Lexington Run the Bluegrass - In Review

Third Stop:  Lexington, KY

This was my first trip to Lexington.  My impression is this - they LOVE their horses and bourbon in Kentucky!  Horses & bourbon seemed to be the theme everywhere we went.  My other impression was TRAFFIC!

Again, a quick race weekend does not give much time to make an impression, especially considering our post-race exhaustion due to the brutal nature of the course.  We did, however, find this really cool place to carb up Friday night before the race.  It was a place called Joe Bologna's where they had converted a church into a restaurant, resulting in a pretty cool atmosphere.  

The only other place we really got to experience was Keenland, the location of the race start/finish.  Other than the construction mess getting to Keenland, it was absolutely beautiful.  I am not a horse race fan, but it might be a nice place to visit someday if I am up that way for another reason.

Race Review:  Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon

I originally chose this race as part of the Rock & Roll race series to work toward earning the Rock Legend Heavy Medal.  Sometime after we signed up for the 2013 Tour Pass and registered for the race, the decision was made that this race was better kept as a locally managed event.  They still kept some of the elements of a Rock & Roll Series race (bands on the course, female shirts, etc.), but it definitely was not an R&R event.

They weren't kidding when they said Bluegrass

Here's the skinny . . . 

The good:

"Little" pink houses for you and me

• Peaceful rolling hills through Lexington's farmland - the course was full of beautiful scenery and no traffic.
• Well-managed Expo - big enough to be interesting, but not overwhelming
• Female cut race shirts - they went with a really nice quality Nike tech shirt whose cut is not a fitted as typical women's race shirts
• The band around mile 6 - they were rocking out (not all Bluegrass, yay!) just when I needed a boost
• The most interesting spectators I've ever experienced - where might some horses trot along beside you as you pass their pasture?
• True wave start - the took this straight from the R&R handbook
• Fully closed course - I love the safety!
• Willingness to adjust - there were some traffic/fog issues, so they delayed the start.  I think this was a good call.

Spectators watching those crazy bipeds

The not-so-good:

Welcome to the hill show

• Peaceful rolling hills through Lexington's farmland - OMG!  I don't think there was a flat stretch, ever.  This was a REALLY challenging course.  I would definitely not recommend it for beginners.  And the quiet rural course meant no spectators to cheer you up that hill just when you need it.
• Poor planning for traffic - there was construction on the main road to get to Keenland which resulted in a traffic mess.  We gave ourselves plenty of time, but still would have missed the start if we had not created our own detour.  It seems like race management could have coordinated with the local planning authorities a little better.  Even with the delayed start, there were people who missed the start.  This also created a traffic nightmare to leave the race.  Even for late finishers like me.  Hopefully this was a one-year challenge.
• Finish line management - I did not witness this, but Jeff expressed frustration at the non-race traffic that kept crossing the course in front of runners near the finish.  He said there was no attempt to curtail it at all.  This is a pet peeve of both of ours.

They nailed it

Next review location:  Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon, Nashville, TN

Tomorrow - we hit the Charity Chase!