Kentucky Derby Festival mini & Marathon
Louisville, KY
- Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The GE Appliances Kentucky Derby Festival mini & Marathon is a long-standing tradition held every spring in Kentucky. It has become the largest annual day of road racing in the state. Participants will start at Louisville Slugger Field in downtown Louisville and run through numerous neighborhoods, experiencing all aspects of … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Apr 25):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 74 | 63 | 65 | 74 | 67 |
| L (°F) | 63 | 40 | 39 | 61 | 47 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Great Option for Kentucky
The race expo was decent. Lots of clothing, shoes, glasses, etc. Packet pickup was easy with almost no lines. The course was mostly flat which made for a very PRable … MORE
The race expo was decent. Lots of clothing, shoes, glasses, etc. Packet pickup was easy with almost no lines. The course was mostly flat which made for a very PRable course. The only hills were going through the tunnels of Churchill Downs. I was expecting a bit more scenery running through the horse track, but most of the views were blocked by fences and other large items, but it was cool nonetheless. Crowd support was very good at times. Thanks to the guys handing out Red Bulls on Mile 12. They had a few snacks and beverages at the post race area, but nothing out of the ordinary. The medals and shirts were nice. They give a bonus medal if you run the 5K the night before. Overall a great race.
Churchill Down Infield +Louisville views
Decently flat race course, with nice views of historical Louisville brownstones and a run past the Louisville Slugger Museum/Factory and the giant baseball bat outside, really cool entrance to Churchill … MORE
Decently flat race course, with nice views of historical Louisville brownstones and a run past the Louisville Slugger Museum/Factory and the giant baseball bat outside, really cool entrance to Churchill Downs, where they have you go through a tunnel to go under the track and get to the infield, loop around the infield (on a paved track; they don’t actually let you run on the horse track, unsurprisingly), and exit through a different tunnel, then eventually finish by the Ohio River.
It’s a great course and well-produced race, the two things I found to be fairly lame were the SPONSORED CONTENT THAT OVERTAKES YOUR MUSIC IF YOU USE THE RACEJOY APP (they haven’t had this for other races that used RaceJoy, and a massive fuck you to Norton Health for running an add like that to a captive audience of runners), as well as the overall results not being posted until the next day despite the use of the RaceJoy app and chips in the bibs (I could see how I did, but not relative to the rest of the field),
It was lovely
It was incredible to run through Churchill Downs! It was fast and flat! I would highly recommend this race! The race was safe and well organized! MORE
It was incredible to run through Churchill Downs! It was fast and flat! I would highly recommend this race!
The race was safe and well organized!
Great Race
I truly enjoyed this race. For Louisville, the half was very flat, and it showcased most parts of Louisville that could be on a flat route. We ran past Louisville … MORE
I truly enjoyed this race. For Louisville, the half was very flat, and it showcased most parts of Louisville that could be on a flat route. We ran past Louisville Slugger into Harlem through Churchill Downs came back through the University of Louisville then to the finish line by the water. Many cool murals on the route and good crowd support. I enjoyed that this race is part of their Kentucky Derby Festival, so we enjoyed the festival while we were visiting. The route split at one point but the full came back around the mile 11 mark on the half. I enjoyed being able to see the full front runners and encourage them… BUT I don’t know how much the full runners like it. I could see some half runners getting in their way.
The expo was great… I wish they had better merch items for the half. I opted to get a Louisville running company shirt instead and a sweatshirt from Churchill Downs. Race day was great and started on time. Weather was perfect. I have family close by so I am thinking I may repeat this state!
I will add- I enjoyed staying at the Cambria. It was perfect. The starting line was a street over and the finish line was a block over. I came with my family and my husband was easily able to navigate two small kids from the room. We walked everywhere and the derby festival is close by as well. Wild Eggs for breakfast was across the street. I put our name on the list then went up to take a shower before we left!
I still have yet to receive my email for the results. I was able to pull them off the website though. I wasn’t impressed with the pictures that were taken and very expensive from other halfs I have seen.
Flat Tour of Louisville &Churchill Downs
I chose this race based on several factors: running through the infield of Church hill downs seemed like it would be fun, the time of year (Racing in the southern … MORE
I chose this race based on several factors: running through the infield of Church hill downs seemed like it would be fun, the time of year (Racing in the southern humidity during a time of year other than winter/spring seemed foolish), and decent reviews on this site and I already ran the Hatfield Mccoy marathon which is partially in Kentucky but I counted that race towards West Virginia. Having now run the race myself I think I made a good choice choosing the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon (Half Marathon) for state #23. If you are traveling from out of state like me Louisville would be the obvious airport to fly into but it was a bit expensive. Both Indianapolis and Cincinnati are 1.5-1.75 hours away and would be good options. I flew to Indianapolis then rented and car and drove down and stayed at a hotel in southern Indiana near the border. Other than some difficulty leaving the race to get back north across the river to my hotel in Indiana due to the marathon closing some bridges this worked well.
EXPO/PACKET PICK UP:
This was a mid-sized expo. The expo was held in a downtown convention center, Freedom Hall, which used to be home to the U of Louisville Basketball time years ago. There were numerous vendors and race advertisements. I didn’t spend much time there because I wanted to stay off my feet due to the race the next day. Bib pickup was easy, it was located in the back of the expo and simply providing your name and ID got me my bib #, gear check bag and race shirt. I did stop to take some pictures with the different signs around the expo.
PARKING/ACCESS: Parking at the start area was pretty difficult and a little stressful. They sent an email out where you could pre pay for parking at a couple local garages which worked fine. However funneling all of the cars to the correct garages meant moving at a near standstill and had me worried that I would miss the start. I picked the garage closest to the start line and If I did it again I would pick a garage farther away in a less congested area. They chared $15 for 7hrs of parking. Getting out of the garage also proved to be a challenge, some of the bridges to the north across the river to Indiana were closed due to the race or had tolls. Getting out took a long time and again had me wishing I had parked elsewhere. I’m sure with a little better planning by me as to where I would park to avoid road closures things would have gone smoother.
T-Shirts/SWAG: The medal for this race was average in quality, it is pretty thin and a unique color but not fancy. I prefer medals that represent the state or the region which this does to the extent that there is always a horse head as part of the race logo to represent the derby but the medal overall could have been from any race. (see picture). The race shirts were T-shirts, which I’m sure I will get more use out of in the long run but I prefer a tech shirt so that I can race in them on race day. (See Photos)
AID STATIONS: The aid stations were well stocked and mostly plentiful. I would say there was a pretty average # of them throughout the course but only some had water and Gatorade. They all had water. Sadly the aid station between miles 9 and 12 didn’t exist except for a booth offering orange slices. I also wish that they did something the help the volunteers distinguish between water and Gatorade, different color cups, teach volunteers to say things like water first electrolytes second. Neither of these things happened, I don’t blame the volunteers, they should all be commended for freely giving their time but the race organizers should make sure the booths all exist and they give some instruction/coaching about how to man them and give them the resources they need to make the aid station amenities clear. I didn’t see any aid stations that had GU or Gels. I didn’t hear anything about supplies running out at any time during the race. I was near the front so I was never really in a group, but the number of volunteers was more than enough at each station. I’m sure there were some real slow downs at aid station as volunteers were filling and handing out cups as fast as they could pour them at busier times. One additional critique it would be to have a few more garbage cans 100 yards after the stations so you could have time to finish your drink before trying to toss your cup.
Course Scenery/Elevation Difficulty: The course starts right outside the baseball stadium downtown in a park/parking lot under the backside delivery area. The course started by quickly making a few turns then weaving back and forth for a few blocks the first 4 miles before heading south to Churchill Downs. A little after mile 8 you reach the race track and run through a tunnel under the track, run around the infield for a little while before exiting through another tunnel under the track. The full and half marathon groups split shortly after you exit the track. You then run straight for the next 3-3.5 miles back towards the start before making a few turns near the finish ending up about a block from where you started. The majority of the course is pretty non descript mostly running through downtown, neighborhoods and business districts. Running through Churchill Downs is undeniably a cool and unique experience. The grounds are beautiful with cool architecture and since the race is held a week before the derby there were horses on the track running and practicing. The half marathon course is very flat which is conducive to running a PR. Large sections of the street/course need to be repaved though so I would caution people to keep their awareness so they don’t turn an ankle. The weather was cool and overcast the day I ran the race leading to ideal conditions, a hotter humid day would obviously add to the difficultly. The race starts at 7:00am which was fine this year but in a warmer year it would be a huge help in beating the heat/humidity. They have lots of cones protecting the course with lots of police helping to direct traffic so I never felt as though I was running near traffic. They also had garbage and dump trucks out around downtown to fully block/protect the course from cars entering it. Crowd support around the course was really plentiful, a little less so in the neighborhoods but I enjoyed lots of cheering and creative signs along the way.
Race Management: This Race was decently run, for a medium race (1,300+ finishers for the full, 6.2k+ for the half, plus some for the relay). I found their website to be the best source of info along with facebook, they also email you a few bits of advice including a race guide and a guide of things to do in the area. Other things to compliment this race on: They had age group awards. The start area had a bag check area by the start line that was open until the start. They did have pace setters but not for anything faster than 1:35, they seemed to be pretty regular after that. The finish had the usual finish line fare including having water, chocolate milk/protein shakes, and bananas but sadly no electrolytes. They also had a pulled pork sliders, cookies and granola bars. Some things they could do better: They don’t have free race Photos, the bathroom situation before the start was pretty difficult so I would advise using any you see while walking towards the start. The medal/swag game could be stepped up and basics like making sure the aid stations are all there and more organized would help.
Overall I would say this race is a fair way to check Kentucky off your 50 state list (I used the Hatfield McCoy marathon for West Virginia, if you have other plans for West Virginia then definitely do Hatfield Mccoy for Kentucky). If for no other reason than running through Churchill downs. I give this race a very low 4 shoes that borders close to 3. There are several unforced errors that they could clean up to really improve the race experience from the access/parking to “free” photos to ensuring that the aid stations are fully stocked and as efficient as they can be. Fixing some of those things could make this an easy 4+ shoe race. All that being said this is still a race that I enjoyed and would recommend.
Fantastic!
This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed it! Nice field size, well run race, great crowd support, and ample water and Powerade stations. It's a mostly flat course, … MORE
This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed it! Nice field size, well run race, great crowd support, and ample water and Powerade stations. It’s a mostly flat course, but there are about 3mi of pretty challenging hills around Iroquois Park (approximately mile 12). Definitely do some hill training and pace the first half so that you leave gas in the tank to tackle those, but otherwise the course is pretty easy. (Of note, this course has changed over the years quite a bit, so take older reviews containing course complaints with a grain of salt). Residents along the route were out cheering, playing music and offering snacks, and we got to run through Churchill Downs a week before the Kentucky Derby, which was really special. (We even saw some horses doing their morning workouts on the back stretch!) The expo was small but well done, the medal is really nice, and there were ample post race snacks and water, mylar blankets, and photo ops. My only real complaint was the race shirts were pretty low quality. (When you run a marathon you should expect some sort of tech shirt that you can actually run in, not a cotton tshirt.) I would definitely do this race again!
It has great potential
Overall, this was an okay race. It has so much potential to be great. Positives: 1. The course was well marked. I never felt confused as to which way I … MORE
Overall, this was an okay race. It has so much potential to be great.
Positives:
1. The course was well marked. I never felt confused as to which way I was supposed to go even at both splits at half and full runners.
2. Most volunteers were encouraging, friendly, and supportive. I’ve never seen more law enforcement officers that were as encouraging.
3. The scenery was nice – the park, the old houses, and Churchill Downs.
Improvements:
1. It would have been nice to receive an email the week of the race with instructions. Most races do this with instructions for packet pickup, etc.
2. At the expo, I was given a mini marathon bib instead of a full marathon and the wrong shirt size was written on the back of the bib. Thankfully, I noticed when I was handed the wrong shirt. I had to get back in line for the bibs and then go back to get the correct shirt. When the volunteer who gave me the correct bib started to write the shirt size on the back, she wrote L for ladies then W fir womens. I had to correct her that I requested a small. I overhead two other women saying they were also given either the wrong bib and/or wrong shirt. If the names are in a database, and they must be printed last minute anyway, assign each runner their bib number at that time and use one of the tear off tags at the bottom for the shirt size. That will eliminate the wrong bib and/or the wrong shirt being handed out.
3. There were some aid stations with only Powerade. How do you not have water at all stations?
4. At some stations, Powerade was being put into water cups. I understand running out of Powerade cups and having to improvise, but volunteers should be more vocal of what they are holding. At one station, I said “water”, voicing to the volunteer what I wanted. As he put it in my hand, he said “Powerade”. Since Powerade doesn’t sit well with me, I threw away a whole cup which could have been avoided if he would have voiced it a little sooner.
A good race with room for improvement
Overall: For a mid-sized US city, Louisville puts on a pretty solid race. I would recommend this to my friends who are interested in checking out an underrated part of … MORE
Overall:
For a mid-sized US city, Louisville puts on a pretty solid race. I would recommend this to my friends who are interested in checking out an underrated part of the country, or are trying to complete the 50 states challenge. It’s very possible to have a good performance here, but there are also things that would need to change in order for me to give a better rating.
The Good:
– The volunteers were all energetic and helpful. The water stop volunteers were energetic and did their best to keep us hydrated.
– The band at the school shortly before reaching Iroquois Park was awesome!
– Finish line volunteers did a good job making sure everyone was okay after the race. Medal and food volunteers did great.
– The course is mostly flat. Iroquois Park’s hills are no joke, but the rest of the course is easy enough that you’ll be fine as long as you don’t overdo it in the park.
– The course was fairly pretty, and running through Churchill Downs, the park, and the waterfront was enjoyable. Similar marathons in Cincinnati, Nashville, and Baltimore are not nearly as scenic.
– The directions and course marking were good. Roads were closed properly, and we had no trouble staying on course. Places where the half and full diverge were clearly marked and had people calling out what to do.
Areas for Improvement:
– There was a miscommunication at the start regarding when the gun would go off. The host and a guest from GE were both speaking but were not on the same page about how close to the start we were. Several people false started. People get jumpy when the big day comes, so please list the commands you’ll use (e.g. “We’ll say runner’s set, then you’ll hear the gun”) so folks know what to listen for.
– We need some cones or something to delineate between half and full marathoners once the two groups merge back together at Churchill Downs (around mile 18). Faster runners have to do a lot of weaving as the half marathoners are very spread out.
– There needs to be a timing pad/checkpoint on the final out and back on River Road. This would save a lot of headaches with marathoners opting to bail and finish the race early, skewing the results.
– Most water stops were fine, but several along 3rd St were under-staffed and couldn’t handle both half and full marathoners.
– I’ll contend that there were plenty of port-a-potties, but people had no idea where they all were. Putting sets of 10-15 potties scattered for blocks in each direction near the start probably isn’t optimal.
– When we went to one set of port-a-potties we found that all the toilet paper had been stolen from every stall, and a couple were filled with peoples’ belongings like they were living in them. It’s not a great look.
– I am not a fan of racejoy. I don’t want an app that requires me to carry my phone during the race. I just want my family and friends notified when I pass checkpoints and finish the race.
First Annual 5K
This was an out and back course that crosses into Indiana by bridge. There is a hill/ramp on each side of the bridge that were somewhat tough. It had just … MORE
This was an out and back course that crosses into Indiana by bridge. There is a hill/ramp on each side of the bridge that were somewhat tough. It had just rained so the ramps were a little scary. There was one water station at the halfway point. The distance on my watch was actually a little long (3.22 miles). Unfortunately we had a delayed start because there was lighting in the area. Luckily there was an overpass that we all could get under until it passed. The medal and shirt were nice.
Low on porta potties
If you are counting on porta pottie availability towards the beginning of a race between 1-8 miles, don't plan your PR here. The lack of potties for a combined half … MORE
If you are counting on porta pottie availability towards the beginning of a race between 1-8 miles, don’t plan your PR here. The lack of potties for a combined half and full showed the planners were NOT runners.
Here I go again…
Sam race as always but the swag and production this year was sub-par. We (Louisville) need to step our game up a lot. Very disappointing this time around. Would like … MORE
Sam race as always but the swag and production this year was sub-par. We (Louisville) need to step our game up a lot. Very disappointing this time around. Would like to see better swag, just more on the course.
Flat course running with horses
Love going through Churchill Downs and watching the horses run before the Derby. The medal and race shirt were cool. Overall race experience was good. MORE
Love going through Churchill Downs and watching the horses run before the Derby. The medal and race shirt were cool. Overall race experience was good.
Very cool running through Churchill
Great race to check off Kentucky! Bought a cool Sweatshirt with a unicorn - wish the race swag had this design. Well organized. Hotels within walking distance of the start/finish. … MORE
Great race to check off Kentucky! Bought a cool
Sweatshirt with a unicorn – wish the race swag had this design. Well organized. Hotels within walking distance of the start/finish. Much more humid than expected. Very cool to run through Churchill downs and see some horses practicing.
Churchill Downs baby!!
This race is back to its original course. The hills of Iroquois Park make this race a little more difficult but add to the awesomeness!! Love getting to run this … MORE
This race is back to its original course. The hills of Iroquois Park make this race a little more difficult but add to the awesomeness!! Love getting to run this race and will be back again.
Great Kentucky 50-state race
As an aspiring 50-stater, this was state #11, so my review will come with that lens. I'm familiar with Louisville (I have family in town) and it's a nice city … MORE
As an aspiring 50-stater, this was state #11, so my review will come with that lens. I’m familiar with Louisville (I have family in town) and it’s a nice city to visit. The timing of the race–a week before Derby–is ideal, as town enthusiasm picks up a bit, and the weather cooperated (mostly overcast, a little drizzle, but temperature in the 60s to 70s).
The expo and packet pick-up was pretty straightforward and simple and quick (I’m not an expo guy).
On race day, the race was pretty well organized–easy to get to the start, and plenty of room.
As for the race itself, I really think that the course was pretty outstanding–they selected a fairly urban course that was actually interesting (with the entrance to Churchill Downs at around mile 8 being the obvious highlight), and then a looping out-and-back to Iriquois Park to complete the first-half, running back down some familiar streets with a final turn towards the finish at about 22 (with a 2-mile out and back from the finish to get those last 4 miles in). What I liked about the course is that the urban areas were interesting, as scenic as they can be (some neighborhoods were nice, others more transitional–but very little industrial areas), the roads were wide open and well protected with extensive and friendly police support (I only saw one motorcyclist walk through an intersection,) and one car authorized through the entire course. The course was relatively flat (slight downhill overall) with some moderate hills in the Iriquois Park area (M11 to 15). Overall, I just thought that the race planners picked a very good course that showed off some fine parts of the city and did not cut corners by throwing runners off into industrial areas for empty miles.
If there were any criticisms about the course, I’d say one minor things: the finish line was in a weird spot–after a short turn in the road at an area that felt like the onramp to a highway, just an odd spot (but I may have been delirious at that point, so maybe this is on me.) In any event, it didn’t have that tension that I usually love about the final mile in the race because of that somewhat blind and unusual finish area.
The bling (medal) and shirt (long sleeve black tech shirt) were all serviceable and classy–although I’m not usually huge about swag or bling, but it’s top 25%-50% for sure.
Aid stations were well stocked with water and Gatorade (I never saw anything else like Gu or other things, except when spectators or private groups had tables set up).
Crowd support was pretty good throughout, although certainly modest and quiet in parts like the neighborhood areas.
Food/drink in the recovery area was ideal for me–decent selection of basic fruit, granola, water, powerade, etc, so no complaints there!
Overall, I’m glad I chose this race as my Kentucky race–I think it’s worth a shot–especially for that chance to run with the horses at Churchill Downs.
My Old Kentucky Home
This was my 3rd marathon. The weather was pretty warm - 68 at the start - so I decided in the corral to go out at party pace to avoid … MORE
This was my 3rd marathon. The weather was pretty warm – 68 at the start – so I decided in the corral to go out at party pace to avoid overheating. The first half is really fun, lots of spectators, and you run through churchill downs which is so great! I also liked Iroquois park, even with the hills (i walked part of the first one, then ran the ups and downs). I found the spectators really lacking though as you came back down and through the city…and the marathoners had to dodge the half marathon walkers which i found pretty frustrating and demotivating (at that point you’re at miles 18-20, and the walkers are wakling a 3.5 hour or so half marathon). The worst of the worst was miles 21-25, which is an out-and-back on waterfront road, so no spectators! I’m so glad one of the volunteers had an orange, i completely cratered and really struggled there. Post race was fine, but we found some good bars on the 1.5 mile walk back to the hotel. I love Louisville, have come here for work for the past 18 years, and enjoyed the experience overall!
First half great, second half eh
Expo: Very smooth and easy to park. Marathoners got a long sleeve tee and half got a regular tee. Race day: I believe there were about 1400 marathoners this year, … MORE
Expo: Very smooth and easy to park. Marathoners got a long sleeve tee and half got a regular tee.
Race day: I believe there were about 1400 marathoners this year, which is a pretty decent size. Parking was pretty easy. We left our house, which was about 20 minutes away, at 6:10 and was in our corale at 6:40.
The big takeaway from this race is that there is a lot on the first half. The second half goes through Iroquois park, which is really hilly between miles 11.5-14.5 with no crowd support. Marathoners also rejoin the half marathoners for, I believe, miles 18-22. Then we split off again and rejoin for the last 1.5. It was so annoying having to weave through all of the half walkers. I was wondering what other marathoners thought about this too. I thought there was plenty of hydration stations, but there definitely could’ve been more porta potties on the second half. At one point, you run through the corales again where there were a TON of bathrooms, but you can’t get to them because the barricades were still up from the morning.
Post race: nothing really special about any post-race food. They gave you entire bottles of Powerade, but no bottles of water.
Weather: temps were 65 from the start and ended around 74. My guess is that the weather for this race could be a hit or a miss. The day before our race, the morning temps were in the 50s, so we were off from perfect weather by 1 day.
Overall I would recommend this race as a great half marathon, but I wouldn’t recommend the full if you’re trying to PR. But if you’re going to enjoy Kentucky, then maybe this race is for you!
Fun, flat, organized. maybe not KY best
I haven’t done other KY races but did research others. Was hoping to see the balloon glow the night before but wind 10-20mph only allowed torches. There were a lot … MORE
I haven’t done other KY races but did research others. Was hoping to see the balloon glow the night before but wind 10-20mph only allowed torches. There were a lot people out and parking was pretty difficult to find. The race was okay. If you want to see beautiful KY countryside with horses, pick another race. If you like to be in city setting this race is ok.
Running with the horses
The coolest part of this race was running through the center of Churchill Downs and getting to see the horses running around the track. The rest of Louisville is extremely … MORE
The coolest part of this race was running through the center of Churchill Downs and getting to see the horses running around the track. The rest of Louisville is extremely pretty and the weather was fantastic, I especially liked running by the giant Louisville slugger bat!
Race through Churchill Downs
Great local race that highlights downtown Louisville and running through Churchill Downs to kick off the Kentucky Derby Festival - the marathon crosses the Ohio River into Indiana and both … MORE
Great local race that highlights downtown Louisville and running through Churchill Downs to kick off the Kentucky Derby Festival – the marathon crosses the Ohio River into Indiana and both distances end at the Lynn Family Soccer Stadium. Lots of great crowd support!