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.

This was a fun levee run along the Mississippi River on the West Bank of New Orleans. A totally different route than most of the New Orleans area races with a really great view of the city skyline across the river. This was the first year that they changed the course and moved it to along the river. I thought all in all it was a fun race with an interesting route and a nice change of pace. Here's a race summary:

Pros:
- Free coffee before the race. This was sooo nice since it was pretty cold at race start.
- Free parking in a parking garage just a couple blocks from the race start. I really liked not having to fight for race parking before the start. Very stress-free.
- Very nice long sleeved tech shirt in both women's and men's cuts.
- Really great view of the New Orleans city skyline along the Mississippi River levee for the back half of the race.
- Good refreshments after race finish = red beans & rice, coffee, beer, jambalaya, bananas, cookies, Coke products, Gatorade, water and more.
- Very nice race medal. The captain's wheel SPINS on it. It's really super cute.
- Good aid station representation and volunteers stocked with both Gatorade and water.
- Good police presence blocking off side streets.
- Small race field.
- Large number of porta potties so the lines at the beginning moved very quickly.

Cons:
- Crazy head wind for about 5 to 6 miles when you were running along the river. Whew. Wore me out! (But is was nice at the turnaround when it was behind you! :) )
- The first half had one metal grid bridge that was a little difficult to cross. Would be easy to turn an ankle. Just had to really focus on your feet and make your way across. They were very short though.
- It was hard to differentiate what was water and what was Gatorade at a lot of the aid stations. Needed a little more consistency of only Gatorade in Gatorade cups and water in white cups. I know a lot of people don't like to drink Gatorade on course since it can mess with their stomach (I water mine down).
- One aid station was set up on the levee path making it really narrow for runners to navigate. I could see that getting really congested.
- The streets at the beginning were very narrow with cars parked along the side. You really had to weave and got blocked in some that first mile.

Neutral but noteworthy:
- By New Orleans race standards this had several inclines that we locals would call "hills". Ha. Running up and down the levees and over a couple bridges made for a fun challenge and nice change of pace from the usual "flat as a pancake" courses we usually get.

Overall I enjoyed the new course and scenery and found it to be a fun event. I would totally run it again.

This is the second year we have done this race as a family and it is quickly becoming one of our Christmas traditions. It's a small, local 5k with a kids fun run all centered around a reindeer/Christmas theme. Here's a quick breakdown:

Pros:
- Such a cute, cute race. Love the Christmas theme! Christmas music was playing at the start/finish line.
- SANTA was there! You could get your picture with Santa.
- Cute race backdrop for post race pictures.
- EVERYONE gets a medal - even the kids at the end of the fun run. It was so fun to watch my son's eyes light up as he got his "Rudolph medal". He had been looking forward to it for weeks.
- GREAT SWAG for a 5k. Really nice tech t-shirt, reindeer antlers (with bells) for everyone, a re-usable hand warmer and a little red bag to keep it all in.
- Plenty for the entire family to do. There's a kids fun run. And the race is held at a park with plenty of playground equipment.
- Great post-race refreshments! They had hot cocoa, sugar cookies to decorate yourself, chicken quesadillas, Chic-fil-a chicken biscuit minis, fruit salad, jambalaya, tea, lemonade, water.
- Fun award categories like "best group costume" and "best pet costume" along with age awards two people deep. The awards were really nice plaques too.
- MUCH better course this year. It wound through the neighborhood around the park. No more crossing busy, major roads.
- Nice, clean restrooms. No porta-potty ickiness. The park has nice, clean restrooms.
- A little later start, which makes it much easier if you're corralling little ones to run with you.
- Race costumes are hugely encouraged. So many cute Santas and elves out there.

Cons:
- The roads weren't closed for traffic during the race. There wasn't much traffic but we had to really look out for a couple of cars on the opposite side of the road.
- The kids run was a little disorganized. I think the gun went off early and everyone started running in the wrong direction. Ha! But it was still really cute and fun.

Overall this is a fun, fun race for the entire family. We will definitely be back next year.

I love this race. You run a fun, scenic New Orleans route down St. Charles through the Garden District. Add that it's always run around Halloween and you get even more fun seeing all the crazy costumes on course.

Pros:
- Super flat, scenic out-and-back course
- It's almost always run the weekend around Halloween. And Halloween in New Orleans is crazy. This would be a fun destination race.
- So many fun costumes on course. Great race to people watch.
- The houses on St. Charles are also decorated up for Halloween so that provides even more to look at while you're running.
- Very nice, tech tee race shirt.
- Race morning packet pick-up was so convenient.
- Not too crowded. It's a decent sized local race, but not overwhelming. The crowds spread out quickly.
- Good aid station spacing and support.
- Great after party in Lafayette Square. So much food (chili dogs, jambalaya, popsicles, and more) and beer. Beer is a plus.

Cons:
- Parking can be tricky downtown. Just give yourself a little extra time to get a parking spot.

Neutral but notable:
- You never know what the weather is going to be like for this race. It was warm and muggy this year. In past years it's been freezing.

I have done so many inaugural races that I tend to have fairly low expectations. Most inaugural races they are still working out the kinks, course, scheduling, etc. For an inaugural race, this really wasn't that bad. When I read about the I Dream of Jeannie theme and saw the race medal I just HAD to sign up. I'm a huge I Dream of Jeannie fan. And then to top it all off, Barbara Eden was presenting the awards. Done. Sign. ME. UP! The biggest complaint I heard from other runners was the beach portion...3 miles on the beach. I honestly didn't think it was that bad. But I went into this race just to have fun, not PR. I've run on much worse beach conditions and the sand was actually pretty compacted in my opinion. I'll break down the Pros and Cons on the race.

Pros:
- GREAT medal! An I Dream of Jeannie bottle. This thing is heavy! It's seriously a weapon. It's so stinking adorable. Worth the 13.1 miles of sweat and effort.
- Cute Jeannie costumes all over the course. The mile markers were ladies dressed up as Jeannie holding up Jeannie bottle signs with the mile marker.
- Aid stations were well stocked and supported every couple of miles. Water, gatorade, bananas, chews...
- Cute finish line running across pink shag carpet and between huge blow up Jeannie bottles.
- I liked that they tasked a local beer company for the beer supply - Florida Beer Company. They had a great choice of several different beers to try.
- Barbara Eden...She was adorable and amazing.
- Small race field. A little bit of weaving at the beginning but it opened up fairly quickly.
- Flat race. ZERO hills. Zero.
- Nice tech tee for the race shirt.
- Dunkin Donuts at the finish. DONUTS!!!
- I stayed at the race hotel (The Hilton) and they were very accommodating. They even offered late check out on race day and late, late check out (up to 3 p.m.) for an extra $29.
-Shuttles to the race start were quick. Again, I stayed at the race hotel so I just had to walk across the parking lot to jump on a shuttle. The coordinators made it clear that there were no color restrictions for boarding the buses. Just get on and go.

Cons:
- The course was a bit odd, running through several parking lots to get the mileage.
- Race start was a cluster. Runners were supposed to line up by their color - only three: elite (8:00 pacers or below), middle of the packers (9:00 - 10:00), and everyone else (under 10:00/mile). Yeah...well, that didn't really work. It was pretty much a free-for-all at the start. I was fiarly close to the front and still dodged a bunch of walkers. I think some simple signage would have helped direct people where to go.
- MORE porta-potties please! I jumped in the potty line at 7:15 and it took 25 minutes to finally get to a bathroom. I barely made it before the start.
- Even though there was cloud cover it got muggy and warm quickly, especially running on A1A. I know they pushed the start to 7:45 to try and work with the tide for the beach portion but an earlier start would be nice to avoid the sun.
- I wish they'd had Gatorade or like at the finish. I just saw water and VERY sweet tea in bottles. They couldn't get them iced down fast enough and most of the bottles were warm. I was forced to drink cold beer. Yeah...terrible (NOT). :)

Neutral but Noteworthy:
- 3 miles of the course (miles 9 through 12) were run on the beach. In the sand. Right next to the water. I personally enjoyed it. I thought the view was amazing, the breeze felt great, the sand was pretty compacted, and there was little pitch. I've run in MUCH worse beach conditions. The soft, loose sand getting to the water was a little rough. But I actually enjoyed it. Not something you get to do for most half marathons. Definitely different. Just know it going into this race.
- Really not much of an expo to speak of. It was small but that's really not a big deal for me. I usually just want to pick up my bib and head out anyway.
- It looked like parking might have been pretty limited if you were driving to the start race morning.

I think they will keep improving this race as they work all the bugs out. Really, not a bad first effort. I had fun and I'd do it again.