Meet the Louisville man who ran the first KDF miniMarathon and has just kept running

Like the tale of "The Hare and the Tortoise," John Holland's slow and steady Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon journey is a bit like the children's fable. He never set out to be the fastest runner but his steadfast devotion to the event has made him a winner.

Over the past half-century, the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon has made great strides and Holland has been there for nearly every step of the half-marathon's growth. What began as a small, local 13.1-mile road race now attracts several thousand runners annually from all 50 states and several foreign countries.

This April, as the race celebrates its 50th anniversary, Holland, a 63-year-old Louisville native who grew up near Iroquois Park, will step up to the starting line for the 49th time.

Holland was only 15 years old when the race was first held in 1974. He was an Iroquois High School freshman and one of the youngest participants in the race.

"On Sunday night, my older brother Dan asked me if I wanted to run a race with him the next day," Holland remembers. "I said 'sure, why not.' The race was held on a Monday so I didn't go to school but I did have to bring a signed note from my mother to the race."

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Community road races were still in their infancy in the United States in 1974 and Holland admits he may not have been 100% clear about what he'd agreed to when he tagged along with his brother in what was then called "The Mayor's miniMarathon."

"Dan and I really didn't know what we were doing. I was a football player," Holland told the Courier Journal. "We wore Converse basketball shoes and two pairs of socks. We ate candy bars for energy and did a lot of walking. It was brutal but there were high points, too."

The Holland brothers' spirits were momentarily buoyed as they ran past hundreds of cheering neighbors and students lined up along the course near Iroquois Middle School. Even the former Mayor of Louisville, Harvey Sloane, was part of the race and ran through the throng of excited spectators.

"That was a high point," Holland remembers. "I knew a lot of those kids and their parents and they were cheering and calling out our names. We had never experienced anything quite like that and it was exciting."

On that spring afternoon, no one could have imagined the small field of runners which made up the 1974 miniMarathon would grow into one of the cornerstone events of the Derby Festival. The late Gil Clark, a longtime director of the miniMarathon, charted the first course from Iroquois Hill to the Belvedere and anticipated a field of possibly 150 runners, if they were lucky.

Only two runners were guaranteed to show up at the first miniMarathon: Phil Fowler, a member of the Louisville Striders running club who first envisioned the race, and Mayor Harvey Sloane.

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"I remember watching the mayor stand up on a platform before the start and make a speech but I don't remember what he said because I was pretty nervous," Holland said. "I also don't remember seeing any women who ran that first race. That's something I am glad has changed."

When John and Dan Holland got to the starting line, twice as many runners had shown up as the organizers had planned to attend. Gil Clark and his crew scrambled to find scraps of paper and pieces of cardboard and hastily wrote out the extra 151 race numbers in grease pencil. A total of 301 participants, including the Holland brothers, took part in the inaugural race.

"That first race wasn't anything like it is today. We ran on the sidewalks or in traffic and when we finally made it downtown to the wharf, we had to run up all the stairs to the Belvedere," Holland told the Courier Journal. "At the end of 13 miles, those steps felt like we were climbing a mountain. We still kid each other about that."

Hard as it was, the Holland boys vowed to take part in the race the next year. Only this time the brothers would train for the race a few months in advance. Over the next few years, the number of participants in the springtime race swelled from a few hundred to 3,500 by 1979.

For the Hollands, the miniMarathon had now become a family affair with brothers Joe and George and their sisters, Mary and Bonnie, taking part. George Holland's wife Diane also became part of Team Holland on race day.

"My dad would rank and rate us like racehorses," Holland recalled, laughing. "He'd write out who he thought would finish first, second, third, and so on and post it on the refrigerator. He knew how to keep us motivated."

As years passed, his siblings hung up their running shoes, but John Holland kept showing up. He raced four months after having heart surgery and has only missed one miniMarathon since 1974 due to an unavoidable college final scheduled the morning of the race.

"My wife Sherry has attended 42 of my races and both of our daughters, Kristen and Sarah, have run the mini," he said. "I've seen a lot of changes in the race through the years but the most important thing to me is the tradition of being a part of the event. I appreciate being healthy enough to keep showing up."

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For many years, runners were bused to the starting line at the base of Iroquois Park and ran a course that took them downtown. As the participants continued, to grow the course changed again and a full marathon distance was added to the event.

In 2011, the course for both the mini and Marathon was altered to be a "looped" course, starting and finishing within three blocks in downtown Louisville. On this route, runners have been able to view some of the city’s greatest landmarks including historic downtown Louisville, the scenic Olmstead Park system, the renowned Old Louisville neighborhood, and the traditional run through Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

Today the race has grown to over 12,000 entrants each year.

"I would say it was after the 20th time I ran the miniMarathon, I realized I had made this an annual race," said Holland. "In 2014, I ran after my heart surgery because I hoped it would inspire other heart patients and I run now in my 60s because I hope it will inspire people to stay active no matter their age."

Even during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Derby Festival found a way for runners like John Holland to take part in the miniMarathon. In 2020, the race was held virtually with individual participants running the distance on their own.

The race is currently ranked among the top 100 races by USA Track and Field, and has been touted as the "flattest Boston Qualifier."

"I always know what I am doing in April, I am running the miniMarathon. It's like climbing up a mountain once a year," Holland said. "When I show up at the starting line this spring for my 49th race, I think I will have run the miniMarathon more than anyone else and I plan to keep running, and then at some point I'll walk it, as long as I am able."

Reach Features Reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

2023 GE Appliances Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon and Marathon

WHAT: The 2023 GE Appliances Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon is 13.1 miles and Marathon is 26.2 miles. The Marathon Relay is also 26.2 miles (length divided between three-five relay members). There is also a virtual miniMarathon and Marathon.

Looking for racing training? The free Norton Sport Health Training Program starts Jan. 12 and runs for 15 weeks. To register, visit derbyfestivalmarathon.com

WHERE: Races start at Louisville Slugger Field and finish at Lynn Family Stadium

WHEN: Saturday, April 29. Starts at 7 a.m.

COST: miniMarathon $85; Full Marathon $95; Marathon Relay $325; Virtual mini and Marathon, $50

MORE INFORMATION: kentuckyderbyfestival.com

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville man John Holland runs 49 years of KDF miniMarathon