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New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon Runner Comments
Back to New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 315 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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E. C. from Austin, Texas
(2/27/2008)
"ONE OF MY FAVORITES" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Always enjoyable! The only negative thing: the streets need some attention. Just be aware and watch your step. Other than that, everything else is great. Almost always good weather. Always plenty of fluids along the course and food at the finish. I think they had the biggest crowd ever in 2008. What a fun place to run a marathon! | |
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Larry Herman from Frederick, Maryland, USA
(2/27/2008)
"Not too BIG; but very EASY!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great, great race. The amenities from start to finish were great. So many wonderful finish line goodies... red bans and rice, Subway subs, fountain Cokes, Smoothie King, on and on! Gu available at virtually every water stop from 15 on. Water and Gatorade at every stop. Flat, flat, flat. For real. This is the absolute flattest course possible. At sea level. But beware, without hills, you use the same muscle group for 26.2 miles. Not something I am used to. There were not many spectators, but there were usually a few and they all always cheered for everyone! So nice! Great jazz bands all over. Second half scenic for different reasons as we saw all that NO has. I liked seeing the good and bad from Katrina. I will tell everyone to do this race. Great medals. They announced at the start that anyone not getting a medal due to supply problems would be mailed one, so that is fine. | |
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N. L. from Birmingham, AL
(2/26/2008)
"I would return, but..." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The start was very disorganized. If you want to PR, this is the PERFECT flat course for it, but there were walkers up front and 3:30 marathoners in the back and no signs in the start area to direct anyone. They immediately route 5,000 runners down Bourbon Street, which is too narrow to accommodate large numbers that early in the race. A lot of the locals didn't know there was a race going on and were angry! We got yelled at for running on the sidewalks on Bourbon when there wasn't enough room on the street. There was also a lot of construction and you couldn't see that far ahead of you to know when to step over something. There was plenty of food and GREAT volunteers on the course, especially for the marathoners in the second half. They also ran out of 1/2 marathon medals. Post-race was excellent! The food, music, beer - all great! The course was very scenic for the half marathon - the full took us through Katrina neighborhoods and back around a very large, lonely, empty, city park. The good part about the full was that they kept us out for the entire 26.2. When we came back, there was no little "out and back" to make up mileage. The finish line was right there! | |
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d. w. from Brockport, NY
(2/26/2008)
"The Big Easy" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 WOW. Four days in the Big Easy couldn't have been better. A 5-star destination marathon. Super friendly people, incredible food and - oh, by the way, an awesome marathon. The course was beautiful and flat (only hill a nice one at about 18 miles). At 7 a.m., running through the French Quarter and being cheered on by people coming out of bars was cool, as were the southern mansions on St. Charles and the Dixieland bands at various locales. Great organization, plenty of water and Gatorade, and great fan support. I had been warned by (pre-Katrina) New Yorkers that NOLA was a mess. Well, it's gorgeous. I brought my family and my 5 and 8 year-olds loved the city. I had some pre-race questions and had the race director call. Friendly, helpful - "ya'll come down." I did, and can't wait until next year. Great job, New Orleans Track Club. Great recovery, City of New Orleans. | |
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E. D. from Lafayette, LA
(2/26/2008)
"Gotta love New Orleans" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I loved the new course. It is beautiful, interesting, flat, fast, and has some of the best aid stations of any marathon in the country. My favorite are the men in red dresses at mile 18. This is my 5th Mardi Gras Marathon and it is great to see the city recovering. | |
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D. E. from Baltimore, Maryland
(2/26/2008)
"FUN Marathon" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The marathon was great and tons of fun. LOVED the course. A bit lacking in planning - I registered for the marathon 2 months ago, got to the expo an hour after it opened and the shirts (which are FABULOUS!) in my size were already gone. Then, they ran out of medals at the finish line. Needless to say, getting the medal 4-6 weeks later isn't ideal. Other than that, it was a great experience. | |
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B. M. from San Antonio, TX
(2/26/2008)
"An unforgettable experience." (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was an absolutely amazing experience! Starts off at the Super Dome, where you're reminded about the horrors people endured during Katrina. You run down the business district for a bit, before exploring the French Quarter and yes, we ran through Bourbon Street! It was 7 a.m. and you'll still see the hardiest of partiers watching, some whom will attempt to run with you in vain. St. Charles Avenue and Audubon Park were BEAUTIFUL routes that were well chosen. At every mile people were calling times (except mile 12, but that's ok). Roads were blocked the entire way, which meant easy running for the most part. Very flat course, which was great, seeing as I've got IT band syndrome. You are an idiot if you pass this opportunity up. | |
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E. S. from Illinois
(2/26/2008)
"Fun Race!" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I did the half marathon, and I didn't have the highest expectations for myself because we have had a brutal winter in the Midwest and my training was nothing short of horrendous. However, I had such a blast at the Mardi Gras Marathon! Flat course, and the weather and scenery couldn't have been more perfect! Plus, the post-race party was great, with lots of room and great food (and beer!). My only complaint: I think this has a lot of potential to be a "destination marathon," but still needs some work. More music on the course would be wonderful, and more spectators! Otherwise, I am planning on coming back next year! | |
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G. K. from Kingsport, TN
(2/26/2008)
"Most beautiful first half, most depressing second" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The first half runs you through the French Quarter and then through the Garden District to Audubon Park. There's no lovelier half marathon anywhere, and it's pancake flat. The second half is as distressed and depressing as the first half is beautiful. Still flat, but you run through blighted areas. This city isn't known for early mornings, so crowd support is almost nil. Also, you spend a fair amount of time on concrete during the second half. The weather in NO is always going to be a gamble. If you get lucky, this is a PR-type course. 2008 had sun, 70 degrees, and 90+ percent humidity. | |
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Laura J. Sullivan from Collinsville, MS
(2/26/2008)
"first run ever; very pleased" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I chose to do the half marathon, for my first run ever. I've never even done a 5K. The course was nice. New Orleans is one of my favorite towns and I enjoyed seeing parts of it I'd never seen before. The only problems were: aid stations did not have enough water (mainly on mile 12 for me) because they ran out before several people ran through, and they ran out of medals for the half-marathon finishers and the 5K finishers.... |
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