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Baton Rouge,
Louisiana,
United States - January
- 3 miles/5K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon, Other
- Road Race
- Event Website
Jennifer Zenuch
New Orleans, Louisiana, United StatesOverall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
This was my second year running The Louisiana Marathon. I ran the full in 2013 and wow, have they improved it tremendously! I ran the half this year and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. I even managed to snag a sweet little PR! I will definitely be running this one again.
Pros:
- GREAT expo. Their expo is comparable to any Rock 'n' Roll expo I've been to. So many great vendors with a lot of different products to check out and sample.
- Nice, soft, cotton/poly blend t-shirt. The graphic design is nice and I'd honestly wear this more than a tech tee.
- Abundant parking around downtown Baton Rouge close to the race start. We parked about 2 blocks away for $5. Can't beat that!
- There's a really cool race app you can download that gives you all the information you need for race weekend: Parking, start times, directions, even weather! I lived on that app. It was so well done.
- Pace groups are offered for the full and half marathons if you choose to run with them.
- Great race support all along the course with both the aid stations (almost every mile) and from the spectators. I saw so many great signs on the course. Spectators were offering donuts and champagne at one point. That's new.
- Nice scenery along the course through downtown, LSU campus, around the LSU Lakes, and through the neighborhoods around downtown.
- The after party is amazing. SOOO much good food! Jambalaya, mac & cheese, gumbo, chicken and rice, pulled pork sliders, and Abita beer. And there's a live band playing on the main stage. Felt good to just sit, eat, drink a beer, and listen to some good Cajun music.
- There's a separate vegan tent with several different vegan offerings too.
- They have a kids' area set up at the finish festival with face painting, blow up slides and bouncy houses to keep kids entertained as the families wait. Great idea.
- Plenty of porta-potties at the start and on course.
- Nice finisher's medal.
- Relatively flat course (one overpass and a few small, rolling hills). Great course for a PR.
- FREE digital downloads of your race photos. Not many races do that. Very classy.
Cons:
- The roads can be pretty rough. Lots of pot holes and cracks to dodge. I saw a couple of runners fall.
- There are no set corrals. It was a bit of a free-for-all at the start. You had to find your pacers and kind of line up with them.
All-in-all this was an amazing race and I definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to run a half or full marathon in Louisiana.