2024 MARATHON RETURNS TO SOUTH LOUISVILLE
December 20, 2023, Louisville, KY. – The course is set for the 2024 GE Appliances miniMarathon & Marathon. The Kentucky Derby Festival is sharing the final race map to help participants prepare for Kentucky’s largest day of road racing on April 27, 2024. For the first time since 2019, the routes for both races will be on the Kentucky side of the river. While the miniMarathon course returned to Louisville in 2022 after being modified during the pandemic, the Marathon has continued to be split between Kentucky and Southern Indiana. 2024 will mark the return of the full Marathon to Louisville’s South End.
“Our race has a special history and longstanding tradition with Iroquois Park and the neighborhoods along Southern Parkway,” said Matt Gibson, Kentucky Derby Festival President & CEO. “We know running through this area is something our runners have missed, and we are excited to return the Marathon to its South Louisville roots in the spring.”
From the start of the GE Appliances miniMarathon and Marathon on Main Street, near Louisville Slugger Field, all runners will experience the sights and sounds of downtown Louisville before heading along Fourth Street to historic Churchill Downs. Participants will run a lap inside the iconic track just one week before the running of the 150th Kentucky Derby.
Half Marathoners will then begin their return downtown to cross the Official Finish Line at Lynn Family Stadium, while Marathoners will make a turn on Southern Parkway and race through scenic Iroquois Park. Marathoners will run the traditional loop in Iroquois Park before returning downtown. The 2024 Marathon route also features an out-and-back along the Ohio River on River Road for the last three miles of the race before heading to the Finish Line.
2024 marks the 51st annual GE Appliances miniMarathon and the 23rd run of the GE Appliances Marathon. Runners from all 50 states and several countries come to Louisville on the last Saturday in April. The race, which attracts 10-12,000 runners to Louisville every spring, has also become a tradition for many employees of GE Appliances, who returns as the Title Sponsor.
“Louisville has been our home for 70 years and to experience this race course that features all the best this city has to offer is something to see,” said Kevin Nolan, President and CEO of GE Appliances, a Haier Company. “From running through Churchill Downs, experiencing Louisville’s historic neighborhoods or grabbing a bourbon at the finish line, this race is unique to any other race in the country. We can’t wait to welcome lots of folks to see what Louisville has to offer and why it’s our home.”
Other 2024 course highlights include the historic Old Louisville neighborhood and parts of the picturesque Olmsted Parks System, among other attractions. The in-person races start simultaneously at 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, on Main Street, near Slugger Field, and then finish on Adams Street, just outside of the Lynn Family Stadium, the Official Finish Line for both the mini and Marathon.
Race registration is open online. Current rates are $85 for the miniMarathon and $95 for the Marathon. (Rates increase on January 1.) Participants also have the option of a Marathon Relay ($325) for teams of 3 to 5 runners, and the virtual miniMarathon & Marathon ($50) for those who prefer to run at their own pace. More information is available at DerbyFestivalMarathon.com.
GE Appliances is the Title Sponsor of the miniMarathon and Marathon. Official Race Medical Provider & Training Partner: Norton Sports Health. Contributing Sponsors are Churchill Downs, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kentucky Department of Tourism, Louisville Water Company, and Powerade. Official Finish Line Sponsor: Louisville City FC/Racing Louisville FC. Official Bourbon Retail Partner: Evergreen Liquors. Official Refuel Partner: Prairie Farms. Official Hotel: The Galt House.
