2015 Louisiana Marathon & Half After Party

Continuing on with my Louisiana Marathon/Half Recaps, here’s a look at the super fun and incredibly TASTY after party!

If you’ve missed any recaps so far, here they are:

• Louisiana Marathon & Half Expo
• Louisiana Half Marathon Recap and a PR

As soon as  I crossed the finish line and regained my ability to walk upright again without feeling like I was going to fall over, I began to feel really cold. Remember, I was sick on top of everything else and definitely didn’t want to make anything worse. When my mom found me, I remarked that either I wouldn’t be able to stay at the post race party long, or I would have to find/purchase a jacket somewhere. I now see the benefit of checking a bag – which I’ve never done. I also didn’t think to give a jacket to my parents to bring to me after the race, either. Lesson learned.

Thankfully, my cold natured mom was well prepared and super bundled up, so she gave her jacket AND her gloves to me! Score! (It wasn’t really THAT cold outside, but I was freezing.)

After meeting up with Kayla, we began the short walk to the post-race party…but not before saying hello to the state capitol first!

It really was a beautiful day!

We also ran into my cousin who ran her 2nd half marathon that day! So proud of her!

Around the Finish Festival Stage were several vendors (a lot from the Expo), official race merchandise, and awesome bands! You could even get your medal engraved if you wanted to. We didn’t have time, otherwise I would have!

For the after party, each race bib included a wristband. The wristband had six potential “punches” on it – which meant that each runner could obtain up to six items at the Food Village! Talk about a lot of goodies!

Here I am with a delicious bowl of Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. I loved how each of the food booths were southern traditional foods! There was even a vegan section, y’all! I also sampled the chicken with rice. Beverages counted as stamps, too…so I also got a powerade and a water.

We hung around for a little while, used as many punches as we could (we were getting full really fast), then we said goodbye!

On our way out, I spotted this lady! I was so excited to see Nicole!! We ran Rock N Roll New Orleans together last year and I haven’t seen her since! So excited to see familiar faces at local races! :)

Back at our hotel, I took this picture of the bracelets I wore on my wrist for the race. Thoughts of both helped keep me going during this race! <3

After a yummy lunch at Walk-Ons (yes, we wore our medals inside), we stopped to say hello to Mike the Tiger and LSU Stadium (aka Death Valley).

He was soaking up the sun and enjoying the beautiful day!

There’s no better feeling than the accomplishment of a long-term goal!

Kayla actually jumped up on Mike’s back for a picture. My legs were so stiff, there was no way! Hah!

Mike likes the taste of victory!  :p

The rest of the day was uneventful! We drove home, I washed clothes, then got ready for work on Monday morning!

That medal didn’t leave my side for a long time. It even stayed in my work scrub pockets for several days! :D

Thanks for a great overall event, Louisiana Marathon! You guys sure know how to put on a great race and a fun party! I can’t wait to return next year!

Do you typically stick around for post-race after parties?