Even if you aren’t a runner, you can still have a good time in downtown Danville as the 2023 Bourbon Chase relay passes through town.
More than 3,000 runners will participate in this year’s race, which begins at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont on the morning of Friday, Oct. 6 enroute to the finish line on Saturday, Oct. 7 in downtown Lexington. The more than 200-mile-long route brings teams to Perryville by early afternoon on Oct. 6, then on to Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville before the first wave of runners reaches the exchange point downtown at Weisiger Park around 5:30 p.m., which is the start time for live music by the band Classic Rewind, which will perform until 8:30 p.m.
“Runners and their teammates will come through downtown over several hours,” said Kendall Clinton, executive director of the Danville-Boyle County Tourism Office. “It’s a relay race, so many of those who aren’t running at the time will have dinner, rest and relax while they are in Danville. We want to provide them with a memorable experience, so we’ll have cornhole and other games set up, live music by Classic Rewind and a 360 video booth where they can make their own clips to share on social media. We want local residents to come downtown and enjoy these activities as well.”
To allow time to set up tables, chairs and games, and prepare for the influx of runners, street closures will occur near Weisiger Park sometime Friday afternoon until the last teams pass through the exchange point late that evening.
After runners leave the exchange point, they’ll continue on to Stanford before returning to Danville later in the evening to the exchange point at Millennium Park before heading north into Mercer County. Runners will be wearing reflective clothing and lights, but drivers are still asked to pay special attention throughout the afternoon and evening as the Bourbon Chase participants and their 500 or more team vans pass through Boyle County.
