Since it was only 2 weeks after the Asheville Half, I decided to just do the 7 mile with Brad. We booked a room at one of the partner hotels, the Campbell House, and started planning our trip.
We decided to leave early on Friday for the drive up so that we could maximize our time. We try to avoid chains when we travel, so we stopped at a restaurant called Bluebird in tiny Stanford, KY (apparently one of the oldest settlements in Kentucky) on the way to Maker's Mark.
Since the race was Saturday, we had a fairly early night on Friday - got our packets, explored the expo (and bought Bondi bands), checked in to the hotel, and went to dinner with my brother at a restaurant in downtown Lexington called Saul Good.
The race shirt this year was a soft, lightweight hoodie. We both love them.
Saturday was race day. I was glad the race started on the later side for a bit more sleep and a but more warmth, but it was still pretty frigid while we were waiting to actually start. The atmosphere before the race was great, and in addition to the National Anthem the bugler from Keeneland played the Call to the Post and someone played Old Kentucky Home.
The course was challenging, but not too hilly, and it was beautiful.
Brad and I stayed together until almost the end, when I decided to try to pass the girl I saw up ahead. For a minute I wasn't sure I could catch her, but I did! After getting our finisher medals, they gave out bags of food. They were all different - I looked around a little until I found one with Nilla wafers and a Kit Kat to go with the Jif peanut butter they all had (Jif is made nearby).
The medals are great, too!
The post-race party looked great - many food trucks, locally-made ice cream (that I really wanted even though it was so cold), a free beer from Kentucky Ale and a free slice from Papa John's, but it was still so cold that I just couldn't enjoy hanging out. So we left and met my friend Mary from Team USA in China for lunch at Wallace Station (featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives). After lunch she showed us a cool old distillery that's not currently operating but looks like it's being fixed up.
After lunch, we continued our distillery adventures with Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace before finding that ice cream at a local store to enjoy at the hotel while resting a bit.
Saturday night we got pizza from Pies and Pints and watched the Kentucky Elite 8 game at Ethereal Brewing. Then Sunday we went to Wild Eggs for breakfast and one last distillery (Four Roses) before heading home.
What a great weekend trip! This is a great race to plan a little mini-vacation around. We might do it again someday... there are still a few more distilleries Brad wants to check out.
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