you do not need the added stress of questioning what mile you are on because it is not evident, which side of the cones to run on in the winding park (arrows on pavement through park would have been nice), or navigating on your own (is this the course/or this way) – again arrows would have been nice (and leaving them up for longer). The corral might be better managed too. I was in corral in the middle/back with a lot of mini runners. Without realizing I was in a pack that branched off and left. By the time you branch off from the mini runners you could be in mostly solitude with minimal support and limited chance of getting in a marathon group to help support you to the finish. At the tail end of the marathon expect limited to no support.