Louisville Marathon Race Report

Goal: 3:30, Secondary goal: 4 hours

Yes, I know the secondary goal looks very soft, but I haven't raced for years, and I haven't run this long for the same amount of time. So I thought it would be appropriate to set the same secondary goal that I had in my first marathon.

Training cycle: I would rate it mediocre. I planned an 18-week cycle, then I fell off, and changed into a 12-week cycle. As we know, a 12-week cycle only works if you are in a good shape anyway, which I wasn't. But I also needed to build up more endurance, so starting over at 12 weeks out didn't sound so bad. I skipped some runs, some critical ones, and I barely got over 50 miles per week on my peak. So mediocre may sound a bit generous actually.

The race started at 7am, so I woke up at 4am, which - after daylight saving time - was really more like 5. The traditional egg breakfast, coffee, and I was off. The race venue was only 20 minutes away, and I drove a car this time. I arrived, found parking, and I had plenty of time to even relax before the start.

This is a very small race. The kind I like, really. Maybe not a lot of crowd support, but do I really need the crowds? I can get into the zen, the flow state, and run without noticing anything, except for the beautiful nature. The best kind of running.

At the start, it was cold: 45 degrees, and it wasn't predicted to rise above 50 for an hour. So I wore an old and battered cotton long sleeve shirt and an old and battered hat. I planed to ditch them when it would get warmer.

After the National Anthem, we were off. I didn't realize that my GPS  watch reset itself, so I had to restart it. It took about 0.2 mile for the watch to find the satellites again, so I started it about 0.2 mile late. Everything in this report should have an extra 0.2 mile added to it.

This course has five hills. It's out-and-back, so you do hill #1 (English Station Rd, a.k.a. Sally), then #2 (Sky Meadow), then #3 (the Silo), then Sky Meadow again, and Sally again. All five are pretty damn serious. You meet Sally at mile 2, and then it's mostly slight downhill until Sky Meadow at mile 11. Except for the first two miles, it is all on bike paths.

I tried to find my pace after the start. I knew I had to take it easy. I was joking around a bit with some other runners, then I settled in a group.

Mile 1: 7:45
Mile 2: 8:00

We already started to climb shortly before the mile marker. I took it pretty easy. I'm very familiar with the course, and otherwise this climb is pretty hard, but this morning, it was no problem. Second part of the mile was downhill, and from here to Mile 9, each mile was some net downhill.

Mile 3: 7:43
Mile 4: 7:16

I remember looking at this split and freaking out how fast it was. This mile wasn't even significant downhill. Shortly after this, we ran through Pope Lick Park, and I saw my cheering squad. It's the best running club in Louisville (Korfedge). I didn't ask them to come out to cheer for me, but they still did.

I really tried to get into a flow state: somewhat quick, but still must feel easy. This is a beautiful part of the course, some forest, some farmland, and a small river, crossed multiple times on bridges.

Mile 5: 7:23
Mile 6: 7:36

We hit an aid station that wasn't quite ready. To make things worse, there was no other aid station for 3 more miles. I also started to feel that I may have under-hydrated until this point: the perfect triple whammy. But what luck! A guy was giving out 1/2-liter water bottles! I picked up one, and I slowly rehydrated in the next two miles. Then I put down the bottle with a little water in it on a bench. Sorry, this was best solution I found. I know it will be cleaned up.

Mile 7: 7:41
Mile 8: 7:36
Mile 9: 7:42

The variable pace is due almost exclusively to terrain and curves. This really was an even effort run. However, the temperature finally rose, and the run got just a bit harder, just a bit too early. I knew we would reach this nice parking lot in a ghost village called Seatonville (really, only the old cemetery remains), so I decided to ditch my long sleeves and hat in that parking lot. I can come back for it later, but if somebody throws them into the trash (or picks them up for themselves), that's fine, too.

Mile 10: 7:31

Seatonville, long sleeves, hats off. I'm too wet with sweat, but the sun is out, and it's not cold. All good. Except that hills are starting. By this time the crowd thinned out, and I was alone.

Mile 11: 7:49

Sky Meadow hill started. I think it was around this time that the I saw the leaders coming from the opposite direction.

Mile 12: 7:55

Mostly Sky Meadow up and down.

Mile 13: 8:14

Mostly up to the Silo, but remember, everything is +0.2, so I hit the halfway point at 12.9 on my GPS.

Two little kids, 5-6 year olds, maybe, were standing at the halfway point, offering high fives. I had to lean to touch their hands, but they were elated! I felt so great after this! Also, downhill is coming.

I hit the halfway mark at 1:39:05. I knew it was too fast. The second half of this marathon is a lot harder with a constant elevation gain in the middle, but I'm guessing it should only be 2-3 minutes harder, at the most. Am I expected to run 3:22? Probably not. I also felt my legs more than I should have.

Mile 14: 7:53

The climb up to Sky Meadow has started. I took it pretty easy, and I was happy to know that after this peak, only one hill is left. On the downhill, I gave some cheers and thumbs up to the climbing runners going the other direction.

Mile 15: 7:23

We reached Seatonville again, in the valley. Now the long miles to 23 start, relentless slight uphill.

Mile 16: 7:38
Mile 17: 7:48
Mile 18: 7:52
Mile 19: 7:54

The slowing pace is the result of trying to keep a constant effort. Largely worked: I felt tired, but not exhausted, my overall pace was still under 8 min/mile (required for the 3:30 goal), and only a little more than a 10K left. Which we all (who ran marathons) know: halfway. In terms of effort.

Mile 20: 8:05
Mile 21: 8:03
Mile 22: 8:00

Th reason mile 22 was that fast is my cheering squad in Pope Lick Park again. It's insane how much noise they can make! You got to run faster when they are all cheering for you!

And then, shortly after passing them, Sally is coming back with vengeance. One reason why this marathon is so great, because it is so difficult. Brutal hill at mile 23? Oh yeah.

The marathon runners were so spread out by this time, that I haven't seen any of them. On the other hand, the half-marathoners started an hour later, so I encountered all the racers going for 2:30-3:00 half-marathons. As one would expect, they were *all* walking up this hill. I felt like a superstar, because I was running (OK, more like jogging), even after running 13.1 miles more than them.

Mile 23: 8:39
Mile 24: 9:04

Mile 24 is actually net downhill: it is most of Sally's uphill and downhill portions combined, but just a bit more down than up. It doesn't look terrible in absolute terms, but it does show how tired I was.

And now, slight uphill (and a bridge) for the last two miles. This was a sufferfest.

Mile 25: 8:34
Mile 26: 8:29

In the finish, my squad was there again. Cheering tunnel and all. Thanks folks!

Total time (official): 3:26:11
24th overall, 1st in age group

When I finished, I felt like passing out, so I had to walk about 5 minutes to get back to normal. Then I found my cheering squad. They were in a good mood (possibly due to some alcohol), and Lisa told me I won my age group. I went back for my age group medal and my Derby Pie (wow, yummy) and my beer (another guy gave me his ticket, so I had two).

This gives me some optimism. Almost like my first marathon. Boston Qualifier, here I come! The 2026 qualifying time (when I'll be over 50) is 3:20. Just by smarter training and smarter racing, I can be there. Maybe even significantly under! Will I ever be under 3 hours again? Realistically, probably not. My genes are not good enough. Can I run a decent time in Boston ever? Possibly...