Having already finished my fifty states quest, I was in search of a new PR. My main choices were Houston, Louisiana, and Surf City for a decent course, best chance of good weather, and uncrowned field. I settled on Louisiana after reading many reviews and getting input from other runners, and I’m glad I listened!

The weather on Saturday (10k, 5k, and kids’ race I believe) was rain and thunderstorms and some of those events were cancelled. I arrived that afternoon to great weather thankfully, and it held through Sunday’s events. It was cold (low 30s at the start, probably low 40s by the end, and the sun came out later in the morning. The downside was it was quite windy which made it feel colder) but in my opinion, cold is great to run in so I was thrilled.

The expo was a nice size and they had some slick race specific gear. I’m a sucker for hats and did end up buying a cool trucker hat. Other than that I was in and out in ten minutes.

The start/finish was close to my hotel so I took advantage and left my room a little later, then got a solid warmup in before going into my corral at 6:45. This was key: I was able to line up almost at the front, near the 3:20 pacer (I was shooting for 3:25 or better) and when the gun went off I didn’t have to weave and dodge like at my last race (MCM). This got me on pace from the beginning and kept me from adding distance that would skew my results. I don’t know how many marathoners vs half marathoners there were, but I found the field to be a good size, and once we split at mile 11, it was even better.

The course itself was a nice mix of neighborhoods (beautiful old trees and Spanish moss abound), LSU campus, and a lake that had some very nice views and beautiful houses, though the wind was cutting in many places. The road surface was generally fine, there was only one short stretch of really rough, not-quite-fully-paved surface but that was minor. I also found the course perfectly marked. I was running great tangents for almost the first ten miles and ended up with 26.29 miles (whereas MCM I ended up closer to 26.6). Plenty of police and volunteers and lots of aid stations.

The medal is nice; I love their logo with the tree (hence the hat I bought) and the finisher shirt, while simple, is a super soft cotton or something. It’s very comfy.

The best, and most unexpected perk for me, was the BQ tent where, after getting your official results, you could claim a “I Boston Qualified at the Louisiana Marathon” shirt in blue and gold. Awesome!!

The festival appeared to have lots of food and beer options, but I don’t usually eat right after a race so I headed back to my hotel to warmup. It looked like quite a party!

Overall, this really is a great race with a small-town feeling. It’s wonderfully produced and marked, there were ample volunteers and police out to support, and it felt like a race for runners. I really enjoyed the day and was thrilled with my results. I’d recommend it for anyone seeking a PR, and if you luck out with the weather you can have a seriously great race. Geaux run Louisiana!