After 35 years, the Louisville Triple Crown of Running comes to the end of the road

After 35 years, the Louisville Triple Crown of Running is coming to an end.

The event was canceled due to a "steady decline in participation, available sponsorship dollars and rising operating costs," according to a Facebook post from event organizers.

Event organizers said in the post that they "could not continue to create the type of experience that would meet their standards and measure up to the quality events they have nurtured for nearly four decades."

This was the final year for the race series, which includes the Anthem 5K Fitness Classic, the Rodes City Run 10K and the Papa John’s 10 Miler. The races occurred Feb. 23, March 9 and March 23 this year, respectively.

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This cancellation does not include the Kentucky Derby Festival's miniMarathon and Marathon.

“The miniMarathon was part of the Triple Crown of Running in the early years. We appreciated the partnership and know it’s become a staple in Louisville," said a representative of the Kentucky Derby Festival. "We hate to see that it’s going away. Because the running community is so supportive of the Derby Festival, we’d be open to conversations about creating a running series that feeds into the mini and Marathon.”

Some took to social media to express sadness over the cancellation of the event. Twitter user @aaCash12 said, "No more triple crown of running!! Now I’m sad that I didn’t do the 10k to get the last shirt! Think this is a huge mistake Louisville is making!"

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-582-4181 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.