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| Race Report from Billiam (Bill Kramer): I met up with Terry this morning on the Indiana side of the river so that we could run to Louisville to the 12 mile point of the KDmini/marathon where the races split off from each other. We watched thousands and thousands of runners pass by while we were waiting for Cher to appear. While we were waiting for Cher, Ron Horton's wife, Wendy, showed up to scream team for Ron. Ron wasn't joking when he called her the World's Best Scream Teamer! She was awesome! When Terry and I started at 0800 it was only 55F. By the time Cher reached us at Mile 12 it was almost 70F and full sun. When Cher reached us, Terry and I jumped in as planned to run her to the finish. As an interesting aside, just as we started running with Cher, a fire truck needed to get on the course. I suppose they got a call and an emergency over rules a race. Anyway, how many times have YOU ever almost got hit by a fire truck in the last mile of a half marathon? LOL! After we realized we didn't get run over and killed, we refocused and ran Cher on in. We really didn't want to throw Cher off her race too much but we probably did talk to her too much. I hope we didn't screw her up. However, I must say Cher is awesome. She ran a really strong last mile. Considering the heat, we were very impressed! When you get to 7th and Market it's the 13 mile point. You make a right turn on Market and run to 6th where the finish is. That's .1. Terry and I didn't make the turn with Cher. Instead we stopped at the saw horses that were keeping the cheering throngs off the race course. Terry blurts out, "I'm done, I can't finish!" We heard plenty of people commenting about the two clowns who couldn't make it the last .1! LOL! So, we excused ourselves through that crowd of spectators and resumed running up 7th Street towards Main. We turned right on Main and ran to 2nd street where the foot of the bridge is. This is the 22 and 24.5 mile point of the marathon. We were there in plenty of time to see all our marathon running pals come through. It wasn't long before Wendy joined us again. She was still as enthusiastic as ever. It was about this time Terry yelled out "Looking good, it's all uphill from here!" I told Terry, "You have to be the worlds worst scream teamer!" So here I was standing between the worlds best scream teamer and the worlds worst!
While we were waiting, I decided that when David passed I'd jump in and run the 2 mile bridge section with him. David wasn't exactly having the day he wanted, but he adjusted and kept his focus on letting it not get him down. By now I suspect it was in the mid 70's and I'm sure it was a big factor with a lot of people. I'm really impressed with David and his attitude. I'm pretty sure if it had been me I would have been crowned King of the BMZ! While David and I were coming back on the bridge to Louisville we passed Ron heading towards Indiana. Ron was WAY ahead of schedule and was having a really good day. He told us that Jeff, his NC buddy, was on the other side of the bridge with Terry and Wendy and had to drop out. So, when David and I got back to Louisville, I dropped over to Jeff, Wendy, and Terry. We decided that Jeff needed to get back to his hotel. By this time Terry and I had been out there over 5 hours and we were ready to leave anyway. So, we walked Jeff back over to Indiana to his hotel and Terry and I went home. As we were walking back over the bridge I asked Terry how many miles he thinks we ran. He said he thought he did 4 miles. That means I did 6 because I ran with David. I really, really enjoyed today. I've been doing KDmini since 1983 (I think) and the thrill of it is pretty dim. However, this is the second year I've just run around on the course cheering. I tell you, I've had an awesome time both years! For one thing, I like the drama of it all. It's interesting being at the half and marathon split watching the condition of the marathoners vs the half runners. The half people are almost whipped because they're almost finished to a distance they've trained at. The marathoners generally still look very fresh. I heard a rookie spectator make that remark and he couldn't seem to grasp why there was such a difference. We being runners, we all understand. Then it's fascinating seeing the same marathoners at the 22 AND the 24.5 points. I noticed that at 22, the full people still looked fresher than some of the halfers. This still makes sense because the marathoner still has 4.2 to go. But, dang, as we all know, the next 2 miles to 24 there is a world of difference. It was there I noticed a big change in them. Having experienced it, I understand it, but it's still fascinating to watch. Having said that, Josh Saak is amazing. He's done a 3:19 at the end of a full Ironman so I realize he's a great athlete. But, Josh was leading the 3:30 pace group. We saw Josh 3 times today and even at 24.5 he looked fresh as a daisy. He looked like he had another half marathon in him. All in all, our group did great today. I hope everyone enjoyed their time in our town. We really enjoy hosting and seeing everyone! Ya'll come back next year! Billiam Race
Report from Cher Link:
Milt & my sister-in-law drove me down to the starting area, saving me the long bus trip out and allowing me a few extra winks of sleep. The weather at the start seemed to be perfect running conditions, just a tad cool. I informed my 2 scream teamers of my strategy, which was to run an even sub 10 min pace. I've got a marathon coming up and I still have some PF tweaks, so I really just wanted to test my overall conditioning at this run and HAVE FUN. Let's just say that the size of this race has grown since I ran my first KD Mini back in 1998. The field is now over 11,000 total runners, with 10,000 of those runners doing the half. I started at the back of the pack, mistake. I spent the first 3 miles dodging walkers. I was weaving all over the doggone place trying to get around the large groups. Totally my fault, I should have moved up at the start. The crowds started to thin as we entered Iriquois Park. This is where the hills start. Funny, I can remember years where the hills didn't phase me and others where I thought they would kill me. This year? They didn't phase me. I believe the first 3 miles were at an approx 11 min pace. When I hit mile 6 coming out of the park, I was at approx 1:02. Just slightly off pace. Oh, and the temps were starting to warm. I decided to pick up the pace a bit for the 2nd half, still thinking that I could make my sub 10 min per mile goal. I started clicking off 9:40 miles after leaving the park, with the exception of the loop thru Churchill Downs. Ok, if you haven't run this race in the past 2 yrs, this is a great addition!!! You squeeze thru the tunnel and onto the track infield, where you do a loop. GOOSEBUMPS!!! Let me tell you, I thought it was cool. There were horses working out on the backstretch and you could see the spires of Churchill. It was really neat. It was a tad congested in this area, and I ended up with a 10 min + mile, but I really enjoyed this portion. I also should mention that while you ran thru the racetrack, they were broadcasting old Derby races. Neat. The miles after the track pretty well clicked by. I started to tire a little, but still managed to maintain my pace. I can't say that I ever left my comfort zone. Before I knew it, I was at mile 12 and Billiam and Terry were jumping in! I had to run the last 1.1 miles in 10:50 in order to make my goal. Terry & Bill were gabbing away and cracking me up. I tried to answer, but was breathing a little hard at this point. They kept asking if they were screwing me up, but they weren't - I was enjoying the company and the laughter. I kept pushing - and, yes, I did jump out of the street for a firetruck. It seemed like I must have passed dozens of people during this last mile. It really flew by and it wasn't long before the 2 guys were jumping off the course. I dashed into the finish for a 2:10:50 half marathon - 10 seconds to spare! I am really happy about this race. I ran it smart, I think, for being 4 weeks out from a marathon. I am not one bit sore today. I think it was a good measure of my overall base, which I feel is pretty good. I did not walk one step or stop at all during the race. And, I finished 2 mins faster than I ran this 9 yrs ago! It took me well over 30 mins to find my scream team at the end. I never learn to set up a meeting area. By the time I found them, I was ready to get home, get a shower and get food! I cannot wait to hear the other rpts. To sum things up for this weekend, I really, really, really like half marathons. I like the challenge of having to go a distance without being beat up like a marathon. I have Vermont Cities coming up in 4 weeks and then I will focus on half's for next fall. I intend to train well and break the 2 hour barrier in the coming months. Considering the way I felt at the end yesterday, I don't think that's a stretch goal. But, that's the first goal on the list. I'll move onto something else once I pass it. So, how about some half marathon suggestions?! ~cher The start was uneventful. I was near the pacer and planning for a 4 hour marathon. The first miles were a little slow due to the crowd but the pacer was moving us quickly through the crowd. Race Report from Dave Campbelll: I had a strong sense of realism with a tiny bit of possibility for this race based on my positive (approximately 4:05) finish last year. Similar to last year, my marathon training was minimal. While I had an intermediate training plan, I was not successful in running the longer and faster paced runs in the middle of the week. As other have noted, we had a wonderful dinner prepared by the Kramers hosted at the Schroeder's home. On Saturday, Jim arrived and we had a good time travelling together. We arrived early enough to visit the official facilities and visit with Josh. The start was uneventful. I was near the pacer and planning for a 4 hour marathon. The first miles were a little slow due to the crowd but the pacer was moving us quickly through the crowd. During the Iroquois Park section, I move ahead on the first hill and took a brief potty stop. As I rejoined the race, I was 50 yards behind the pace group. After leaving the park, I continued to see the pacing group 25 to 50 yards ahead and slowly pulling farther ahead. I was watching my splits and I was consistently running between 8:50 and 9:10 miles. From my perspective, the pace group might have been running ahead of schedule. After the parkway, I never saw the 4 hour pace group again. The next few miles were uneventful for me. There are quite a few spectator on this section and I really like the historic sections of Old Louisville. As expected, the split between the miniMarathon and Marathon is dramatic. After turning right on Breckenridge, it was a solo event. It was very different than last year when I was still with a pacing group. I somehow missed the scream team this year. I tried to tease Bill about this later but he indicated I was in the zone and missed them. I hit the 13 mile marker at 2:01 so I was just a bit behind a 4 hour pace. On the other hand, the sun was shining brightly and temperature was in the 60s or maybe low 70s and any plan for a sub 4 hour marathon was history. I adopted the plan that I'd estimate more than 75% of the marathon participants adopted, walk every water stop and/or mile marker and/or hill. After a short hilly section, it was into Seneca and Cherokee parks. I really enjoy this section of the race. After the park, there is a slow steady climb of about a mile up Grinstead Drive. I ran most of the hill and took my 1st uphill recovery walk. At this point, I was delighted to be on the mostly downhill section with a couple of miles to the Clark bridge. While my right leg had typically complained on my last few long runs, I wasn't feeling any signs of trouble. After reaching the bridge, it was enjoyable to have Bill run with me. After reaching the Indiana side, it was nice to have my wife Frances cheering for me. I gave her a big hug and headed back across the bridge with Bill. After leaving the bridge, Jim joined me for the last mile or two. I ran and walked and chatted with Jim. While I knew my time was going to be my slowest marathon, it wasn't at all important. It was wonderful to make the last turn and run for the finish. After finishing, it was great to hang out with Jim and have a chance to chat with Ron and Wendy. I've pasted my summary below. Pace 10:35.7 After the race, I refueled and took a short nap. I was able to cut my mother-in-laws grass and clean out some of her gutters. On Saturday and Sunday, I felt pretty good and I was able to go down steps normally. Typically, I'm a one step at a time guy after a marathon. I had a nice 25 mile recovery bicycle ride on Sunday afternoon. I ran several times last week, starting with a two miler followed by a three miler. It was a 5 miler on Saturday. Overall, I wasn't able to pull a rabbit out of the hat to run a sub 4 hour marathon. Finally, I think any future marathons are going to include walking the water stops. Race Report from Greg McDowell: I ran my 7th marathon in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, 4/28/07. Completion time was 4:38:21. There were 10,000 runners but 9,000 of them turned off at mile 12 to finish the "Derby Festival Mini-Marathon" i.e., 13.1 mile half marathon. After running my best marathon at Myrtle Beach in February 2006 (4:10:58), I took several months off before running #6 in Sarasota, just 8 weeks prior to Louisville. Ron Horton and wife Wendy picked my wife May and me up, drove to the start and joined the Derby Festival spirit. The ladies were able to see us at miles 12, 22 and 24.5 before meeting us at the finish. Ron and I only ran together for a little over 2 miles, but finished within a few minutes of each other.
Greg gets a Good Luck smooch just before the start
The course was rather challenging, with hills through two parks and a bridge jaunt over the Ohio River into Indiana at mile 22 (returning at 24.5). A number of musical groups and a choir were spread along the course, which sometimes were sparse in spectators. One highlight was running through the infield of Churchill Downs at mile 9.
May walked with me a little at mile 12 and I accurately predicted that I'd finish between 4:30 and 4:40. (My splits were about 2:09 and 2:29+) While I felt pretty good through the first 10 miles, running at about 9:40 pace, the hills may have taken something out of me, or it just wasn't one of those days. Regardless, I was determined to enjoy the sights and sounds, and actually responded to the occasional cheering spectators in the later neighborhoods, high-fiving youngsters and the variety of music. I especially enjoyed a church choir early on, and two bands between miles 15 and 20 who played Credence Clearwater's "Fortunate Son" and the Beatles' "The End." I needed some inspiration during that stretch, before beginning "the second half" of the marathon - the final 10k. Between the music and May's text messages, I was sufficiently encouraged.
All smiles at Mile 22 I tackled the hills and the final bridge, backing off to avoid cramping but certainly getting to experience some familiar spasms. Overall, it was a fun race and I was happy I got to see May at so many points along the way. I seem to have recovered pretty well so far. While my next marathon is likely several months away, I will enjoy basking in the accomplishment of two marathons in 8 weeks. I'll joke about going after 50 states until and unless I get to 20. At this point, I have 4 states and D.C. under my belt and I'm thinking about getting 4 more states by the end of 2008.
At the finish line (chip time was 4:38:21)
Receiving the medal from one of the great volunteers
Greg and May, with his well-earned medal
Yep, the sports drink on the course was GRAPE Powerade!
Still had enough legs on Sunday to take a tour of the Louisville Slugger factory click
here for Ron's Race Report |
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