May 17, 2025
Y’all… WE’RE BACK!
We are beyond excited to be BACK for 2025! Catch us Saturday, May 17th, at Talon Winery and Vineyards, located at the very southern tip of Lexington near the Kentucky River. Situated amongst some of the coolest country roads you’ll traverse anywhere in the United States, you can’t experience quintessential Bluegrass Country better anywhere else!
Talon Winery and its surrounding 13.1 miles afford you (and us!) some of the most peaceful, heavenly, quaint running spots you’ll ever experience!
And don’t forget all of the unique attractions right near Talon like the Kentucky Palisades, Boone Creek Outdoors, Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, and Clays Ferry.
We’ve Teamed Up With The Iron Horse!
For the first time EVER, you can participate in the Horse Country Classic— two half marathons in sister seasons, RunTheBluegrass in the spring, and The Iron Horse in the fall! These two races together highlight the true beauty of Kentucky through the most beautiful seasons. Find horses and bluegrass views along both courses! And starting this year, you can bundle them for 20% off both races! Just can’t get enough hills in your life? Then this combo is for you. And best of all, those who run both races will get a special race award after the Iron Horse!
Race Start and Finish Time
You will need to be on Talon property by 6:30am. Our races start at 7:00am. We will be enforcing a strict 14 minute/mile cutoff time to ensure the safety of all participants during the race. We will have extremely visible (and encouraging!) pacers to help everyone keep on pace! If you are asked to leave the course at a checkpoint, you will be shuttled back to the race start/finish, where you will still receive your race award and split times.
Official Swag
This year, we’ve partnered up with BROOKS RUNNING to bring you super premium swag, and are thrilled to offer a short-sleeve Brooks technical running shirt with a beautiful RunTheBluegrass theme! Additional RunTheBluegrass swag apparel, like our Dash 1/2 Zip, and Luxe Hoodie are also top notch Brooks Running athleisure pieces specifically selected for quality and functionality.
Official Bourbon, Wine, and Beer
Stay tuned, team! We’ve got some FUN things in the works!
Race Week Hotels
Check back soon for our list of 2025 Race Week Partnering Hotels!
Race Week Tours & Parties
Lexington is bigger and better than ever, and that means more to do than ever! This winter we’ll present to you our personally-curated 2025 Race Week Tours & Parties options for your advanced reservations!
A Special Thank-You to Eric Patrick Marr
In 2025, for the first time ever, John’s Run/Walk Shop and John’s Bluegrass Racing Company will be producing and directing RunTheBluegrass. We are thrilled that Eric has trusted us with such a special race that is so dear to all of us, and will be forever thankful for the energy and support he has offered not only to our local running community but also to many racers nationwide. We are humbled to be able to continue such a special event for Central Kentucky and look forward to serving the running and walking community for years to come.
And don’t worry. We have every intention of including Eric in every tour, party, and race-day-finish-line-high-five we can get him to. We think after all this time, he deserves to still be able to have fun with all of us! And Eric, we look forward to growing Race Passport with you, too! Cheers to the next moonshot, friend. We know if anyone can make it happen, it’s you.
For those who may have missed Eric’s announcement regarding this year’s race, check it out here!
2024 Results & Photos
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