The Lagniappe (pronounce "Lan - yap") Run is a 5k race through a residential and commercial area in central Columbia. This year's race is the 4th annual run and a fairly quick course. It is hosted by Strictly Running and Soda City.

Packet Pick-up: Strictly Running gave the option to pick up your gear the day before the race at their location, or get your gear and bib the day of the race at the starting location. The packet consisted of a bib, four pins, and a Next-Level short sleeve green shirt with the logo on the front and a couple of the sponsors on the back. It's a very nice somewhat thin shirt that I will use quite a bit when I'm casually running or training. It feels very comfortable and looks great. While it's a bare bones packet, Strictly Running hosted the vast majority of races in the Columbia area and when you step into their store, you can and will definitely know about any upcoming races.

Parking: The race map from the website and from Facebook did a good job of showing the course, but if I didn't do a race in that area last year, I would have been just a little lost on where to park. But once you know where the starting line is, parking didn't become a problem; there was plenty of parking spots available at the local high school football stadium, the adjoining streets, and near the finish line location.

Course: This year, over 100 racers participated in the race. There probably would have been more runners and walkers if several other races weren't occurring in Columbia and even up in Charlotte (hard to resist that Hot Chocolate 15k) and even over in Sumter. It was a good size group, full of fun, friendly attitude and a great atmosphere.
The course almost starts with an uphill that you will definitely feel as you're going up it. It's not a steep hill, or even in the top ten of bad hills in Columbia, but you will notice it. Once you crest over the hill, the course feels like it fluctuates between being flat and going downhill. There were quite a few police officers out there directing traffic and making sure the race participants were safe while going along the course.
The scenery begins with the starting point because you are across the road from Owens Airport, a local recreational use airfield, and you can see a historical landmark with the hangar right next to the starting line. After that, you are running through a residential area until you get to Rosewood Ave where you run along local businesses for a bit before you go back into the residential area. It's not downtown Columbia or the Timmerman Trail, but it is a nice change of scenery for local runners.

After the finish: Once I finished the race, I had a chance to partake in a beer or two from one of our local breweries, River Rat Brewery. I did not, though, because I don't drink anything alcoholic if I am getting behind the wheel afterwards (the wife had to work that day). Strictly Running and the Mardi Gras Krewe had plenty of bottled water, cut up bananas, and sliced oranges for all finishers.
The awards ceremony was informal and pretty nice. They had technical issues with their speaker, but that just made the crowd love the mood even more when the announcer dropped his mike and speak loudly to announce each winner.

I do want to add that this was a very dog friendly race, and if you registered your dog for an extra five dollar fee, that amount of money went to a dog charity in Columbia.

The only real issue I had with the race was that there were no water stations along the course. While I ran a lot of water the night before and even right before the race, I was pretty thirsty halfway through the course. I normally don't carry water or gel, and even then, it's only water on a half marathon, because I rely on the water and aid stations to replenish my body's needs. But don't let that discourage you from doing this course. It's a fun course, the mood of the race is great, and there's plenty of refreshments afterwards. (or you could wear a camelbak or carry a water bottle if you feel inclined).