Kentucky Derby Festival Mini & Marathon

April 26, 2025

Louisville

Road

Distances

Marathon, Half-Marathon

Starting Time

7:00 AM

Fees

$55+

Perfect For

Ready to sign up?

1,000-10,000

Fast & Flat

Urban

High: 70°

/ Low: 47°

So it’s fitting that this race helps kick off what is actually a two-week series of events here in Louisville, as the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and Mini Marathon takes place the week before the Derby itself, which runs the following weekend.

The race sports a course that eliminates some of the hills of past year’s races and showcase more of the city’s historic and tourist-friendly places.

The race follows an out-and-back route that starts and finishes along Main Street in downtown Louisville, near the city’s Louisville Slugger Park, the home of its AAA-level Louisville Bats minor league baseball team, and the Louisville Extreme Park, a 40,000-sq.-ft public skate park.

From there, runners follow what is roughly a counter-clockwise loop through the city, which features stretches through its Central Park, the campuses of Spalding University and the University of Louisville, as well as the highlight of the race — the section that takes runners along the infield of Churchill Downs, the hallowed home of the Kentucky Derby itself. The half marathon finishes with a nearly four-mile-long stretch along 3rd Street, as runners make their way back northward toward the river and Main Street, where they turn right and head back toward Louisville Slugger Stadium. There’s just one last turn, left onto Preston, before runners cross the finish line.

Kentucky Derby Festival Mini & Marathon Results

Overview

Both college and professional sports are a perennial draw in this northern central Kentucky city that’s perhaps most famous as the home of the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” the legendary Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the thoroughbred triple crown that kicks off the horse racing season at the end of April/beginning of May each year. So it’s fitting that this race helps kick off what is actually a two-week series of events here in Louisville, as the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and Mini Marathon takes place the week before the Derby itself, which runs the following weekend. The race sports a course that eliminates some of the hills of past year’s races and showcase more of the city’s historic and tourist-friendly places. The race follows an out-and-back route that starts and finishes along Main Street in downtown Louisville, near the city’s Louisville Slugger Park, the home of its AAA-level Louisville Bats minor league baseball team, and the Louisville Extreme Park, a 40,000-sq.-ft public skate park.

Course Description

Past Results

Kentucky Derby Festival Mini & Marathon Results