After reading more than a few negative comments about the recent RnR Las Vegas (the crowd management was terrible, etc), I expected much worse from RnR New Orleans. I was more than pleasantly surprised. The course support was excellent and the wave start was well done and kept congestion to a minimum. The second half of the course went through City Park and along the Ponchartrain waterfront; although the lake is lovely, it was a bit much; the day was very clear and warm (not too warm for this runner).

Although the second half wasn't as scenic, it wasn't that boring either. My only complaint was the lack of signage in the finish area; I had no idea where the shuttle buses were, and when I did find out where they were, it turned out they were a longish walk away. RnR might be a 'big box' kind of marathon event, but this race was fun. New Orleans in the spring on a nice clear day? Unbeatable.

This is about as good as a race can get, considering that it's produced as part of a national series. The course is flat and fast, as you've already heard, and takes you through beautiful neighborhoods. There are several miles of 'less-than-scenic' lakefront property, but it's a marathon and every mile can't be a winner. The water stops are a little few and far between for my taste, but the volunteers at the stops were awesome. Didn't partake of food or beverage at the finish line village, because I was in NOLA. Leave the park and get to Bourbon Street!!!!

Beautiful course, awesome weather, cool medal & well run The only downside were the course bands were just ok & not much in the way of post race food.

Such a wonderful surprise from what I expected. Course through a little of downtown, Bourbon Street and the French Quarter (of course!), beautiful homes with the Spanish moss on the trees, ability to run on the trolly track (flat and softer dirt), then along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain for 7-8 miles. Ample aid and music! Worst partthe EXPO!!!!! Getting to the convention center was hell-ish starting from bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway. Cheerleading championship at the Convention center, cruise ship had arrived, no obvious signs for marathon parking (though I don't think we had any special location to go)=== parking nightmare! Don't know what could be avoided unless a hotel could host the expo elsewhere. Otherwise wonderful and would love to do it again!

I ran this marathon b/c I am originally from New Orleans and thought it would be cool to go back 'home'. It was my first RnR event. I would not go back and run the full b/c the 2nd half of the course was no man's land and not very scenic. I may go back and run the half as that part of the course was great and who doesn't love finishing in City Park.

Pros:
*Adequate parking at the start
*Plenty of water stops and they were long enough to not be crowded
*Awesome course for the 1st half
*Great medals
*Weather is usually good in NOLA at that time of the year

Cons:
*The expo was awful and closed too early
*No Pacers!!!
*Post race food was a joke
*2nd half of course was brutal, no scenery or spectators and out and back on 2 overpasses around mile 20

Overall, I would say I had an average experience. It wasn't the worst marathon I've ever run but it certainly wasn't impressive either. I ran my 2nd fastest time ever so I was happy with that. I think I would have more positive things to say if I had just run the half.

This was my 16th marathon and my second best race time. New Orleans is a beautiful city and a great place to visit. I have to say that although the course was flat, the road surface was pretty bad. The road wore rocky and uneven.

The second half of the course; after the half split, was stale and boring and the only part of the course that was not totally flat. City Park was not scenic and very boring. It was tough to stay motivated until about mile 20. The crowds were also very thin at this point. The first half of the race down St. Charles and through the French Quarters was great but the second half left something to be desired.

The only comment was about the bus shuttles after the race. The lines were long and unorganized.

All in all this was a fun race in a great city. Everything except the bus shuttles was well organized. Great
race to PR!

The first half of this marathon was great, had I been stopping there, I would have been thrilled. Mile 14-24 was in a word: boring. Same stretches of road out and back, low crowd support, nothing to look at.

The set-up of the post-race area was poorly planned. Getting bags and then walking to the shuttles was easily a half mile. Then standing in line for half an hour was exhausting.

Yes, my wife, sister and her boyfriend has a great time. We are already planning for 2012, plan on PR this time.

I ran this race for the second time in 2 years in 2011. It was great. The road surface is not horrible. City streets are city streets anywhere you go. The weather was perfect. I hope moving it up a couple of weeks next year doesn't change things. Aid stations were well-placed with lots of opportunities for gels. The expo was great. My only ding would be that it seemed there were less start line potties this year. Perhaps just more participants... And after it's all over, you're free to roam New Orleans. How awesome is that?

Great race course, good spectators ("go y'all!!"), excellent organization with a shuttle that delivered runners and spectators to/from the finish. And I even got my free beer at the end (usually all out by the time I finish). This race was worth running just to see New Orleans and experience the French Quarter. The only (slight) negative was the bad road surface - I saw a few runners go down and need medical attention for cuts. The Southern Candy Company on Decatur Street is a MUST - the turtles and pralines are magnificent!!