What a fun event for Baton Rouge. I ran the half marathon. People from all 50 states came and 15 countries. The race route is scenic and so much fun. People come out with signs and food and drinks to cheer on the runners. The finish fest is awesome with gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and king cake! I would recommend this race for sure!! read more

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I have participated in the Louisiana Marathon Weekend for several years, and the event just keeps getting better. Adults have four different races to choose from - 5k or Quarter on Saturday, Half or Full on Sunday. There's a bonus if you do one each day - go home with your own crawfish tray for doing the "Deja Vu." There is a kids marathon program as well on Saturday. Both days have amazing finisher festivals with local restaurants and beer vendors, as well as dance til you drop music and talent. One of the first things you notice when you walk up - there are about 50-75 port-o-lets lined up for you - almost no line at all, so you can rid your body of pre-race nerves. There is a large coffee truck with free drinks, and over by the gear drop, there is plenty of water and sports drinks in case you need to hydrate. The residents of Baton Rouge have embraced this race as one of the best times, even when not running it - there are all sorts of rogue water and other supply stops around the route (shots, beer, donuts, mimosas, candy, tissue, etc). You run through some historic areas of Baton Rouge, around LSU, the famous LSU lakes, and through several residential areas. Music surrounds you, and it's hard not to make great new friends along the route. The course is mostly flat and several BQs are made every year. It's a fun one for those doing their first or their 121st marathon or race. Free race pictures, awesome medals every year, and awesome spectating. You won't be disappointed with this race weekend, Come down to see us and pass a good time, y'all! read more

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Very fun medium size race. As with most marathons with a half associated to it, the front half is more scenic than the back but the drop off is not as extreme as other races. Formal In course support is limited and somewhat disorganized; however, local informal support was incredible. The finish line festival was very good. Flat course. This is a race worth traveling for. read more

I have so much love for the Louisiana Marathon. I know I have only run three so far but this is by far my favorite. And will be a tough one to beat! It only seems right to start with the Expo. Packet pick up was super easy which is always a plus. The expo itself had a lot of good vendors there and not as crazy expensive as the Honolulu Marathon expo was. One thing I loved that the LA Marathon did was they had all kinds of things to purchase with their logo on it - blankets, t-shirts, visors, wine glasses, pen, pint glasses, coffee mugs, coasters, etc. Very neat! So of course I got coasters and a pint glass! Ticket pick up for the pasta dinner was pretty easy too. But the pasta dinner was AWESOME. The food honestly was mediocre. I don't have anything bad to say about the food but nothing overly exciting either! But Bill Rodgers spoke and then so did Matt Long. Both of them were amazing. Matt's story is simply amazing and he is such an inspiration! I got to meet both Bill and Matt at the end of the evening which was PERFECT! I bought Matt's book and both him and Bill signed it. Needless to say this marathoner was happy! The start of the marathon was 7 am and they asked everyone to be in the corral by 6:50am. Getting to the start was easy and parking was easy (which is always super nice!). It was so neat when you approached the state capital building where the start line was they had a light shining on it with the logo and name of the race! I thought this was super neat (Pic on left)! They asked everyone to courtesy corral - which I appreciate. It is always no fun to be darting around those much slower then you for the first couple miles. The course was absolutely beautiful! Crossing the bridge and both the beginning and end was fun and a beautiful sight. The landmarks, lakes, houses, everything was simply beautiful. My only complaint was that miles 15-22 was an out and back through a residential area mostly. I wish they had this part first because it was the most boring part of the race and if it was first I think it would have been a bit easier. That being said crowd support throughout the neighborhood was amazing. The people of Baton Rouge throughout the entire course was AWESOME! They had awesome signs, a guy with a kong that him and runners would hit, people blasting music, etc. All of the crowd support made the race that much more awesome. The race was very well supported also. Aid stations with powerade (I do wish they used something else, I am not a huge fan of powerade, but I drank it anyways), water, port a potties (Every mile!!) where about every mile. GU/Shot blocks where given a little less often but still very frequent. EVERY MILE. Awesome support the entire marathon. Also the course was very well labeled. And of course one of the most important thing - volunteers - they were amazing! I would without a doubt run this marathon every year if it was closer to me. I will definitely recommend it! The finish festival was pretty neat. Each runner got a wristband with 10 punches on it for free food and drinks. There was a lot of options and it was super neat that they had a lot of vegan friendly options. I know that the race went out of their way to ensure they had vegan options also - major plus. The only complaint I have is for those who finished after 4:30 there was not a lot of food left. They need to work on this for those who finish later next year. If you have a 7 hour cut off - food should be around still for those. read more

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What a great and well-organized race for the winter! I've never been to Baton Rouge so this was a great opportunity to see the city on foot. Be sure to grab some disposable gloves for before/during the race. The course is 98% flat. Everything was smooth and I wouldn't mind running this again in the future. read more

The Louisiana Marathon is such an important event for not only our city, but also our state! It's so fitting that the event takes place in the capital city, too! It's such a fabulous way to encourage health and wellness in our state, build awareness for local business and also put the city of Baton Rouge and the state of Louisiana on the map for places to visit the US. Two thumbs up and hip, hip hoorays for the organizers who work so hard to make this happen here. Hopefully, one of these days I will actually get to commit to running the 5K or the 10K. This year, my daughter participated in the Kids K, which she loved taking part in. My husband ran with her, too. It was so cool to see so many kids step into competitive mode and also be so excited about running. Too many kids these days don't spend enough time outside or let alone are active, so this was the perfect way to get them motivated. It's awesome to see so many people participate on both days of the festivities and also see dozens of local businesses take part in it all. Way to go Louisiana! read more

This race was the perfect choice for our first marathon. Despite my body not cooperating during the last 10k, I enjoyed the beautiful course and crowds cheering for us. There were plenty of water stations and outstanding volunteers. Tissue was the only thing lacking for this race, but that's an easy fix. This was a very organized, first class event and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a great running experience. Read the entire review at http://www.cajunrunner.com/2016/01/the-louisiana-marathon-2016-recap-of.html?m=1 read more

Very well organized and fun race. The course is beautiful, and it has areas of both big crowds and sparsely populated neighborhood streets. It is relatively flat with a few hills, and there aren't potholes on the streets. The pace groups are very helpful and accurate, and they offer a group just about every 5 minutes, which is important. The expo had a lot of variety and was set up to get through as quickly or slowly as you would like. The bag check was extremely efficient without lines before or after. The post race finish festival was a lot of fun with tons of options for food and activities, along with music and awards. This is definitely a race I would recommend to others, and I would likely participate again. read more

This was a pretty good race, but not the best managed I have ever participated in. Loved the route, and there was a fair amount of port of potties available. Big plus: 1. free pictures!! PROBLEMS 1. no water available to runners before the race begins. really?? hot coffee ONLY 2. no truck for our gear check. they skipped over about 500 bib numbers. they had us put our gear in very last truck 3. end of race, they moved our gear to different truck for unclear reasons, and lost our gear. lots of time wasted being told to check a different truck, and then those people explaining to us how the number system works for retrieving gear 4. finally got my husband's, but when they checked mine in to the truck they wrote my number wrong. had to go through random peoples bags until locating my stuff. 5.we got to expo with five hours left to the event, but they told my husband they ran out of his size shirt. considering you submit size request at time of registration (over six months ago for us) we werent impressed. 6. we love the bootstamp/logo for this race, but were pretty disappointed in the sleection of things to purchase with that logo on it. more stuff! bring back some of your old stuff! also disappointed it wasnt featured on the medal read more

This event charges a premium price and will not allow me to defer my entry even though I have a head injury and cannot run. They say my injury happened "too late". As if I can choose when to be injured. I am disappointed to see the cost of a bib and medal is deemed more important than a runner who is injured coming back next year. You may demand to keep my money but I will never run here again since money is all the Louisiana marathon seems to care about. Zero marks for compassion. read more

Just finished the 2015 Louisiana Marathon yesterday. This is one of the best marathon events that you can find. The course is so shaded and very southern scenic. The finish festival is the best one that we have ever attended - good food, good music and friendliest people. The water stations were plentiful with the nicest volunteers handing out Kleenex, oranges, beers, Vaseline, Advil, donuts...anything that you can think of. Louisiana Marathon has the best facebook keeps you engaged throughout the entire year. Their web site is pretty awesome too. The result was posted really quickly on the website than any other marathon event that I have attended. This is just one of the best that you should consider for you next marathon race! read more