Feb-4-2026 2026 LLTH POSTPONED

LLTH 2026  has been postponed.  I am checking to confirm a date.   I will update this blog as more information comes in.  

update Thursday 2-5-26:  Cynthia has stated that the re-scheduled date will be Saturday, May 23, 2026 and not the requested date shown in her email below.

 

 

I received this email a while ago from Cynthia Heady, RD for HeadFirstperformance:

  

                  UltraSignup

  Louisville Lovin' the Hills

                  Cynthia Heady [1]

LOUISVILLE LOVIN' THE HILLS

Hello Runners and friends,

_It is with great sadness I have to postpone the race this year.  I have
been going over this for days, trying to make it all work.  As you know
(if you saw my last email) the park sent me an email on Monday and said
we could not park in the areas we have in the past.  The only parking
was down the hill and in a school parking lot.  They also said they did
not want us on muddy trails.   I called the school and they were happy
to let us park there but it is several miles away and I need a shuttle
or several.  I called about this but at this late notice the cost is
beyond what I can pay.    This race started in 2004 and we have never
come across this issue.  I have been praying  for a miracle.  _

_The trails are full of snow and  ice.  It is really beautiful but slick
in a few areas.  For an experienced runner  I think it would be
beautiful yet slow.  I think it would be hard to finish the 50k quickly
or  at all...  I have been on the trails the past 4 days and I have
battled my thoughts, I want you to see how beautiful this place is but
is it to dangerous to put on a race?  In the end I know it cannot happen
Saturday._

_I have sent an email requesting May 14 as the reschedule date.  I know
this month, once the snow melts, it will be wet and they will not let us
run...then in March the triple crown starts, LBL Trail Runs, Bourbon
50k,  April is mini marathon, Backside Trail Marathon, Knobstone 50.
Then Derby..._

_I would like to camp in May and it should be dry._

_You will have the option to do another Headfirst race, Backside Trail
Marathon, this race in May, or _

_transfer to next year.  I will send you info on how to sign up for
these.  If you cannot do any of these and want to do a virtual race I
will be happy to give you you shirt and medal.   I plan to be out there
on Saturday if you have come from out of town or you are in town and
want to run._

_I am so sorry.  This is so hard for me.  I love running and I thank you
for signing up for this race._

_If you have any questions for me please text me 502-220-3440._

Sincerely,

Cynthia

_Race Director _

 

 

 

The following pix are from the " 2-4-26 Last Minute Update" that I had prepared to post, prior to the decision to postpone the event:

 

 

 Some pix from earlier today:

 2-4-26, trail at dam milepoint 6.3, snow&sleet thickness 3-4" frozen solid, dusting on top :

  

 

 2-4-26, trail near dam milepoint 6.4,  dug hole, snow&sleet thickness 3-4" frozen solid, dusting on top, deer tracks not penetrating: 

   

 

 The Welcome Center is being re-constructed and the rear portion of the building is closed off -- this includes the outside direct entrances to the restrooms.

 

2-4-26, welcome center back entrance under construction 

 

 

  2-4-26, a trail closure in Yost, detour to the left

 

 

The Land Between the Lakes (LBL) trail running event in western KY info can be found here: 

 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns. 

 

 

 

 

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2026 Louisville's Lovin' The Hills 50k/15m/6m Registration

Registration for the 22nd running of Louisville's Lovin' The Hills, to be held at 8:00 a.m. EST on Saturday, February 7, 2026, is open on UltraSignup at  https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=130582.  Online registration will close on Wed, February 4, 2026 at 11:59 pm EST.

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2025 LLTH Results and Race Recap

Preliminary results have been posted:

https://headfirstperformance.com/Results/25%20LLTH.pdf

If you note any errors, including name spelling or missing information, contact HeadFirst Performance.  Once the results are finalized at a later date, they will be posted on Ultrasignup,

 

Race Recap: 

The trail conditions added to the challenge this year.  There were periods of drizzle & light rain thruout the day.  Trails were very wet & slick.  Temps began in the upper 30's and reached the upper 50's with overcast skies & light winds that picked up later in the afternoon.  There were less entries than recent years due to the wet weather that was forecast for race day and for some, because of the lack of trail training time in an unusually frigid & snowy January.

start video:

 2025 winners:

50k:  Jameson Kloeckner   4:49:50              Daisy Packard     5:46:08

15m:            Ryan Haulk    2:17:32         Amanda LeBlanc*    2:49:18

6m:              Chris Curcio     48:29          Sally Thompson*        52:02

* Amanda LeBlanc -- 4th win (2nd in a row) in the 15m
* Sally Thompson -- 4th win (3rd in a row) in the 6m & 5th win total


An award is issued to runners when reaching 10 finishes at LLTH.   3 runners reached that milestone this year: Brenda Gutmann, Jonathan Marcum and Randy Troyer  -- Congratulations!

10 year award:

 Other notes:

The free pasta dinner provided by Quest Outdoors was SUPER!!   There were many "exotic" (including: Butternut Squash and Balsamic Gnocchi, Roasted Garlic and Veggie Pasta and other) pastas that were delicious!  Once again, Quest went above & beyond & also donated prizes for LLTH.  Thanks Quest Outdoors!

      photo courtesy of Todd Heady:

 Cynthia provided her famous homemade soups for post race enjoyment -- they were all very popular as usual!   She even added in house made pizzas for everyone this year!

As noted previously, in collaboration with Land Between the Lakes (LBL), a special award will be given to those who complete both LLTH (50k, 15m or 6m) and LBL (50m, 60k, marathon or 23k).  Information on LBL can be found here:   

 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns

 

  

                                                   

If anyone has any photos/videos/race reports that they wish to share on this blog, send them or the link to me.  Thanks!



Congrats & Thanks to everyone for making LLTH a success this year!

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Feb-5-2025 LLTH last minute notes

Online registration thru UltraSignup ends tonight (Feb 5) at 11:59 pm EST. 

Early packet pickup is at QUEST OUTDOORS at 4600 Shelbyville Road in the Shelbyville Road Plaza in Louisville on Friday from 4 to 7 pm EST.  QUEST OUTDOORS will also be having their FREE pre-race pasta dinner again this year at their store location -- everyone is welcome.    True North Catering will again provide the catering of the pasta dinner.  

 

You can also register and/or pick up your race packet at the Horine Center at the Start/Finish area on race morning starting around 7 am EST.  It's recommended to pick up your packet on Friday to avoid the rush & lines on race day.

Flagging will be orange this year.  Trail junctions will be marked with several flags & major junctions will also have signs or a volunteer on site.  Intermediate flagging is spaced approx. 200 to 300 feet along the entire course.

There are only minor course changes this year & they're on the 15m & 50k courses.  They're mostly due to the recently completed construction in Tom Wallace Park (just past the Welcome Center) :  several hundred feet of single track trail on the Siltstone & Purple Heart Trails have been replaced by paved walkways & concrete sidewalks.  Also, as a safety measure, a short segment of the Siltstone Trail was shifted away from a steep dropoff around mile 14.4 of the 50k.

 

Quick Links:

2025 FAQ

6m course map

15m course map

50k course map

Current local forecast

  

As in previous years, in collaboration with the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) trail running event in western KY, a special award will be given to those who complete both LLTH (50k, 15m or 6m) and LBL (50m, 60k, marathon or 23k).  Information on LBL can be found here: 

 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns. 

Good Luck to all!

 

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2025 Louisville's Lovin' The Hills 50k/15m/6m Resistration

Registration for the 21st running of Louisville's Lovin' The Hills, to be held at 8:00 a.m. EST on Saturday, February 8, 2025, is open on UltraSignup at  https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=119317.  Online registration will close on Wed, February 5, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST.

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2024 LLTH Results and Race Recap

Preliminary results have been posted:

 https://headfirstperformance.com/Results/24%20LLTH.pdf 

If you note any errors, including name spelling, or missing information, contact HeadFirst Performance.  Once the results are finalized at a later date, they will be posted on Ultrasignup,

Race Recap

Despite various "last minute" challenges to this year's event, the 20th running of LLTH is now history.

start video:




The weather & trail conditions were both very good, which is quite unusual for this time of year.  Temps started in the low 30's and reached the mid 50's with clear skies & light winds.  Trails were mostly dry or just damp.  There was mud on the course, but only in isolated spots & not a big factor.



2024 winners:

50k:  Scott Fihma            5:34:23            Lauren Manuel       6:08:24

15m:  Emerson Oronte    2:01:41            Amanda LeBlanc    2:37:12

6m:   Seth Snider-Hayes     43:08            Sally Thompson        51:40

Lauren Manuel -- 2nd win in the 50k.
Amanda LeBlanc -- 3rd win in the 15m.
Sally Thompson -- 3rd win (2nd in a row) in the 6m & 4th win total
Seth Snider-Hayes -- 2nd win in a row in the 6m

An award is issued to runners when reaching 10 finishes at LLTH.  A record number of runners (7) reached that milestone this year: David Corfman, Bert Guinn, Glen McGill, Jerry Nelson, Kyle Noltemeyer, Danielle Sullivan and John Young  -- Congratulations!

10 year award:





swag:




     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Other notes:

The free pasta dinner provided by Quest Outdoors was GREAT once again!  They made more room at the store this year due to the large number of guests attending.  Quest also donates prizes & is more involved with LLTH every year!

Cynthia made sure there was a large variety of great post race food, including her famous homemade soups.  I heard nothing but positive comments!

There were several glitches at LLTH this year, but they were dealt with as they became evident.  I'll mention a couple:  The people delivering the port-o-lets to Horine dropped them off at the finish line instead of at the start and were all locked initially.  The gates to various sections of Jefferson Memorial Forest (JMF) were locked and HeadFirst Performance was unable to set up the aid stations when they arrived early in the morning -- it seems since last year, JMF instituted a policy of locking all the gates at sunset.  Apparently the person who unlocks the gates every morning was late in arriving on race day, so the aid station which was scheduled to be in the parking lot across from the Welcome Center was moved to the Welcome Center and the aid station at Scott's Gap had to be moved twice -- transferred from a temporary location at the gate and later to the scheduled location next to the trail.

As noted previously, in collaboration with Land Between the Lakes (LBL), a special award will be given to those who complete both LLTH (50k, 15m or 6m) and LBL (50m, 60k, marathon or 23k).  Information on LBL can be found here:   

 https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns

If anyone has any photos/videos/race reports that they wish to share on this blog, send them or the link to me.  Thanks!



Congrats & Thanks to all for making LLTH a success this year!

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Jan-31-2024 LLTH last minute notes

Foremost on last minute notes for 2024 is:   the closure of the north end of Holsclaw Hill Road, the main route to LLTH.   See the updates in the previous post for details on the closure.  The only driving route now available to the LLTH start is shown below.  You may want to add some additional drive time.

Google Map directions to the Start from the Brooks Road Interchange on I-65 can be found  HERE.  

 

 

Online registration thru UltraSignup ends tonight (Jan 31) at 11:59 pm EST. 

Early packet pickup is at QUEST OUTDOORS at 4600 Shelbyville Road in the Shelbyville Road Plaza in Louisville on Friday from 4 to 7 pm EST.  QUEST OUTDOORS will also be having their FREE pre-race pasta dinner again this year at their store location -- everyone is welcome.   For 2024, True North Catering will provide the catering of the pasta dinner.

You can also register and/or pick up your race packet at the Horine Center at the Start/Finish area on race morning starting around 7 am EST.  It's recommended to pick up your packet on Friday to avoid the rush & lines on race day.

Flagging will be pink this year.  JMF & contractors within the Forest also use pink (& other colored) flagging, so be aware of the course layout beforehand and follow the pink flagging on the well worn trail to stay on course.  Flagging on wooden stakes are always the contractors'.

Trail junctions will be marked with several flags & major junctions will also have signs or a volunteer on site.  Intermediate flagging is spaced approx. 200 to 300 feet along the entire course.

There are course changes this year:   For both the 15m & 50k, there are minor diversions in the Tom Wallace Recreation Area (past the Welcome Center) due to ongoing construction.  For the 50k, at Scott's Gap:  the entry/exit trail segment to the 3 mile loop has been moved from the east to the south and a steep incline & 2 deep ditches have been bypassed on the loop section.  Also, instead of running up & down Scott's Gap Road, you will now cross this paved road & run up & down a trail that's parallel to it.

Current local forecast from the National Weather Service can be found here:   NWS Fairdale, KY   With warmer than usual weather predicted & very good trail conditions, there will be many more users sharing the trails than on a usual race day here.  Any horses (allowed on the Yost & Purple Heart Trails) you may pass need special attention & considerations.

As in previous years, in collaboration with the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) trail running event in western KY, a special award will be given to those who complete both LLTH (50k, 15m or 6m) and LBL (50m, 60k, marathon or 23k).  Information on LBL can be found here:  https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/GrandRivers/LandBetweentheLakestrailruns.

Good Luck to all!

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