REGISTRATION OPENS FOR mini & MARATHON ON NOVEMBER 2

October 28, 2021, Louisville, KY. – GE Appliances is teaming up with the Kentucky Derby Festival as title sponsor of the 2022 Derby Festival miniMarathon and Marathon set to return next year on its traditional Saturday – April 30th. The annual race is one of the top 100 road races in the country, draws runners from 50 states and several countries, attracts more than 10,000 participants and is one of the flattest of the Boston Marathon qualifying races. The race is also unique because it takes runners through historic sites and neighborhoods in Louisville and across the Big Four Bridge into Indiana. Runners can start the countdown next Tuesday, November 2nd at 9 a.m. EDT, and register online at DerbyFestivalMarathon.com.

“The Derby Festival is planning for a return to live and in-person events in 2022,” said Matt Gibson, KDF President & CEO. “The GE Appliances mini & Marathon is first out of the gate to open registration for one of our favorite Kentucky traditions and the state’s largest day of road racing.”

GE Appliances is a longtime friend of KDF and was a sponsor of the inaugural Festival in 1956. The company has partnered on various Festival events since then, most recently Thunder Over Louisville in 2020 and 2021. Now, as the title sponsor of the mini & Marathon, GE Appliances is expanding its partnership with the Festival and aligning the business with an event that sees hundreds of its employees participate every year.

“We invent, design and build the world’s best appliances here in Louisville, and we believe in building stronger and healthier communities.” said Kevin Nolan, president & CEO of GE Appliances, a Haier company. “Louisville has been our home for almost 70 years, and our employees have a long history of participating in this race. We’re honored to unite the tradition of our company and this event to bring back the in-person, one-day race and help Louisville emerge from its most recent challenges as a more equitable and more resilient community.”

For the 2022 event, the Derby Festival is offering multiple options for participants including the miniMarathon (half marathon), the full Marathon, and a Marathon Relay; plus virtual races for both the half and full marathon. Registration is $55 for the miniMarathon, $65 for the Marathon, $325 for the Marathon Relay and $45 for the virtual races. The in-person races will start simultaneously at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, on Main Street near Slugger Field and then finish on Adams Street, just outside the of Lynn Family Stadium, the Official Finish Line for both the mini and Marathon.

“Our goal is to create a unique and memorable experience for all participants,” said Chris Martini, KDF Race Director. “In 2022, the course for both races will include the sights of beautiful downtown Louisville, historic Old Louisville, Churchill Downs, and parts of the scenic Olmsted parks system, along with other attractions.”

Course details for both distances are still being finalized. The miniMarathon course will be similar to what was planned for the 2020 race and include a lap inside Churchill Downs. The Marathon course will be a combination of the 2020 and 2021 courses, including Churchill Downs, as well as the Big Four Walking Bridge and Ohio River Greenway.

As part of the partnership, GE Appliances is offering a special incentive for participants to register early. Everyone who registers within the first week (by midnight November 9th) will be entered to win a GE Appliance – a small appliance for mini registrants and a full-size appliance for marathon registrants. Details will be available on the registration website.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Race Expo will also return race week in 2022, as well as the free Norton Sports Health Training Program to help all levels of runners get ready for the spring races. 2022 marks the 49th annual miniMarathon and 21st annual Marathon. More information is available on the website, along with FAQs to help answer questions about the 2022 event.

Derby Festival events adhere to local, state and federal COVID-19 safety guidelines to ensure the safety of participants, attendees, volunteers and organizers. The Festival continues to closely monitor developments with COVID-19 and updates policies and procedures as the guidance evolves. More specific guidelines for race participants will be shared in the months and weeks leading up to race weekend.

More details on the Festival’s 2022 schedule of events will be released in the coming weeks and months.

GE Appliances is Title Sponsor of the miniMarathon and Marathon. The Official Race Medical Provider & Training Partner is Norton Sports Health. Official IT Partner: Deloitte. Contributing Sponsors are Churchill Downs, Kentucky Department of Tourism, Louisville Water Company and Powerade. Official Finish Line Sponsor: Louisville City FC/Racing Louisville FC. Official Finish Line Nutrition: Kentucky Proud. Official Pace Team: Dick’s Sporting Goods. Official Credit Union: Commonwealth Credit Union. Official Hotel: The Galt House. Official Tequila: Don Julio. Official Beer: Goodwood Brewing. Official Refuel Partner: Prairie Farms.

About Kentucky Derby Festival
The Derby Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. It entertains more than 1.5 million people annually. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.

About GE Appliances, a Haier Company
At GE Appliances, a Haier company, we come together to make “good things, for life.” We’re creators, thinkers and makers who believe that anything is possible and that there’s always a better way. We’re a company powered by our people, made stronger through our diversity — allowing us to grow closer than ever before to our owners, anticipate their needs and enhance their lives. In 2021, we were certified as a US Great Place to Work TM, named one of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women by Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media), Achievers Top 50 Most Engaged Workplaces, received a perfect score for the fourth year in a row on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, and named one of the top 100 Internship Programs by Way Up.

Since 1907, we’ve built innovative, quality products that are trusted in half of all U.S. homes. We sell appliances under the Monogram®, Café™, GE Profile™, GE®, Haier and Hotpoint brands. Our products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, wine & beverage centers, air conditioners, small appliances, water filtration systems and water heaters.