The Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon was a blast. It's a small race but the people are great and it attracts lots of Marathon Maniacs and others from all over the country. The flat(ish) half course is a big loop around a lake and LSU's campus while the marathon is a double loop.

Location – Easy to get to by air or land, Baton Rouge is a city full of friendly people and good food. A short trip from New Orleans, it's cleaner and safer without taking away your chance to drink a few hurricanes on Bourbon Street.

Expo – There is a small expo with two short rows of vendors from other races and local running stores. Packet pick up is a cinch and your race number is assigned to you right there. The race shirts are tech but they're also unisex and run very large. Throw away gloves were a nice surprise in the race packet and they ended up coming in handy on a very chilly race morning. The biggest attraction of the expo is the dinner that's included with your entry. They serve gumbo, jambalaya and pizza along with coolers full of bottled water and canned beer for runners to enjoy while listening to the speaker. This year is was Bart Yasso of Runner's World and he was great.

Accommodations - The Baton Rouge Marriott is home to the expo, dinner and the bigger of the two shuttle stops. Rooms are fairly inexpensive and they have a very nice fitness center for your shake out run. I didn't eat at the hotel restaurant but I was able to obtain a bagel for the morning and enjoy a local craft beer at the bar as the lobby filled with racers.

Start – The race starts at 7 and shuttles leave the Marriott at 5:45, 6 and 6:15. I climbed on the 5:45 still picking at my bagel and took the full bus a short way to the start. There was plenty of room to hang out and get warm before dropping my bag off at gear check. Coolers of water and Gatorade were nice to have right near the start though it was a little bit of a trek to the more than enough Port-A-Potties. There are no waves and we started right on time.

Course – The course is a 13.1 mile loop through some of LSU's campus and a few Baton Rouge neighborhoods. It's flat compared to Boston but not compared to Shamrock. The hills are all short little climbs and I netted about 120 feet of elevation gain according to my Garmin. Because of the race's small size, there is plenty of running room throughout and it's easy to take tangents even though the roads aren't closed (traffic was light early in the morning). It's definitely a good course to aim for a PR on.

Course Support – Even though the course wasn't packed with runners, aid stations about every 1.5 miles were enthusiastic and stocked with both Gatorade and water. The typical gel stop was replaced with a fruit stop so if you're into gels, make sure you pack them. Same thing goes for music, if you want it, bring it. There aren't any bands or DJs I can remember on course.

Finish - You finish under the same banner you started under, which is convenient but it's hard watching those marathoners keep going onto their second loop right past people who are finished. After crossing the line you get a cute finisher medal and more food than you know what to do with. There are the coolers full of beer, water and soda from the night before as well as more gumbo, jambalaya and fried goodies. Definitely not a granola bar and banana.

Post Race – Live results are available on a computer moments after you finish and awards for the half are given out roughly 15 minutes before the marathon leader will finish. The first shuttle returns to both parking locations right after the awards and then continues throughout the day. With tons of tasty food and lots of beer, hanging out in the park is a great way to spend an hour or two after the race even if there isn't a band.

I had a great time running the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon and for anyone trying to knock Louisiana off their list, it's a great choice. The people and management are friendly and do a wonderful job. There are adorable running chicken medals, lots of eats, lots of drinks and good weather. The course is open but very easy to navigate with good support to break up an often lonely run. I would definitely consider running this one again before some other races and hope it doesn't get too big!