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FLRC Newsletter - Jun 2003 |
| Kentucky Derby Marathon Louisville, KY State # 34 and DC | |
After once again brushing off the snow from the car on April 26 we made our way to the airport to fly to Louisville, KY so I could compete in the second running of the Kentucky Derby Marathon. When my husband and I arrived it was a very pleasant 60 degrees with the sun shinning and the flowers blooming. Our hotel was conveniently located about 3 blocks from the Convention Center where all of the activities took place and 3 blocks from the finish line. For our first afternoon we toured the Louisville Slugger Museum. The entrance to the museum is distinguished by a 120 foot, 68,000 pound steel baseball bat which rests against the wall of the famous manufacturing plant and headquarters. We were able to see an underground locker room and dugout before moving onto the manufacturing facility to see bats being produced for today's players. For souvenirs we received baseball bats which were about 6 inches long.
Later in the day we went to the expo and packet pickup held at the Convention Center. Instead of shirts for the marathoners they gave us beautiful black windjackets with the Kentucky Derby Marathon Logo on them. Friday morning we woke to thunder, lightning and a downpour. It was like this all day. I was so happy Friday was not marathon day. For the day we visited Churchill Downs and toured the race track and museum. I sat in one of the metal folding chairs which one week later would cost me $500 to sit in during the Kentucky Derby.
That evening we met with my friend from Albany who is also a fifty stater and has only 3 more states to go and will be done in June. We went to the prerace pasta dinner which was delicious and put on by the local YMCA. That night it continued to rain and tornado warnings were posted. Fortunately the worst weather went south of us.
Saturday, marathon day, was perfect. The heavy rains had stopped and only a few sprinkles were in the air at the start. We were bused to the start and once again I had the joy of using the port-a-john in total darkness. It was 50 degrees and a perfect running temperature for me. The half marathon and marathon runners started together for a total of over 7,000 runners. During the race I made a very important sighting: Elvis Presley. The spectators loved Elvis the runner and would shout "Hi Elvis"and he would wave and shout back. It was very funny and entertaining to watch him and the crowd for a few miles.
At about the 12 mile marker the half marathoners and marathoners split. When I turned the corner I was virtually by myself as only 700 runners were in the whole marathon.
The course was very pretty as we ran through 2 very hilly parks, past Churchill Downs, along the Ohio River and through local neighborhoods before crossing the finish line downtown. It was an extremely well run marathon with all of the highways shut down for the runners and the police were even very supportive by yelling out "You are doing great" as we passed them. The half marathon is one of the largest in the United States and has been run for over 30 years. When I finished it was about 62 degrees and the sun had just started coming out from behind the clouds. The perfect running day gave me a finishing time of 4:18:37 and a second place in my age group. The next day I know I would not have done so well as it was supposed to go up to 80 degrees. Marathon night we went out to celebrate another state done with the friends from Albany. We had "Hot Brown" for dinner which is a Kentucky favorite. May is going to be a busy month with a marathon in Maine and also Oregon which will complete my states on the East and West Coast.
Happy Running,
Ruthie
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