Runners from all 50 states and several countries hit the pavement Saturday morning for the 52nd annual GE Appliances miniMarathon and the 24th run of the GE Appliances Marathon.
The 13.1-mile miniMarathon and the 26.2-mile full marathon race, which are part of the Kentucky Derby Festival , attract between 10,000 and 12,000 runners to Louisville every spring. This is the only course that ventures into Churchill Downs , the historic race track where the Kentucky Derby is held each year.
On Saturday, the races began simultaneously at 7 a.m. on Main Street near Slugger Field. Then they wound through various parts of the city, before traveling downhill to cross the finish line at Preston and Witherspoon streets, just outside of Waterfront Park. What began as a small, local road race is now ranked among the Top 100 races by USA Track and Field , and has been touted as the “flattest Boston Qualifier,” according to the Kentucky Derby Festival…