Twin City Marathon (fka Monroe Distance Classic)
West Monroe, LA
- Marathon, Half Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Monroe-West Monroe Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the cities of Monroe and West Monroe, Louisiana are excited to bring you a tour of our two cities via the Twin City Half and Full Marathon race (formerly known as the Monroe Distance Classic). The terrain of the course will … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Nov 06):
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
| H (°F) | 75 | 65 | 77 | 77 | 76 |
| L (°F) | 49 | 35 | 46 | 50 | 60 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Nice flat course
This is a relatively flat course through West Monroe residential areas. I ran the full in 2020 which also runs through Monroe. I think the best scenery is in Monroe … MORE
This is a relatively flat course through West Monroe residential areas. I ran the full in 2020 which also runs through Monroe. I think the best scenery is in Monroe along Island Drive. Keep an eye out for the beautiful, custom painted Herons throughout the Monroe area if you run the full.
There isn’t much community support but aid stations are plentiful.
Also, if you are coming in from out of town, be sure to pick your packet up the day before the race as there is no race-day pickup. However, you may be able to have your packet sent to your hotel room upon request.
Cream of the Crop Marathon
I enjoyed every part of this marathon. Pre-race communications were good. Packet pickup was in an empty store space next to a sponsor - Fleet Feet, so if you needed … MORE
I enjoyed every part of this marathon. Pre-race communications were good. Packet pickup was in an empty store space next to a sponsor – Fleet Feet, so if you needed supplies, it was easy to pick them up. The start and finish were at the Ike Hamilton Expo center, more than enough parking and close to two hotels, which were within a 10 minute drive of many good restaurants. Our hotel was a walk across the large expo parking lot.
Weather was clear and 38 at the start, and 70 5 hours later. Perfect and judging from past photos, not unusual. The course was a figure 8, sharing the first part with the half marathon. It went thru residential areas and the old downtown, along a bayou that had nice houses on either side. It crossed the river via a draw bridge at the middle of the 8. The course was well marked with cones, staffed with police at key intersections, and had a very sufficient number of water stations with very nice and encouraging volunteers. Around miles 23-25 the route was a long a narrower 2 lane road with a very small grass shoulder between the road and a ditch, but I don’t see this as an issue – if you are relatively fast you will hit it before traffic picks up, and if you aren’t, you are going slowly enough to navigate the shoulder. I thought the entire course design was thoughtful and great. The finish line medal person had you lean over and they put the medal around your neck, the kind of touch that was typical of the whole experience.
The ascent on my watch was 390 ft, pretty much all in bridges. There were 58 marathoners signed up but only 32 finished, and 165 half marathon finishers. The event is deserving of a higher turnout; maybe being in rural agricultural NE Louisiana and sharing a race weekend with bigger marque events? We used the trip to stop by the World Heritage Poverty Point Mounds, and enjoyed our whole time in the area. You can tell, I think this is a recommendable race and hope lots of people get to enjoy it in the future.
First (and last) marathon!
I decided to do a full marathon at the age of 52... I trained and did the best I could but it was still brutal. The course is relatively flat … MORE
I decided to do a full marathon at the age of 52… I trained and did the best I could but it was still brutal. The course is relatively flat and winds its way through West Monroe and Monroe. The best scenery is in Monroe’s Garden District. Be sure to keep an eye out for the beautifully painted herons along the route. The only bad thing about this race is the lack of community support along the race-route. The area has a lot of non-profits and organizations that would love the opportunity to volunteer but you just don’t see it here. This is basically a hometown race for me and I know the potential is there to make it great. I just wish more people would come out and support the runners. If you have family or friends who want to gather along the route, the ULM College of Pharmacy parking lot is a great area with plenty of space. I personally will probably never do another full marathon anywhere but I do plan on doing the half (here) with the hopes of more and more community involvement.