While sports fans from around Louisiana and the rest of the nation have had their eyes turned toward New Orleans this weekend, the running world will turn its collective eye toward Baton Rouge next weekend when the ninth annual Louisiana Marathon is staged downtown.
The event is more than just the marathon itself. Aptly billed as a running festival, it begins with an expo Friday afternoon, and moves forward with five races and two days of festival activity to close out Saturday and Sunday.
In between the opening of the Louisiana Marathon Expo at 11 a.m. Friday at the Raising Cane’s River Center, and the end of Sunday’s Finish Fest party, runners and would-be runners of every age and skill level will have a chance to be pampered.
The ability of the event to appeal to people young and old, experienced runners or beginners, was an important factor from the Louisiana Marathon’s inception according to Craig Sweeney, one of the race’s founders who is now its Strategic Partnership Director.
“A lot of people see the name Louisiana Marathon and they run the other way because they know they can never run a marathon,” Sweeney said. “But those that are familiar with us understand that we’re a race for everyone. We literally have a distance for every ability runner.”
The racing begins Saturday morning with the Ochsner Louisiana 5K and Ochsner Louisiana Quarter Marathon runs at 8 a.m. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Kids Marathon will take place at 10:30 a.m.
On Sunday, the Louisiana Marathon and Half Marathon will get started at 7 a.m.
Inclement weather played a role last year, when a tornado warning caused most of Saturday’s activities to be canceled. The following day, the half marathon and full marathon races featured record-breaking performances.
Rachel Booth of Virginia won the women’s marathon with a course record of two hours, 43 minutes, 57 seconds. Booth had already held the course record in the half marathon, but Desiree Linden of Michigan set a new standard in that race with a time of 1:14:18.
Taylor Simoneaux of Franklin won the men’s marathon (2:38.18), and Keith Kotar of Texas took first in the half marathon (1:11.22).
A new factor that begins this year is the Louisiana Marathon is now a World Major Age Group qualifying race. Major marathons include races in Boston, New York, Chicago, London and Berlin, and runners can earn points toward a qualification for 2021 by competing in the Louisiana Marathon.
Sweeney said the race has seen an uptick in the number of out-of-state entrants.
“Our out-of-state numbers have always been strong,” he said. “Last year, 72 percent of the runners were from Louisiana. Currently, 66 percent are from Louisiana, and our international numbers are up. We’ve got runners from Australia to Singapore, and we always have a strong Canadian presence.”
Finish Fest begins at 8 a.m. Saturday and will feature the bands Your Mom, The Michael Foster Project and Where Y’acht. Sunday’s fest gets going at 9:30 a.m. with Sera Buras followed by the Golden Guys dance troupe, and finally Jonathan Boogie Long.
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January 13, 2020 at 08:07AM
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Running event more than just marathon | Sports - The Advocate
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