Lisa Steffes's Staging Area

The constantly changing terrain (crushed gravel and leaves along the river, uneven grass through battlefield sites, loose stones, sharp turns, steep hills) really kept things interesting. The softer and varied surfaces made for a slower pace but also may have prevented developing as much muscle soreness as usual. The swag (flimsy hat) and after race refreshments (apple, banana, water, zero calorie Nuun, pizza) offered was minimal for the price. If you took the time and effort to walk another quarter mile across the street and up a hill to the after party, there were more desirable options (muffins, various snack bags of chips and a better drink selection – chocolate milk, orange juice, beer.) The lack of overall or age group awards was actually very appalling. Even small 5K races have awards to recognize achievements of a large portion of participants.

The Rock-n-Roll races have gotten rapped in the past for being too commercialized and not enough port-o-potties however, I believe New Orleans got everything right this year. Very organized bag drops, enough facilities at the start and also on course with no waiting in lines, corrals enforced, very friendly, enthusiastic volunteers (although many aid stations seemed to offer only water and no electrolyte drink; glad I had extra GU) and a nice finish party. The course had a nice balance of historic neighborhood tours and also waterfront views with loud music. I actually preferred the second half of the course along Lake Pontchartrain; it felt more wide-open and relaxing along with a pleasant side breeze off the water. Having the start and finish lines miles apart is not ideal, but allowing spectators to ride on the provided buses along with the athletes for free made it logistically possible. Only complaint was the awards were never mailed. Learned later, via revised website FAQs, that was required to
email and explicitly direct them within 4 weeks to mail it because they will not take it upon themselves to do so.