We run a lot of local 5k's as a family, pushing a double stroller. It's a fun way to get out and get some exercise with the entire family. We signed up for this 5k for fun, but we really like to try and run the 3.1 miles as best we can. This 5k was pretty much impossible to run with a jogging stroller and I thought the course really failed to show the beauty of downtown Baton Rouge.

Pros:
- Great race medal. It really is a nice medal for a 5k. You don't get medals with 5k races too often so that was a nice plus.
- Nice cotton/poly race t-shirt with a good graphic.
- GREAT expo. This race shares the expo with the Louisiana Marathon and half marathon so it's huge. There were a lot of great vendors and speakers at the expo on Friday before the race.
- Parking was easy and abundant in several lots and garages around downtown.
- The Louisiana Marathon has an app you can download for free that gives you all the details you need for all of their races: 5k, quarter marathon, half marathon, and full.
- GREAT post race finish festival with tons of good food. Unprecedented amount of food for a 5k.
- Free race photos for digital download.
- This race was part of the "Deja Vu" series where you get a fun crawfish platter if you ran both Saturday and Sunday.

Cons:
- The course was pretty meh. You ran a couple blocks through downtown, hit a big overpass, ran down some really narrow residential/industrial roads, hairpin turnaround, back over the overpass again and then to the finish. The last mile was probably the most scenic as you came back into downtown.
- Some of the roads were really rough and narrow. That, plus the hairpin turnaround (and the big overpass) made manuevering with the jogging stroller very difficult.
- There was no race day bib pickup for the 5k. I understand that's a logistical nightmare for the larger races but it would be nice for the much smaller 5k. We live over an hour away so we had a lot of butt in seat time in the car driving to go pick up a bib for a 5k.
- Both the 5k runners/walkers and the quarter marathon runners/walkers started together so it was really congested and crowded at the start.

Neutral but noteworthy:
- There were a LOT of walkers up front at the start. Weaving and maneuvering around all the walkers (so many up front) was tough. It will really slow you down.

If you want to participate in the Deja Vu challenge for The Louisiana Marathon, or you just want to get out and have a fun morning at a 5k then this is a decent race. I'd suggest do it for the post race finish festival, if for nothing else. But it's definitely not one to try to go out and try to PR or run.