Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathon

State #20 Race Recap

The official title of this event was The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon.

I don't know why I am so opposed to the term mini marathon, but I do not care for it.  13.1 miles is a long, long way to run.  In my mind it is not a mini anything.  Do they call the 100 meters a mini 200 meters?  No!! In fact, they call the winner of the 100 meters, the FASTEST MAN ALIVE.  Or the 400 meters a mini 800 meter race?... etc... you get the point.  After my race in Duluth, MN., I posted a picture posing with my medal.  The medal clearly read HALF finisher on it.  One of the sweet ladies from church responded to my posting, "Well good for you for making it THAT far!"  She was trying to be sweet and encouraging.  -- Of course, to be fair to the discussion, most people that I talk with do not even know the difference between a marathon and a half marathon.  I am often asked, "How's the marathons coming?", and "Marathon?!?! How far is that, like 10 kilometers or something?"... So, maybe it makes no difference what you call it, a half marathon, a mini marathon, a marathon, or a stupid long way to run.  Truth is, the very next thing out of people's mouth is either, "Oh, my son runs marathons.... ", or "I used to run...", followed by, "How are your knees?" -- either way, I do not personally like the term mini marathon.  It just seems to diminish the race.  FWIW (For What It's Worth)(I recently discovered that several people are not aware of FWIF.

The Kentucky Derby Festival HALF MARATHON is held Louisville, Kentucky.

Registration:

Registration for this event was through RunSignUp.  Accessed through the derby festival web site: derbyfestivalmarathon.com

 Fee:

The fee was $85.  plus a $7.70 processing fee -- grand total: $92.70

The Expo:

The expo was held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. It was less than 2 miles from the airport, so I decided to walk.  I only had a backpack since I was alone and staying just one night.  It was an easy walk with the exception of having to walk out of the way to get to a place where I could cross the multi-lane HYW. Once at the expo, it was easy enough to get my bib and shirt, then one had to walk through the expo to the exit.  In this event, they decided to force the racers through the expo in an attempt to maximize the exposure to the vendors.  It was set up so that you were forced to walk a narrow, winding path in an continuous S-pattern.  That would not have been so bad, except there were many who would saunter through the maze with frequent stops and wander aimlessly, talking and forcing a line to form behind them.  It was terribly frustrating.  Once you finally got past those three people, there was another wandering group just in front of them.  I was not in any hurry, but I was trapped, and do not enjoy being trapped.  As a result, I saw none of the vendors.  I was focused only on getting through the blockade.  At the end of the expo, there was a place to take a "free" "shuttle" to downtown.  Free is in quotation marks because there was no XTRA charge.  And shuttle is in quotes because they were school busses.  I was the only rider on the bus on this trip.  It took about 15 min. and we passed right by where I needed to go to my accommodations, but the driver would not let me out when we stopped as "it would be too dangerous".  Safety first!

Shirt:

The shirt was another short-sleeved wicking, tech shirt  

Race Day:

Saturday.  I flew out Friday morning, made my way to the expo, had a good night's sleep.. woke at 4:00am to eat breakfast and get my bathroom routine working properly, then off to the race.  A two hour rest and shower, then to the airport Saturday about noon.

Race Start Time:

Race start was 7:30am.  We started a little more than 5 min. late.  They kept announcing that they would start in 5 min, then 2, then a long pause, then 5 min late.  I do not know why, but it did not matter.  The race started in downtown Louisville.  There was some construction, so instead of running straight up  main st. there were a couple of turns to re-route around the construction, but it did not seem to affect anyone.   There were a reported 13,000 people in this race.  If you look close at the below picture you cannot see me, but I am way up there near the start, which was great, because there was a whole bunch of folks gathered into a small space.  I was playing pinball at the start and there was only about 100  or so people in front of me.

Course Map:

The blue line is the half marathon.  The orange is the full - which extends beyond what I have captured here... but since the half is only a mini marathon... just kidding.  The big draw of this race was to run through Churchill Downs.  More on that later.

Accommodations:

I stayed in an AirBnB condo.  It was right about 200 yards from the finish line, and right at corral I, but just down the street from Corral B and right next to Slugger Field

I found this picture kinda funny.  They had moved the start line down a street that was already blocked off, so they did not have to close off main st. the day before.  Some time in the middle of the night, they moved the start down the street, but for the day before it sat right next to the finish.  Looks like a short race from here.  Maybe that is what they mean by mini marathon.  lol.

Transportation:

I walked from the airport.  Took the bus to downtown.  Walked to the room.  Walked (actually I jogged) to the grocery... and back.  Then I took an Uber back to the airport.  It was a super easy transportation this time.

Weather:

The weather was really great.  55F from race start to race finish.  It was clear and sunny.  I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.  I was comfortable.  I thought it might warm up and get hot, but it never did.  Nice.

Race Morning:

55 F.  It was a bit windy, but not so much that it was a problem.  There was one stiff head wind that I remember, but it was short lived and really did not bother me too much.  I walked out of my room at 7:00am and comfortably made my way to the start.  It was super easy.  Location is key for the accommodations.

Race:

We started the race.  I played pingpong with a bunch of folks who should not have been up at the front, and a few others that wanted to be and maybe should have been closer to the front.  Navigating crowds of runner who are trying to find their rhythm for the first couple miles is always tricky.  I never felt comfortable with my position on the course until about mile 3.5.  It opened up a bit at that point and I was not worried about running into someone or getting cut off or clipped from behind.  I found two guys who were running about the pace I had settled into.  It was nice to have two of them because there were times when I would speed up and different times where they would speed up and/or slow down.  We passed each other back and forth for 10 miles.  One would pass and the other I would pass, and so forth.  Back and forth for 10 miles.  At the finish, I passed one of them and lost track of the other.  It helped keep me around the right pace to get a decent time.
The elevation chart showed an uphill section at the last several miles, but my Garmin showed a net downhill over the entire race.  I did not really notice the uphill at the end, and my times did not reflect it.  I felt decent and only felt like I needed to slow down one time.

Water/Food Stations:

There were several water and Powerade stations.  I think they said there were 19 water stations.  That was plenty.  I drank at 3 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles, and 9 miles.  Otherwise, I did not feel the need to.

Scenery:

As I mentioned, the draw of this race was running through Churchill Downs. We ran through the front, which in my opinion was the best part of the entire experience.  

Once through the front entrance and past the museum, we entered a tunnel to go underneath the race track, and came out in the infield, which is  a paved road.  We made a short loop on this paved road and then back out another tunnel on the opposite side.

The infield loop was a little disappointing to me, only because this race is in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby next week, and there was a lot of set up and things in disarray.  The view was obscured by half erected tents and deliver trucks.  It would have been nice if we could have seen the track and the stadium etc.  The ironic part is that I do not generally notice these things, as I am focused on my race and not passing out, but I made a conscious decision to be alert and aware so that I did not miss any of the sights and the atmosphere.  It appears there was not a lot to miss in this one.  It was neat running into the stadium, but otherwise it was just more pavement.

Race Entertainment:

There were several bands at different points in the race and a few DJs playing music, but the best part of the "entertainment" for me was the fan support.  There were people everywhere and they were all clapping and cheering and ringing cowbells, etc.  I actually found it uplifting for the first time.  They were an encouragement to me.  There were fans and cheering along the entire course except in Churchill Downs itself.  

Finish:

The finish was nice with a large fan base.  There was water and chocolate milk and Powerade and mini muffins and bananas, and a couple of other things that I don't remember because I could not carry them, so I dismissed them.  People were taking the racers pictures at every turn.  The finishers area finished in a field where there was a festival the day before and one could only presume the after party was held there as well.  I walked back to the room.  I had to walk the loooong way around as my place was right at the turn to the finish, so I could not cross the runners path to get back.

Bling:

Misc:

 My math skills were a little better this time.  My awareness was a little better this time.  I felt more aware of my surroundings as well as where I was from a time perspective.  I don't know if that means I was in better shape or my nutrition was better or what made the difference.  I did get another PR, and that ALWAYS makes me happy.    The course was pretty flat and an overall net downhill

Next race May 19 in Alton New Hampshire.  Valerie will be running with me on this one.  Should be fun.

I forgot to relay one thing about this race.  I upped my milage the week before the race and my calf was not happy about it.  Both calves were tight and one was a bit uncomfortable.  So, I was super easy with my running the last few days before.  My times were slow and my distance was short.  Before the race my calf was very tight, and for the first several miles I could feel it, and was nervous that it might affect me as I continued.  Each time I felt it, I prayed that God prevent me from injuring myself, even if that meant for me to drop out or slow up considerably.  I was worried that I would get injured and take multiple weeks to recover.  After 5 or 6 prayers in the same vein, I totally forgot about my calf and never felt it again.  God is good!  Amen.