Let me start by saying this was my first triathlon experience, so I do not have a comparison to other types of races like this. I will say for a first triathlon, it was quite a leap as the swim was in open water and the bike was 21 miles, which is quite different from other sprint triathlons I had read about.

The race takes place in Delaware State Park and MingoMan Park in a small Ohio town. The parks are beautiful. However, due to recent heavy rains, the swim portion of the triathlon was cancelled the morning of due to flooding; it was not safe to swim and the Army Corps of Engineers closed the beach. While disappointing, we arrived in Delaware ready to tackle our first duathlon! The town is small and quaint; we stayed in a hotel close to the park. The race company (Greenswell) was very kind and professional.

I arrived hoping I was in a sea of newbies, but quickly realized that was not the case. Many training for half IM and IM use this race as a training race! Regardless, everyone was very helpful and encouraging, which reminded me that every triathlete had to start somewhere.

I am not able to rate the swim portion due to the cancellation, but the beach area is beautiful. The bike portion is quite lovely-it is flat by most standards and except for the test bumps on the first few miles, it was smooth sailing! The course takes you out of the park, down a state road and then into country lanes. Be forewarned, this is not a closed course, so you do contend with vehicles on the bike course. Luckily, traffic was not high in the area during this time of the day.

Once you transitioned from the bike to the run, you are directed into a park for the run. Sprint participants do a 3.1 mile out and back while the Olympic participants complete the same 3.1 loop twice. It is fairly shaded and there are 3 water/gatorade stops, which is nice so I didn't worry about carrying water or nutrition. The run is through the small downtown area, so there are lots of residents on their porches/sidewalks to cheer you on.

Overall, this was a great experience for me as a newbie. I plan on going back next year for a redemption race and get the swim portion of this tri under my belt!

As many of you know, I am an ambassador for the 2017 #KDFMarathon. I cannot say enough about how well organized pre-race communications and the expo were. The expo location changed from downtown to the fairgrounds this year which made for extremely easy (and free) parking for expo events. Packet pick-up was a breeze; I didn't have to wait in line at all! I did love seeing the vendors and all of the races upcoming in the fall--there were lots of giveaways and freebies in the expo!

When people ask me "How was it?", meaning the race itself, consistently my first answer is "Interesting!". I say interesting because I cannot think of a better word. We had an almost 2 hour weather delay, which I had not experienced before and then once we did start running it was very humid. But, that is the weather in Kentucky in the spring-unpredictable!

I love this race because of the scenery! You are able to see so much versatility in Louisville on this course, including a run through famous Churchill Downs! The water stops are frequent (powerade and gu are also provided at several points across the course). The course is fast and flat and is also a Boston Qualifier race, so for those with a goal to BQ this could be the race for you! There is great race support, especially for the mini-marathoners!

This is a great race for locals as well as out-of-towners. The race precedes the Kentucky Derby, so there are all kinds of fun and free things to do if you want to make a destination race out of it. I highly recommend this race for all running levels from novice to elite. It is just a really fun race to run!

Billed as the "America's Prettiest Half-Marathon", Run the Bluegrass is held in Lexington, Kentucky every spring. And, while the scenery is gorgeous (think famous horse farms, green grass for miles, and fields of lavender that meet the sunrise), many come to this race for the hills. This race has been on my list for awhile, and after prodding from The Running Wife, I decided to register for the 2017 race.

I admit, I went about the whole process a bit backwards. I registered one day and then started researching more about it the next. Most every blog post and race review I found about the race talked about the expo, parking, swag, but mostly the hills. How could a half marathon be this hilly? This isn't San Francisco we are talking about, it is Lexington--a beautiful city full of gentle, rolling hills, right? After discussing the race with some running friends who also signed up this year, we all stated "Hills? We eat hills for breakfast!". And we laughed, and I tried to stop worrying about elevation change for awhile.

Fast forward to race day. {I will spare you with the expo talk- just go and walk through the expo-you will meet lots of friendly vendors and pick up some sweet bourbon swag. The race website has everything you need to know about the this, pre-race day activities, the kids race and more so check it out!} My running friends and I poured into Keeneland excited about the weather and photo ops. We had forty--something-degree weather with no rain and race day was looking good. Waves were released one at a time, and while we were a bit crowded getting out of the gate, by half a mile in we started to thin out and get comfortable.

This year I ran with a friend I had not raced with before. We both agreed we would run together, stop to take photos, and be a "running tourist" - it was her first time to the area and there was a lot to see! We started out at a steady pace, but the hills started right away. And they never stopped. A small decline was greatly welcomed after the inclines, but I do not ever remember seeing flat parts to this course. Mile 6 was a test; we weren't smiling as much and working harder than we had the first few miles. We stopped to take a few photos, but soon realized starting was hard again after stopping on hills! And all of the sudden, I never, ever wanted to eat hills for breakfast ever again. Afterwards, I told a friend the hills reminded me of contractions during labor. They came in waves, they were enough to make the strongest woman nauseous, and sometimes all you could do was hold on and hope they passed quickly! The finish line came and my friend and I were both happy to cross together-she even half marathon PR'ed on this course, which I think is an amazing feat on a course like this one.

I believe someone told me in total there are 33 hills in this race. I did not try to count them during the race; in retrospect that would have been a daunting task! But I did take note of the number of beautiful landscapes and smiling faces I saw as I ran 13.1 miles that morning. I highly recommend that runners take on this race at least once-not for the swag or the after-party, but for the hills. And, just a word of caution: don't eat hills for breakfast on race morning; you are going to get plenty of them later out on the course.

This race is held in Cincinnati, Ohio about 100 miles north of Louisville. We decided to stay at the Millineum, which was one of two hotel partners for this race. The location is across the street from the expo and 0.9 miles from the start line. The hotel is older and is about in line with the price for the weekend ($99 - $105/night). There is no shuttle service, but there is a trolley stop nearby. We could walk to everything downtown from this location easily. Several of us carpooled together and we shared a hotel room, making travel/lodging for this race very affordable!

The expo is AMAZING-one of the best that I've been to in terms of the swag and items geared towards women! Kroger is a main sponsor; they have an awesome booth with freebies and stylists that provide free hair-braiding for race participants. There were dozens of other vendors providing free t-shirts, discounted race merchandise, a runway show, free desserts, a scavenger hunt, and the most fun! 360 degree movie booth.

The swag in your race packet is premium-- a long sleeved asic tech tee, a duffel, headband and more all with the logo. We also received beautiful flowers and a first aid-kit along with other great snack bags at the finish line!

On race day, be prepared for the first 3 miles to be a climb, but after that, it's pretty smooth sailing. There are scream teams at every mile and a great mix of hydration and fuel (honey stinger gels at mile 8.5). There is also great crowd support at this race throughout the course as well. It's definitely a course that will challenge you but make you smile all at the same time.

The after party is great also! It is directly by the finish line, making easy access and you move down the finisher’s chute. The first thing we did was cash in our ticket for our FREE Gold Star Chili dog. And, of course, you can’t forget your complimentary Barefoot Bubbly mimosa! There were additional food vendors, beer trucks and massage stations as well. We danced to live music and in general had some great people watching before heading back to our rooms to rest and recover.

My first marathon was the KDF Marathon in 2016. It is an amazing race- many don't know that it is a Boston Qualifier-it is a fast and flat course!

The expo is huge! There are dozens of vendors and race discount tables at this expo. It is all run very smooth and efficiently. Your race packet swag is very nice- always a tech tee, along with a visor and other running related coupons/items in your bag.

I originally signed up to run this race because I had ran the Minimarathon the year before and loved it. The scenery is wonderful-you run through downtown Louisville, including historic Louisville, Whiskey Row and the beautiful park systems there. And the highlight for many who run the race--you get to run through Churchill Downs, the home of the fastest two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby! You gain only about 240 ft of elevation for the entire race, most of that coming in Iriquois park miles 12-15.

I highly recommend making this race a travel destination race. It is the Saturday before the Kentucky Derby, so people can stay and play all week long. There are so many fun Derby (and non-Derby things to do) and many are free with a Pegasus Pin!