Kentucky Derby Half Marathon, Louisville KY April 2022

 

I refuse to refer to this race as a mini-marathon, as they call it. I bet they think it sounds cute, but the half marathon distance race has a name. It's called the half marathon. Stop being cute. Yes, it is a pet peeve of mine, and many other runners, ha! In hindsight I'm looking like a genius for choosing the half over the full, but I made that call long before race day. This was not a marathon that spoke to me, at least not in its current configuration. Before COVID the course ran entirely along the streets of Louisville, including a run through Churchill Downs, which made sense, as it is called the Kentucky Derby race, but last year they somehow convinced the fine people of southern Indiana to have the runners cross the Ohio river and run along a pedestrian bike path in Indiana for the majority of the race. Yes, it was probably deemed "COVID safe", but I can't wrap my head around what's in it for Indiana when everyone stays in Louisville and spends their money there...Anyhow, for 2022 the race director moved the first half of the marathon back into Louisville, but decided to run the second half out and back along the Indiana bike path again. For this reason alone I decided I didn't want to have anything to do with the full marathon and signed up for the HALF. 

2022 Course

Jamie needed Kentucky for her 50 state quest, and others joined in, so before too long we had quite the crowd from Dallas going to this one! Toby signed up for the full two days after running the Ventura marathon! After Ventura I kept running long and started thinking that maybe if it was a freaky cold day in Kentucky maybe I'd switch to the full, but I google-earthed the second half TWICE to try to get my head around it. It's a rule of mine; I cannot commit to a race unless I can mentally put myself there. I wasn't feeling it, and the forecast started deteriorating, so that was that. 

LSP, Jamie, and Toby for the full, and Tom and I for the half.

Race day morning was exciting! There were about 8,000 runners total, with all of us starting the race at the same time! It's been a very long time since we've had this experience, so it was really special. I liked that we were with the full marathoners for almost all of our race. We were shoulder to shoulder the whole time. There were spectators out in full force, and the water stops were spot on with tons of volunteers, including kids (I always get a cup from the smallest one and thank them). Mike Murgas found me early on, so we ran together until just before Churchill Downs (around mile 8 or so), but we never saw anyone else, but later others had stories of who they saw or ran with along the way. The run through Churchill Downs was amazing! We ran through the main entrance and ran alongside the race track, where training was taking place. Very cool experience!

After exiting Churchill Downs I started feeling the effects of the weather. It was pretty warm, but the main issue was the humidity. Once the sun popped out it started warming up really quickly. From that point on I had to walk the water stops and slow down, but still stayed within myself to enjoy the last few miles as much as possible--look around at the old buildings and the people all around me. As we split from the marathoners near the end ("mini runners turn right"...grrrr....) I could truly feel it, their pain, and it made me sick with worry.

Tom found me right away, and then the Murgi and the Brinks! Half marathoners all happy and ready to drink the beers! They all had the bourbon shots too!! Yes, our post race finish was lively and fun, which I absolutely knew would not be the case for the marathoners...

Half marathons are fun!

I knew Toby would be ok until after he finished (then he'd need to lie down and die), but I didn't know about the girls. At least they'd see each other on the out and back, so that would help. What I didn't know is that they were running together and both suffered greatly, but at totally different times, so they truly pulled each other through it. Jamie had "stomach" issues very early in the race when LSP was feeling fine, and then once they crossed into Indiana LSP started struggling when Jamie was actually feeling better. Both say they wouldn't have finished without each other and to see them come through the finish chute holding hands was something that still makes me cry. 

Not like us half marathoners at all

It took quite a while before they "came back to life" at the finish, but Tom and I pilfered their beer tickets so we managed ok, ha. On the walk back to our hotel we stopped at a great place for a proper celebration of a great day!

Stats:

Toby ran a 3:24, LSP ran a 4:20, and Jamie a 4:22. Toby placed 3rd in his age group and LSP placed 2nd! To add insult to injury the marathon course was a bit long! Toby's Garmin measured 26.65! Oh, and I ran a 2:12 half and so so grateful I didn't run the full. I had FOMO about not running across the bridge until I saw the steepness of it! No thanks!

ouch!

In summary...the marathoners didn't like the second half of the marathon, as I feared. Maybe they'll go back to the original course, who knows, but if I return to Kentucky to run a marathon I think I'll go elsewhere, however I do recommend the HALF marathon and the trip to Louisville!