Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon
Louisville, Kentucky
Saturday, April 24, 2010

It was drizzling when I arrived at the start line for the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon on Saturday, April 24, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. It continued to drizzle for the first hour and a half of the race with the temperature just above 60 degrees and a slight breeze. When the rain stopped, the temperature began to rise to near 70 degrees with partly cloudy skies and much humidity. The race, which is the first of many events leading up to the May 1, 2010 Kentucky Derby thoroughbred race, sold out with about 12000 in the mini marathon and 3000 in the marathon and thus the course was somewhat crowded. Water/Powerade stations were located every 1.5 to 2 miles with Powerade at every other station. There were enthusiastic volunteers at the stations who were not able to pour cups of water or Powerade as fast as the competitors arrived; however, the race directors must have anticipated this and had small bottles of water to hand out to the competitors when cups were not ready. I was not able to drink as much Powerade as I wanted, but was able to stay hydrated. The course was mostly flat with some hills in a park between miles 1 and 5. A highlight of the course was between miles 7 and 8 where the competitors were routed for about three-fourths of a mile into the infield of Churchill Downs. I estimated that there were nearly 100 horses working out. The racing season began in the afternoon on the day of the Mini Marathon and the competitors were given admission tickets whch could be used on either Saturday or Sunday. The police controlled intersections so that the course was completely closed to traffic. The event was very well organized and I enjoyed the event greatly; however, I was not able to be much of a tourist during the rest of the time I was in Louisville because it rained so much. Thunder storm and tornado watches were also posted, so I generally stayed indoors. The weather was no fault of the event.