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Although I've already ran a marathon in Louisiana I would have wanted to run this one, but only if I could get over my "leg thing" that has been bugging me since last May. Whatever this ITB/hamstring injury is, I've thrown just about everything at it: massage, dry needling, cortisone shot...and yes it is getting better, but very slowly. "Racing" on it has set me back each time, so the best I could do was sign up for the half marathon and try not to race it, but take it easy. My longest run had only been 10.5 miles anyhow, so 13 miles was a bit much. To make it even more challenging I inexplicably got a huge blister on my ankle days before the race. I couldn't even wear a shoe with a back on it!
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| Exhibit A No I don't have cankles: bad angle |
As far as post race parties go this one is one of the greatest ever. Each participant is given 6, yes 6 tickets for beer or food, and it's not just beer, it's Abita beer, and it's not just food, it's gumbo and jambalaya. So I'm thinking if I start the race and it's not going well I'll just turn around and head straight to the finish, a win-win. Ok, onward to the race write up:
What's funny about the strange fact that the only people who signed on for this trip were the Murgi (AKA Kathy and Mike Murgas) is that the last time Toby and I ran a race in Louisiana (New Orleans), 24 years ago, was with the Murgi!
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| Just a tad younger then... |
We decided to drive to Baton Rouge in the SUV, due to the incoming ice storm. We knew we'd be ahead of the storm before the race, in fact. we'd be in Baton Rouge as the storm hit Dallas, but at some point we'd have to encounter the storm as we headed home. We just hoped it was much ado about nothing...
We met up with the Murgi at the expo, which for a race of this size was a bit underwhelming, but I have long since lowered the bar on expectations. We still managed to find things to buy, and getting our race packets was easy. However, this is SO strange! They claimed we were on our own for providing a bag for bag check AND labeling it with our bib numbers with no means whatsoever to do so. We scrambled around the expo for masking tape and highlighters from the other vendors there.
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| A cool setup for race photos |
A big plus with this race is the start and finish are in the same place, and within walking distance from the hotel, A+ on logistics race day morning. I said good-bye and good luck to Toby in the hotel room, since he was planning on staying there until just before race start! Me and the Murgi arrived at bag check shortly before race start, and get this: they had clear bags and sharpies available!! What the hell?
The Murgi were saying we were going to run together and I tried to explain to them the level of my slowness, which would involve walking the water stops and never looking at my watch. Kathy was still pretty sick and congested, but I wasn't buying it. I figured I'd be alone a mile into it when they realized how slow I was, so I kept my music with me.
I just want to point out that this race is lively and fun! We ran through various neighborhoods, the LSU campus, and ending in front of the state capitol. Plus, it seemed like there were water stops at every mile! Even on such a cold morning there were tons of spectators out on the course. Not to mention the most alcohol hand-outs I've ever seen in a race in my life! The half marathon peels off from the full on the 10th mile, as they head east for even more of the same, which is good to hear, as some of the races tend to focus on the half and dump the marathon runners out into an afterthought...
Anyhow, I can't seem to shake the Murgi, ha! It's becoming apparent to me that Kathy wasn't bluffing. She is not feeling good AT ALL. Mike and I are in full on conversation mode, which is a great distractor for all of us. I haven't ran with people much due to my injury, so this is greatness. We are walking the water stops and the miles are clicking away. My leg is holding up, but more importantly my triple-wrapped bandaging on my ankle is holding up, so I got all that going for me, but by mile 8 I feel the need to start my walk-run to the finish and leave the Murgi. As I pass the porta potties I see Kathy popping into one, so they eventually pass me once more and I am within shouting distance at the marathon split to wish them good luck! From there I walk-run the last few miles to the finish, no worse for wear, finally, on my road to recovery!
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| Worst finish line photo ever--hey I have legs buddy! |
I have enough time to retrieve my bag and change into dry clothes before walking back to the finish line to catch Toby finish. No time for a quick beer with this guy! He's been running well, so I figured I better be there before the 3:10 mark this time. Just as I pull out my phone, click on the camera and switch out of selfie mode there he is, coming up the road!
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| 3:10 with a smile? |
It's his third fastest marathon, but within 13 seconds of his second fastest, precious seconds he lost while having to make a pit stop, and yes "that" kind of pit stop. The funny thing is there was a new roll of toilet paper with no obvious lifted starter piece, so he was ripping and tearing at it like a crazy racoon! Precious seconds right there! Anyhow, he's in great shape, post race, to walk back to the hotel to change and await the Murgi finish.
I want to point out that their tracker system sucks. Totally unreliable and confusing as well. Notifying you the time it took for them to run from mile 13.1 to 20 is useless unless you care to sit down with a calculator. I was thinking if they stick together it will be around a 4:45 finish, based on what pace we were running together, but Kathy does speed up later in the race, so we based our return to the finish line based on a 4:30 finish to be safe. (Note: I didn't get a single notification on Kathy from the tracker).
When we got back to the finish line it was definitely warmer, but not hot, thank God, and before too long we spotted them both, yes, they were finishing together, which is pretty dang rare!
Onward to the post race party! Oddly enough we were told we only had one hour until the beer stopped flowing, so it was a mad dash to pilfer as many beers as we could. The gumbo was good, but the jambalaya was the REAL DEAL. It was amazing. When I asked what was in it, the guy's Cajun accent was so thick I didn't understand him. Maybe it's best not knowing...
Do I recommend this race? Yes I do! It's not pancake flat, but I'd consider it gently rolling, with only one rude hill on mile 25, or 12 for me. There are lots of turns. There are some pot holes or lumpy asphalt from tree branches in a few spots, but overall the streets are in pretty good shape. A January marathon in the south is tricky though! Had this race been just 2 days later it would have not happened due to the ice storm!
The rest of the trip was great fun, but cut short on Monday, as we had to leave in the morning to deal with the ice storm between us and Dallas. No way around it, although we tried!
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| Fun? no, but it was an adventure! |
