Jan. 8, 2014 Louisville, KY. – Kentucky’s two largest Half-Marathons have joined forces to create the Kentucky Half Classic. The Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon presented by Walmart and HumanaVitality in Louisville and Lexington’s RunTheBluegrass Half-Marathon presented by Bodyfit have created a partnership encouraging runners to participate in both events.

Lexington’s RunTheBluegrass, set for Saturday, March 29th, starts and finishes on Keeneland Race Course’s gorgeous grounds and takes runners through picturesque Thoroughbred Farms such as Donamire Farm, Stonestreet Farm and Calumet – while the urban attractions such as Louisville Slugger, Museum Row on Main and Churchill Downs await you along the course of the Derby Festival miniMarathon, set for April 19.

“There is no other partnership like this at this level,” says Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President & CEO, “It’s a great opportunity to run two very different races with dramatically different landscapes and see a lot of what Kentucky has to offer.”

Runners who complete both races will not only receive a commemorative, Kentucky-crafted finisher’s medal, but will also have exclusive access to Half Classic photo opportunities and designated food and beverage areas after each race.

“No other state in America offers what our new Kentucky Half Classic offers,” says Eric Patrick Marr, RunTheBluegrass Race Director. “The chance to run through multi-million dollar Thoroughbred Farms and also through one of today’s coolest, trendiest American cities. From a runner’s perspective, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

For more information and to register, go to derbyfestivalmarathon.com or runthebluegrass.org.

Since 1956, the Derby Festival has worked to bring the community together in celebration. The Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single-attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world. RunTheBluegrass is organized by The LeXenomics Group in Lexington, established in 2010. LeXenomics regularly hosts events to help new ideas spread throughout Central Kentucky.

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For more information, contact:

Derby Festival Press Office

Aimee Boyd

aboyd@kdf.org (502)

584-FEST

RunTheBluegrass

Eric Patrick Marr

EricPatrickMarr@LeXenomics.org

(859)-361-9811