The Throo the Zoo 5k is billed as “one of Louisville’s most distinctive road events, the course takes participants “throo” the Zoo — past many of your favorite animals and exhibits.” This year was the 23rd running of this unique race and the fourth time I’ve run it. The race as it is now takes you past polar bears, tigers, elephants, rhinos, lemurs, monkeys, and many other exhibits throughout the zoo.

Overall Impressions: Don’t let the distance fool you! With the course changes they’ve made in the last couple of years this is a pretty hill-filled course. The changes have been positive though as the race is now run almost entirely within the gates making this a super cool experience. This is also a very family friendly race with the course limit set at an hour and thirty minutes and strollers allowed.

T-Shirts/Swag: The t-shirt for this race is always cute but I inevitably end up giving it away or donating it each year because they are a basic cotton t-shirt. This year’s shirt featured a trio of penguins who brought some chilly and wet weather along for the race. Also as part of you race fee you are given free admission to the zoo after the race, you just need your bib!

Aid Stations: There is one water stop just past the one mile mark as you hit the switch-backs in the parking lot. This is pretty simple with cups of water and a few volunteers manning the table.

Scenery & Course: The real reason to run this race is for the experience and the scenery. I’ve never done another race that takes you through over 90% of the zoo’s exhibits and enclosures and it definitely makes this race unforgettable.

The race starts out on Illinois Ave and takes runners in through the side maintenance gate and into the Oasis Special Event Tent. From there you head around the back loop of the zoo, following along the Zoo Train route and passing the Australian Outback enclosure, the Tigers, and the Gorilla Forest Exhibits and the first of four major inclines. Once past the Gorilla Hill, as I’ve taken to calling it, you head out of another service gate and into the parking lot for a few switch-backs and your water stop.

Then it’s back into the zoo through the main entrance and on to the second major hill, called the Yellow Brick Hill, due to the yellow brick road painted on it for the Zoo’s "World's Largest Halloween Party". As you come around the corner at top of the hill you’ll see giraffes, rhinos, warthogs, antelopes, elephants, mile two and monkeys. Even the newest baby camel was out to greet the runners! Once past the monkeys it’s time to head downhill for a bit and through one of the newest habitat areas, Glacier Run, home to Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears, Seals and Sea Lions, and the Stellar Sea Eagles. As we were headed through the Polar Bear was hanging out in the overhead exhibit bridge for all to see. Pretty cool!

Next up, you head past the flamingos, snow leopards, and the mane wolves and towards the Herp Aquarium and Meta Zoo and the third major incline, although a much shorter hill, and then the Islands habitat where Sumatran tigers, Galapagos tortoises, and orangutans take the stage. Before you know it, you’re at the last and longest hill! At the top of that hill it’s back out the main gate and just a few more yards to the finish!

Elevation: As I mentioned, when they changed the course a couple of years ago they made the race pretty awesome by taking your through almost all of the exhibits there are. They also added EVERY HILL IN THE ZOO! Not a bad thing just something to keep in mind as you take it on! It’s challenging but so WORTH IT!

Race Experience: Though I love this race it can be a tad crowded at the start and for some of the places along the route, like around the lemur and monkey enclosures. To compensate for this the race organizers release the runners in waves but without more than one person releasing the waves it’s a little crazy. The other main consideration for this race is the weather – being in mid-May the race can be hot and humid, rainy and humid, or as it was this year chilly and wet or anything in-between. Be sure you check the weather the night before and in the morning and dress accordingly. Neither of those things would ever keep me away from this race though. As I keep saying, it’s such a cool experience it makes all the rest worth it.

As an aside, there is also an optional costume contest that you can participate in and let me tell you, it make for some added hilarity along the course. From flamingos and tigers, to leopards and penguins, there are all kinds of animals on and off the course!

Parking/Access: Parking for the race is free at the Zoo. It is recommended that you arrive before 7:30 a.m. as parking closes by 7:45 a.m. to allow time to make sure the course is safe for participants. Parking is also available across the street at the Joe Creason Park Tennis Center.

Throo the Zoo has been one of my favorite spring races since I started running. With all the cool things to see along the route and the fun doesn’t stop. I definitely recommend this race if you’re tired of your average 5k on roadways!

Happy Running!

The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon hold a special place in my heart. This year was the 4th time I’ve run in one of their races. It was my first half marathon in 2008 and my first marathon this year. I will also note that I was a race ambassador for the race this year and did have my entry fees covered by my recruitment efforts. That being said I hope you will see this as a full and impartial review of the 2016 Marathon.

The first Saturday and May, Louisville plays host to the “most exciting two minutes in sports” the Kentucky Derby. What you may not know is that for two weeks leading up to the race Louisville throws a huge city-wide party known as The Kentucky Derby Festival. Throughout the KDF, events such as Thunder Over Louisville (North America's largest fireworks show), the Great Steamboat Race, Fest-A-Ville, and for the past few decades the festival has included a miniMarathon (half) and marathon.
Overall: Having run the mini three times and the marathon once I can tell you that they are two very different experiences. Both are very well supported with aid stations and fantastic volunteers but the atmosphere and crowd support is vastly different. (Disclaimer: the weather this year was certainly less than ideal with rain almost the entirety of the race and this would certainly have an effect on crowds.) The relatively flat course carries you through Downtown Louisville to legendary Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby since 1875, through the beautiful Iroquois Park designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted, the Highlands neighborhood, and back to the finish line beside Louisville Slugger Field (home of the Louisville Bats, Triple A affiliate to the Cincinnati Reds). This is also a Boston Qualifier.

Expo: The Expo and Packet-Pickup is currently at the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC) at 3rd and Market. Packet pickup is well marked with signs throughout the venue and large enough to accommodate the people. After entering the Expo, runners are able to search on computers their name to find bib numbers or use the boards printed with everyone’s last name alphabetically. Marathoners and mini runners are separate by bib numbers with plenty of volunteers to assist. Once a bib packet has been picked up, you can proceed to the t-shirt pickup, one table for women one for men. The mini and marathon have separate shirts that reflect their unique distances. Once runners have picked their packet up they enter the sales area that includes a large retail area with customized KDF apparel. After that, a large mixture of products, races, gear, and other items are in a maze that allows you to pass through in 2 minutes or 30 depending on your needs.

T-Shirts/Swag: The shirts for this race are great and I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever retired one without it wearing out first. As in previous years, a high quality tech shirt is provided, this year it was a New Balance shirt (separate styles for men and women and different colors for 13.1 and 26.2 runners). Additionally, runners receive a finisher's medal and virtual goodie bag with discounts to other races, gear, and products. Also new this year there was a coupon on the bib to have a custom engraved bottle of bourbon from the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse at Fourth Street Live! The engraving included the race logo and could then be customized from there.

Aid Stations: The course is made up of fifteen water stations and twelve Powerade stops. There are also at least two to three stop once the marathon splits from the half with energy gels. Throughout the course volunteers seemed ample along with the supplies. I finished in 5 hours 27 minutes so I can tell you that there was definitely no shortage of supplies at the aid stations. I have to give a huge shout out to the volunteers at the stops! These guys remained upbeat and supportive of the runners through the rain and long hours! They were incredible!

Scenery & Course: The course scenery is very urban. The event starts in downtown on Main Street next to Louisville Slugger Field. As runners head west they pass the KFC Yum! Center and through Museum Row and the giant Louisville Slugger statue before heading into west Louisville. Winding through the Downtown district, runners will pass the old Union Station, US Federal Building, and countless historical sites before turning into Central Park and the St. James Square neighborhood. As runners continue down 4th street towards the historic Churchill Downs, they taken past Old Louisville with its century old, many of which have been restored to their original luster. While moving towards Churchill Downs runners must pass the University of Louisville Campus. Once on Central Avenue runners can see Churchill Downs where they enter the main gate and proceed down the tunnels under the race track and into the infield (Tip: There are permanent restrooms available in the restroom in large quantities) and circle around as Derby horses are on the track performing workouts of their own. After exiting the Downs the marathoners and mini runners split with the marathoners heading south to Iroquois Park – the only really hilly part of the marathon. Once through the park the marathoners head back up Southern Parkway retracing their steps to head back downtown and rejoin the mini course for a bit. Now heading back Downtown runners see another view of the University of Louisville Campus including Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (football), Jim Patterson Stadium (baseball) Speed School of Engineering, the Speed Art Museum and the main campus including Greek Row. Just past the 20 mile marker the marathoners split away from the mini one last time to head towards the Highlands and Baxter Ave – home to many of the bars and restaurants that Louisville is known for. (Side note: this is a great place for marathon spectators as there is plenty of indoor and outdoor street side viewing available.) the marathoners then turn west on Broadway and head back downtown to 3rd Street back to Main before turning right and heading for Preston Street and a 10th of a mile sprint to the Finish Line.

Elevation: This course is mostly flat with only three miles of 26 with any hills of note. That being said they are three difficult miles falling right in the middle of the course at miles 12-15. There in only one other hill at about mile 22 but it’s manageable if you are expecting it.

Race Experience: This is where the mini and Marathon differ vastly. I’ve done the mini three times and I’ve never once felt like there was anything lacking in the atmosphere and crowd because you’re always with a fairly large group of people. The miniMarathon consistently averages about 13,000-14,000 participants. The Marathon has just over 2,000 participants making the mid-late pack race a very different experience than the mini. Once you separate from the mini at mile 9 you go from running with hundreds of others to just dozens and if you’re not running with a training partner or friends it can make for a pretty lonely race. That would be my only negative to this race and it has zero to do with the organization and support of the race. If you’re a runner that feeds off the energy of others in a race and you’re a mid to late pack runner that might be a point to consider.
Parking/Access: Parking is everywhere ranging from meters to lots and garages. The average price is $5-10 to park in a lot or garage. Meters are free on Saturday's until 10AM but are heavily enforced after 10. There is an app that allows you to pay for parking by the hour.

This race is and always will be one of my favorite races. The history and scenery are gorgeous even when the weather isn’t and the organizers do a fantastic job of making sure they plan for every possible situation and that their runners are more than taken care of. I’m so glad that it was my first marathon!
Happy Running!

The very first thing that most runners will tell you about the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon in Lexington is that it’s incredibly hilly. They aren’t kidding either – there are 33 hills – big rolling Kentucky hills. The second thing most of them will tell you is that this is a beautifully scenic course will some of the most gorgeous vistas you’ll find in horse country – when the weather cooperates. This past Saturday almost 3,500 runners and walkers took to the roads around Keeneland Racecourse for the 7th Annual Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon, “America’s Prettiest Half Marathon” and the first leg of the Kentucky Half Classic race challenge. The race also features a 7-Miler, a new distance introduced this year called The Yearling at 3.65 miles, and kid’s fun run.

The theme for the 2016 race was “Be Legendary” and the medal, which changes each year, featured three of the most famous Thoroughbred Race Horses of all time – Man ‘O’ War, Seabuscuit, and War Admiral. The medals for this race are some of my favorite bling and this year didn’t disappoint. Normally, the ribbon on the medal would reflect the silks of the featured horse but since they had three this year they chose to go with a black, white, and red ribbon with a black medal. As you can see by the photo this is not a small medal by any means.

This expo is a small but mighty set up held in the Keene Barn and Entertainment Center. As you walk in the door you are greeted by volunteers who hand you a bag for your bib and all the info and giveaway you’ll inevitably pick up through the expo and to your right are the Finisher’s Medals, proudly displayed to get you pumped for that finish line. You then proceed to the bib station where a small army is ready and waiting to hand you your bibs. Fun note, this race allows you to customize your name on your bib and I saw everything from “This Was a Bad Idea” to “”Will Run for Bourbon” and more!

After you’ve picked up your bib you proceed to the official race merchandise area where you can purchase everything from tumblers, your typical race branded jackets, hoodies, etc, and discounted shirts from previous races. This is also the area where you pick up your custom Run the Bluegrass bourbon with a different distillery featured each year. For 2016, there were 400 of these commemorative bottles of Buffalo Trace Single Barrel Bourbon, decorated by Kentucky equine artist Jaime Corum.

Beyond this area you head into what I’ll call the marketplace typical of most race expos with your vendors and race promoters. They pack a lot into the marketplace and if you’re visiting from out of town and forgot your race belt, didn’t pack the right race outfit, or left your GU sitting on the counter in your kitchen, you can find it here. The RtB crew does a really nice job of featuring Kentucky businesses and products at this expo such as Ponya Bands, Sword, and more.

As you round the final corner of the market place you come to the final stop where you pick up your race shirt. This year, like 2015, was a “Vintage Hoodie” meaning a long sleeved t-shirt hoodie, in black with the race logo in white on the front chest area. While I do like the shirt I would prefer that they offer gender specific options rather than the Unisex they offered this year. I’m glad I ordered a small because these run big.

Now for the race itself! As I mentioned earlier, this is a HILLY race with 33 hills to its credit. I know because the first year I ran the race three years ago I counted them, out loud, to distract myself from the awful weather that year. But don’t let the hills intimidate you – the race is TOTALLY worth doing! Just work some extra hill repeats into your training plan and you’ll be just fine.

The race starts out just in front of the Keene Barn and heads out right into the Kentucky countryside. The course is pretty straight-forward without too many turns so I won’t give you a turn-by-turn description. See the map for info. There is a particularly challenging hill at mile 9. If I could give you any advice it would be to save a little energy for that one. The last three miles of the course are usually the easiest since the hills ease up quite a bit but the wind this year made it especially tough. The weather was so much better than my first two RtB experiences with temperatures in the mid-40s, clear skies, but a bit windier than I would have liked with head winds that picked up to 15-18mph towards the end of my race.

One of my favorite things about this course is that you are constantly surrounded by horse farms and with the warmer temps the horses were out in force. Let me tell you, it’s so cool to see packs of horses running along the fence lines as you pass. It’s one of the most memorable and special race experiences I’ve ever had. I’m not normally the person to stop and take pictures in the middle of a race but since I was treating this as a training run I made an exception and I’m so glad I did.

The aid stations along the course are well placed and have water and Sword at each stop along with 2-3 port-o-lets each. There is also a special beer stop at mile 11 at the top of the last really hilly hill. The volunteers that staff these stop are great and super encouraging and can really give you a boost if you’re struggling. For on course photos you will have a photographer just past the halfway mark and then just before and at the finish line. J.A.Laub Photography has done the photos for the 3 races I’ve done and they do a great job. Along with giving runners the option to download their pictures for free (with a watermark) they also give a pre-race option that lets runners download as many digital files as they want for $20!! I’ve never found another race with that option and it’s a steal!

As you come in to the finish line corral and cross the mats you are given your medal, water, banana, and snack bag. If you read my review of the Papa John’s 10 Miler you’ll remember my dislike of people taking more than they should in post-race refreshment area. RtB staff have essentially solved this problem by making pre-packed bags for each runner. My bag had a small bag of Lays Potato Chips, Chips Ahoy! Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, fruit snacks, and a Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola bar. You also get a coupon for two slices of Papa John’s Pizza and a beer from Ethereal Brewing on your bib. The other thing that makes the RtB post-race experience different is that they give expo vendors the option of selling their goods post-race!

This was my third year running this race and I can tell you that it has gotten better every year from the pre-race expo, to the on-course volunteers, to the finish line and post-race amenities. Every year I’ve fallen a little more in love and will continue to run this one as long as I can! Registration for 2017 is already open and I would definitely recommend adding the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon to your bucket list of races to do!