One of my favorite parts about this race is the timing. The race usually begins around 7:30 a.m. (the 10K at 7 a.m.) and depending on the hotel location, it's usually just a 10 or so minute walk to the corrals. LOVE it!
This race begins in Lafayette Square and ends in City Park, so if you do have a drive to begin the race, you park your vehicle at City Park and there are buses available to shuttle you to Lafayette Square.
We were in corral 3 and squeezed into the corral about 15 minutes before start time. I actually saw people policing the corrals this time around (which I've NEVER seen in the 9 years of this race) so that was nice! However, people were still climbing through the corral gates and entering where they weren't supposed to. That part was kind of annoying, I'm not gonna lie.
With a gorgeous National Anthem to begin the race, we were off not long after!
Mile 1 came around and I was really feeling good. My body felt great, I felt great, the weather was PERFECT, it was just an overall good day!
One of my favorite bands along the course was the same second line from the 5K the day before! They were awesome! Bonus: we got to hear them coming and going - after making the turn and heading back, they were facing the opposite way and still playing! I loved it!
Bead covered trees are a staple in New Orleans! Such a cool sight to see!
This course led us through a good part of downtown New Orleans before bringing us back into the French Quarter and through Jackson Square.
I stopped to take this picture and someone on the side walk (not a runner) hollered "Must not be from around here!" I had to correct him....yes I am, I just think that bead covered trees and the sights of New Orleans are really cool! He actually agreed with me...haha!
Another fun part of this race was the extra additions that were added by Rock 'n' Roll this year. I had my sights set on spotting them since so much promotion was done for them ahead of time.
This guy was super fun, too!
We made it to the French Quarter around mile 9 or so!
Out of all my years running this race, I've never stopped to order beignets during the race. I will one year. How funny would it be to cross the finish line with a Cafe du Monde bag in hand?! Hah!
It might not have been a Disney race, but I spotted "characters"...
Y'all know I had to stop for a picture!
Oh yes, and lesson learned with this race - always. carry. wipes. or. tissue. in. your. flip. belt. Ya know, sometimes port-a-potties run out of TP and it might be nice to have your own... let's just say I wasted about 10 minutes or so trying to locate some. Lordy. My life.
Anyway, around mile 12 is when runners made the split between the half and the full marathon.
...and of course I had to take my usual mile 12 picture!
Oh yes, and a new fun feature for Rock n Roll races is their app! It's seriously real-time tracking and I LOVED IT! I was able to see just where my friend Melissa was located and when I realized she was close to me, I looked up and there she was....
...making the turn for the full! How cool is that?!
So, after rounding City Park and crossing the finish line I turned to take a picture of the banner when I saw this dude waving at me. At first I thought "That dude just photo bombed my picture"...then I realized that it was my Goofy buddy Scott (from my running group back home) and neither of us had any idea that we were near each other!
How funny!
After chatting with Scott for a few, I gathered the post-race goodies and headed off to find my cheer squad. Not pictured above: 1 eaten banana.
We browsed the merchandise tent for a few minutes before walking over to find the Remix Challenge tent.
Medals, medals, medals!
This year, I actually had time to enjoy the post race party which was wonderful!
Hearing Cowboy Mouth again was really cool because it had been SO long since I heard them play.
My crew was amazing! Love these guys!
After hanging out for a little while, I left my guys to head back downtown to my hotel to shower and get ready.
What's nice about these races is the buses to take you back downtown to the starting area so you don't have to take a taxi or paid transportation. The buses don't take you directly to the start line, but they take you pretty close! It was just about another 12 minute walk to my hotel from the dropoff point which wasn't bad!
Also, there was a PJ's on the way to the hotel so of course I had to stop! YUM!
After my friend Melissa returned to the hotel from rocking her full (with a huge PR!), we got ready and headed downstairs to Ole Saint, a restaurant owned by Deuce McAllister of the Saints! I had the mac & cheese with roast beef debris and it was really really good!
...and with that, our amazing weekend in New Orleans had come to an end! We really enjoyed our time here, running another Rock n Roll event and seeing our friends! Until next time...laissez les bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll)
Karen, I loved reading about this race and how good you felt! It's clear the affection you have for this particular race plus the town - you make me want to go visit and run it (only the 5K, though).
ReplyDeleteIt is so much fun! I do hope you get to run it one day!
DeleteThat mac and cheese looks good. Great job on the half, and challenge.
ReplyDeleteIt was delicious! Thank you!
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