The Louisville Triple Crown of Running

Believe it or not, I didn’t run when I was a kid. As a matter of fact, I was a chunkster. I was athletic, playing youth sports through the YMCA, but was always overweight and what clothing brands would classify as “husky.” I had crazy low self-esteem, and never felt confident in my athletic abilities. All of that started to change my senior year of high school, when someone told me they didn’t think I could run a half marathon. The easiest way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t. Oh yeah? Let me prove you wrong.

The start of my running journey began with a race that was a Louisville running institution, a race that my dad participated in all through my childhood, the Anthem 5K. The Anthem 5K was the first leg of the Louisville Triple Crown of Running (LTCOR, or Triple Crown), and also served as my very first official race. I crossed that finish line in 2005 in 24:05, elated and not ready to look back. I continued on to run the KDF miniMarathon, and as you now know, I’ve never looked back. My physical fitness improved, and my self-esteem began to rise. The Triple Crown began that journey.

If you’re like me, your first race will always hold a special place in your heart. I fell in love with the Triple Crown races, and ran them every chance I could after that first year. Not only did they bring out the whole Louisville running community, but two of the races were flat and fast. The Anthem 5K was my 5K PR for the longest time (I was able to drop my time from 24:05 that first year to 17:12 in 2011), and the Rodes City Run is still my 10K PR (I somehow was able to run 34:56 in 2012). The Papa John’s 10 Miler third race, while not flat, traversed my home turf of Iroquois Park. The series served as the kickoff to the yearly running calendar in Louisville. If you were a local runner, it was a given that you were going to participate in the Triple Crown.

The 2017 Papa John’s 10 Miler is a race I’ll never forget.

Even as recent as a few years ago, I competed in the Triple Crown races every year I could. One of my all-time running memories was the Papa John’s 10 Miler in 2017. Just a few days prior, a close childhood friend who was an LMPD officer died in the line of duty. His family lived right off Southern Parkway, just a block from where I grew up, and along the 10 Miler race route. The route was lined with blue ribbons in his memory, and many LMPD officers were running to honor him. It was very powerful, and even more powerful when I saw his parents along the race route. I was able to stop and give them a hug, fueling me to my fastest 10 mile time ever. That day meant so much more to me than just running.

Fast forward to two years later in 2019, when the news drops out of the blue that the Triple Crown races are going away. Even though I’m well-connected in the city running community, this news came as a surprise to me. It was obvious by looking at race results that the number of participants in each of the three races had significantly dropped, but they’re local running institutions. You can’t just get rid of the races, can you?

At the time, I was working at the Louisville Sports Commission and deeply entrenched in our three fall running races and a myriad of other local sporting events. Unfortunately LSC didn’t have the time or resources to make a play at taking over the Triple Crown. There were a bunch of other companies out there vying to take over the races, and honestly a lot of them left me nervous. These three races carry a lot of Louisville running history; I wanted them to return, but in the right hands. It was about a week after the initial announcement I learned that a company out of Chicago, EnMotive, was finalizing an agreement with past Triple Crown owners and the city to revive the races. It’s true that EnMotive isn’t a locally-based company, but they have a very strong reputation in the running world and I was super encouraged when I found out they were taking over.

Lucky for me, I’ve had a friendly relationship with the team at EnMotive for years. We had met at our annual Running USA conference for race directors, and I’d worked with their staff on a variety of events in Chicago over the years. I knew they didn’t have anybody located here in Lousiville, so after leaving LSC I approached them about the opportunity to be their boots on the ground for the Triple Crown. It made sense for them to bring on someone they were familiar with who also knew the inner workings of the city, and it helped me to grow the Louisville Running Company brand and portfolio. A win-win for all involved.

It took a few months, but last week we were finally able to finalize a deal. The Louisville Running Company won’t be putting on the three Triple Crown races, but we’ll be their boots on the ground here in Louisville. That entails meeting with the city and local sponsors, helping firm up the race route and aid station locations, route notification to residents and businesses affected, and (as many entrepreneurs understand) “other duties as the arise.” The third race has been replaced by the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K, which has a different production team within the EnMotive family, but will be a welcome addition to the series. Let’s be real: this is the first year EnMotive has taken over the LTCOR and they are taking on three races that were dwindling in numbers. There are a lot of challenges to making the three races a success, first and foremost getting registrants. There’s a lot to do over the next month before the 5K Fitness Classic on March 7 kicks off the series. Through local partnerships and participation from the Louisville running community, I truly believe we can bring these three great races back to prominence.

So this is where you get the call to action. Register for the Louisville Triple Crown of Running! Tell your friends to register! It may be their first 5K, like it was for me in 2004, but it may lead to a lifetime of running. It may be more expensive than you remembering it being in the past, but that’s because of increased public services costs and an overall increase in participant experiences. These are major Louisville races, and we want them to feel that way to participants. Help us bring the LTCOR back to prominence by signing up at https://www.louisvilletriplecrown.com/. I can’t wait to see everyone out there on March 7, March 21, and April 4!