Press Release - Derby Festival Marathon - 4/14/08

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

            REGISTRATION CLOSED FOR FESTIVAL MINI, MARATHON
                RACES REACH 12,000 PARTICIPANT CAPACITY

April 14, 2008. Louisville, KY.  - Registration is now CLOSED for the Derby 
Festival Marathon and miniMarathon to be held on Saturday, April 26.  
Registration has reached the previously announced cap of 12,000 runners.  
This means there will NOT be entries available for late registration next 
week at the Bluegrass Family Health Running Wild Expo at the Kentucky 
International Convention Center. 

"We had a record number of entries in 2007 and we're thrilled that we set 
another record this year by reaching the cap of 12,000 entries," said race 
director Chad Pickering. "Our goal is to have 12,000 finishers in both 
races combined. Derby Festival staff members and members of the race 
committee attended several race expos around the country last fall, and 
those recruiting efforts seem to have really paid off. We hope be able to 
open the races to even more numbers next year."

Registration numbers for the races have steadily increased over the past 
two years. The 2007 Derby Festival races attracted a record 11,269 
registrants, shattering the previous record of 8,651 set in 2006. For 2008, 
the Festival can only guarantee entry for the first 12,000 entrants to 
ensure the infrastructure is in place to support the runners in the manner 
to which they are accustomed. Registration numbers for this year's races 
represent a 20-percent increase over the total number of entrants for last 
year's event.  Runners from 47 U.S. states and at least nine foreign 
countries have registered for the 2008 races.

The seventh annual Marathon and 35th annual miniMarathon will start 
simultaneously at 7:30 a.m. near Iroquois Park. The race route will once 
again include a lap around the infield at Churchill Downs; Marathon runners 
will complete a short loop in Southern Indiana before returning to downtown 
Louisville at about Mile 24.  More details about the race are available 
online at www.derbyfestivalmarathon.com.

Contributing sponsors of the 2008 Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon 
are: Bluegrass Family Health, Churchill Downs, The Courier-Journal, Meijer 
and Powerade; supporting sponsors are Jewish Hospital Sports Medicine, the 
Louisville Water Company and MarathonGuide.com. 

 

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