I hadn’t heard much good about this race so I had little expectations coming in. However, I must say after doing IM Wisconsin and Florida this was definetly my favorite of the three. Heres the good and bad of the race:
Pre-race: Getting a room at the host hotel is the best. No need to walk or drive all over a busy city. Just get your stuff and relax. Great hotel other than they didn’t have microwaves.
Swim: (59:09) I actually thought the swim in the river was really cool. The time trial start is really unique and after the first 400 yds I was able to swim by myself the rest of the way- not something you get at any other IM. It was easy spotting around the island and with the two bridges that you swim under on the way back.The water was warm but not warm enough that I felt dehydrated and miserable coming out. It was also a little cloudy but didnt smell of toxic fumes like everyone says.
Bike: (5:10:28) This was definetly the best part of the course. Enough rollers to keep you busy and having fun but nothing that killed you. Im glad I paced it until the end of the out and back (~30 miles) because I definetly could tell alot of people went way to hard in that first hour. Lots of volunteers and spectators! Every corner or intersection had people there to cheer you on. No aid between 87 and 107 which kind of sucked but I survived. Good pavement with scenery and hills made for a fun and honest course. I definetly saw 10x more marshalls than I did at Florida even though it wasn’t really necessary.
Run: (4:05:25) This is the only part of the race I have to criticize. That is one boring out and back. Seems like they could have an out and back along the river or something. Just kind of boring and nothing to break it up. I got behind on nutrition and the first lap of the run was hot ( cant imagine what it was like last year!) and after that it turned into a survival fest. Aid stations were well stocked with tons of enthusiastic volunteers.
Finish: (10:22:20ish) Not exactly what I wanted but its ok. 4th street has to be the coolest finish line! This was a really cool place and was definetly hopping all night long.
Overall: IM volunteers and supporters never fail to amaze me. The enthusiasm they bring all day long is awesome. Everyone supports everybody and its just a great feeling. It was also great to have my girlfriend and family there to support. Definetly gives you something to look forward to out on the course. Wearing the green and white MSU Spartan uniform also gets plenty of cheers which really helped! Overall, I highly recommend this race and enjoyed the whole experience!
One other note: For those of you on the fence about arm coolers I say go out and get a pair. They help keep the sun off of you on the bike and just spray down with water to get that cooling effect from the wind. On the run they make a great place to stuff ice. Definetly felt they helped. I had the zoot model.
Thanks to everyone that supported and great job to everyone that competed out there! Until next time!
Thanks for the post, great race! I signed up for the race next year, which will be my first IM, so it was good to read that some people do enjoy it. I do hope that we get similar weather next year. I went down there to watch some family / friends. We made it out to La Grange, that seemed like a pretty cool environment too, although we were a bit late getting there and wasn’t as busy as I had hoped. As a Michigan alum, I have to ask how you felt about seeing that M flag at the finishing chute?
The mediocre run course is what keeps IM Louisville from being truly a great race. The failure to utilize Louisville’s fantastic parks system (one of the best in the country) into the run course, is a waste. The run course could be so much better (and continue to be spectator friendly) with a little more effort by the organizers to design a better course.
Haha I got plenty of “Go Green, Go white” and “Go Sparty” but when I did hear the few go blues it did fuel me to keep running. It was nice to see the fellow michiganders (is that what we call ourselves) out there on the course.
I totally agree. I know they do the out and back for the ease of setting up aid stations and supporters but come on, I think they tried to find the most boring route in Louisville. Stick around the river or use the parks or something.
I think I saw you on the bike- were you wearing what looked like a wrestling singlet? I agree with everything you said. I enjoyed the whole experience, even with staying across the river in Indiana. The “commute” was fine.
The mediocre run course is what keeps IM Louisville from being truly a great race. The failure to utilize Louisville’s fantastic parks system (one of the best in the country) into the run course, is a waste. The run course could be so much better (and continue to be spectator friendly) with a little more effort by the organizers to design a better course.
I gotta agree here. I’m not from L-ville, but I’ve spent a lot of time there on business. After a bunch of business trips I eventually got to the point where I’d leave my hotel at night and drive to get myself into one of the City’s parks. I’ve had some fantastic runs in some of Louisville’s parks. There’s definitely unrealized potential there.
I liked the swim for the same reasons you did. The only real limiting factor for me is people getting in my way. Even if I focused 100% on swimming, my race pace would be the same. Looking at some of the pros swim times, it seems really fast but when you think about it they don’t have do deal with slamming into people who stop to catch their breath. I swam a 58:15 and my best HIM swim is about 31 min. I think part of the reason my full was faster than 2x my half was from the current but I think most of it was just from the fact that I was pretty much by my self once I turned around the island. The only “toxic” fumes I smelt was the exhaust from the nearby boats.
The bike was okay to me. It wasn’t as hilly as people made it seem. I got pretty bored though. I was also an hour slower than you.
I didn’t mind the run course. All I care is that it’s flat. It did seem to go through some ghetto parts but it wasn’t too bad. I thought churchill downs would be in a lot nicer part of the city. I didn’t even notice it until the 4th time I ran by. The finish was awesome though. I wish I would have stayed but after I finished I just wanted to go back to my hotel.
Believe it or not they have cleaned up the area around Chrurchill Downs. Just a few years ago…it was far worse. As far as running thru the ghetto, you really only had a couple bocks of what would be consider a bad area. I live here and I’ve run the course several times and I have to agree, it is boring and could be improved but if you are looking for flat…that’s the best they could do.
Totally agree. We were down watching the race cheering on some friends and I was thinking about signing up for next year. The bike course seems nice, but that run just looks like they put no effort into designing it. On the brightside, several friends managed to take advantage of the great weather and have fantastic races including nabbing a few Kona slots.
The mediocre run course is what keeps IM Louisville from being truly a great race. The failure to utilize Louisville’s fantastic parks system (one of the best in the country) into the run course, is a waste. The run course could be so much better (and continue to be spectator friendly) with a little more effort by the organizers to design a better course.
I’m not sure they were aiming at flat. Their biggest criteria is probably finding a 6 to 6.5 mile course (for an out and back X 2 – reducing the number of needed aid stations). They have to be able to shut it completely down all day on a Sunday (including shutting down all cross traffic). It must start at the Great Lawn and finish at 4th Street Live. It would be great if you could add some scenery, parks and a lot of shade (maybe even throw in a hill or two for variety), but I think those considerations are secondary.
Obviously, it’s not directly comparable because the route starts near Iroquois Park, which is just across the road from the turnaround of the IMLou run course. But it includes both that park and Cherokee Park as well as actually going into Churchill Downs and (ugh) a 5-mile jaunt across the bridge into Indiana and back.
You nailed it. To include the parks, even on a 2 loop course, you would have to shut down major streets for much of the day. With the current course, you are shutting down a street or two downtown that does not get alot of weekend traffic.
That’s the old route. The KDF Route started and finished in Downtown this year.
Right you are – I was lazy and just went with the first Google search result, and didn’t realize it had changed. Here’s the 2011 course map – starts and finishes downtown, goes through Iroquois Park, with the side trip through Churchill Downs.
