This was my first marathon, and overall a great experience. It was well run and buzzing, and some of the early sights and experiences were unforgettable (cavemen martinis in Audubon Park, anyone?!). That said, it did have a major flaw. All of the great stuff was in the first half, and not when you really needed it. About 15,000 of us started out, only to drop down to around 3,500 at the halfway point. And with the other runners went the crowd support, and the buzz. By the time we were all alone, looping around a pretty dull end of town from miles 15- 22, you could feel the mood sinking. Basically, a fantastic half, and not-so-great full.

I saw that Elite was running this marathon as part of their Rock 'n' Roll series, and so I figured it would be fairly well organized. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The earlier comments regarding the death march to the shuttles to get back to your car from the finish line were accurate. The expo location was not marked, and it took my family and me awhile to find it. Top that with $7/hour parking, and having to dodge cheerleaders everywhere, and it was a nightmare.

The course was scenic and pretty throughout most of the run, but was FULL of potholes and road debris. New Orleans has some of the WORST roads I have ever seen. I was deathly afraid of tripping on a pothole while running this race.

This is my second RnR Marathon, the first being 2009 San Antonio, and I am still unimpressed - and given the high entrance fee, quite disappointed. The main three issues I have are the same as from San Antonio:

1. The lack of necessary information! Starting with the website being EXTREMELY difficult to navigate and find useful information on (at times it was even contradictory - spectators: don't come to the start, there is nowhere to park... followed by listing the start as an optimal spectator point), the start area being terribly difficult to navigate, the placement of the gear check almost a half-mile from the lead corrals and having no indication where the gear check is upon arrival at the start area. Even the course map included in the race packet was missing GU locations on the course.

2. The fact that the Competitor website is even created as a subsidiary of Active's site, forcing us to create yet another login to register. I couldn't register through my Active or ActiveAdvantage membership so I had to pay an exorbitant service charge of $8! (?) For what? This added to the level of confusion both during registration and in trying to decipher the details leading up to the race. Additionally, if you are going to charge me a service charge, at least you can MAIL me my confirmation card instead of expecting me to find a printer, print it off (at my expense), and then not allow a relative or friend to pick up my packet... especially since you closed the packet pick-up so early the night before the race.

3. It is apparent that RnR focuses on half marathons, and that is fine, but if you really are only going to support a half marathon, keep it just a half marathon. Having the back portion of the course run through and around a park are fine, but promote, emphasize, and encourage fans to move to places to spectate where they are needed: the back portion of a marathon. Sticking a band out in the middle of nowhere every mile is minimal motivation at best. This brings us to the obvious point that unless you are running something like Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, where the last 9 miles are gradually entering more populated and spectated areas, a loop course is a much better idea than a point-to-point course. No one likes to start in the middle of the dilapidated, slum part of town (San Antonio), run through more of the slum part of town (both San Antonio and New Orleans), only to have the back portion of the full marathon be run in the middle of nowhere (both SA and NO).

Bottom Line: Stick with half marathons or use the ridiculous entrance fees to hire a director who understands how to run a world-class marathon.

Sorry for being blunt, but I have quite a lot of experience running marathons and know the difference between a marathon-focused race and a half marathon-focused race with a marathon thrown in seemingly as an afterthought to increase the number of participants.

Three runners from Canada loved the whole experience in New Orleans! We stayed just outside of the French Quarter and had an easy 15-minute walk to the expo and start line. The bus after the race took us back to a location near our hotel. Yes, the roads were rather messy and bumpy, but the course was great, with so many lovely homes to gawk at. And it was FLAT too! The water stations were well manned and the finish line treats were adequate. The beer was chilled to perfection, and the bands really got the crowds pumped up for celebration. The finish line area was huge, but family was still easy to find with the letters that were placed. We loved the medals - both the full and half medals were equally gorgeous. It would have been nice to run into the Superdome as in past years, but luckily the weather was perfect and the sun was a real treat for us Northerners. Celebrating on Bourbon St. was something that we will always remember. That's where we found out that Canada had won the gold medal in hockey!! Thanks, New Orleans, for being such a friendly city!

This was my third R'N'R marathon in 12 weeks. I've learned to expect substandard race shirts, unbelievably long lines at the expo, and a long wait at the starting line.

Competitor did get several things right:

-This expo was much better managed than previous R'N'R expos.
-The start line amenities were great.
-I LOVED the course split from the half-marathoners - no need to dodge giddy half-marathoners spread 5-wide.
-The course was BEAUTIFUL. Great scenery and surprisingly more spectators than I expected.
-Fast and flat (aside from the road surface issues - see below).
-I loved the post-race concert and there was no wait to get on a bus back to downtown.
-The medal ROCKS!!!

But, of course, there were things that went wrong:

-The first 14 miles of the course were littered with potholes, uneven pavement, slants. The road surface was just TERRIBLE! In fact, my right knee is still a bit achy from it.
-The half-mile or more walk to the buses at the finish line was completely uncalled for. I don't mind walking after a marathon - I usually feel pretty good afterwards - But I am sure most people hated it.
-Please, please, please, dear folks at Competitor, I paid over $100 to enter this race. Give me something more than awful Cytomax and water at the aid stations. Pretzels? Cookies? Something!
-Did I mention the awful road surface conditions?

Overall, I came out smiling, but there is definitely room for improvement.

Of my 59 marathons across this great nation, I can say that New Orleans has without a doubt the most horrid roads of any place. It's tough to enjoy the scenery when you are fearful of where your next footstrike will land. At the very least, run a sweeper over the roads to clear the rocks, asphalt chunks, and debris so ankles don't get broken. After all, for the outrageous entry fee, there should be funds available to take care of road maintenance. That being said, the course was flat and the start was well organized. Whatever that drink was on the course, it was worthless. The bands on course were good and the finisher's medal was a quality one. I had really hoped for a much more enjoyable marathon from R'n'R; unfortunately, I didn't get it.

I knew there would be many changes to this marathon - both good and bad - as soon as I heard that Elite Racing (Rock 'N' Roll) was taking over. I had run the New Orleans Track Club version 6 or 7 times before, and even then they had a few problems - mostly with traffic. But it was a small, volunteer run then.

By the way, I am nearing my 200th marathon, so I am NOT new to what can or should be expected at an event. I AM NOT a fan of Elite Racing and feel that they are taking over too many races. These people are NOT runners; they are event planners looking for profit.

First off: the old packet pick-up at the host hotel (or the Super Dome) did not require you to pay for parking and walk several blocks (fighting a crowd of teeny-boppers and other convention-goers). There were no signs to point the way. The location did not offer anything more - just the usual, expensive, Rock 'N' Roll stuff. The expo also closed too early for out-of-towners coming in late.

Sunday was another day of paid parking (the start at the Super Dome in previous years offered FREE parking). I do have to say that the buses did run smoothly on race morning. Two years ago the old marathon route was changed to avoid the broken up streets, so I was surprised when we were back on them. Did Elite not listen to runner complaints about this? What was wrong with last year's route, or something close to it? Many of the same sights! No need for shuttles with a loop course, either. Nothing but water and yucky "sports drink" when previous years had lots of goody stops. Yeah, I know the Rock 'N' Roll policy. I practically had to sign a waiver to get one Excederin from a first aid station and ask for water to get it down. And of all things, they made us take a half-mile hike to the shuttles (no signs to point the way) after having to search for our warm-ups.

Several people coming to this race were disappointed not to be able to run near (or like back in the old days finish inside) the Super Dome.

I did enjoy the floats, the bands and the absence of traffic problems. The medal was nice; the shirt, compared to other years, was terrible. (That's typical for a R'n'R event; they sell the nice stuff.) If I only did a few marathons a year, and this were my first trip to New Orleans, I think I would have had a better time. I may not ever do it again because of the HUGE price increase.

My Garmin 305 said that I ran 26.4 miles. Up until mile 6, it was dead-on; and then it started to go off slowly after that. I think the BQ people should get an extra 2 minutes, at least!!

Well done, other than that. They just could have explained the race logistics a bit better, but I had some friends who all helped out.

What a great place for a marathon - a fun city! The course was flat but uneven; you had to watch your step. The weather was perfect. Many water stops and the spectators were interesting, and some were very funny. I would love to see more food choices. I can't do GU, and I know many runners who can't! Fruit, Fig Newtons, animal crackers... anything! The walk to the shuttle bus was the worst!! You don't want to take that mile hike through uneven grass after running 26.2 miles!

THE MEDAL ROCKS!

I turned this into an extended weekend with my family and had a blast. The expo and start were convenient to downtown, and the shuttle brought us back right to the front of my hotel after the race! I had never done a Rock 'n' Roll before and had heard some negative things, but on the whole this was an impressively well organized event.

The only negatives were the expo end time of 5 p.m. on Saturday, and for about 2/3 of the course, the roads were uneven or full of gravel. Plus, I didn't cross the start line for 45 minutes. I think that was by design, though.

Otherwise, I had a great time and thought the course put New Orleans in a showcase. As a back-of-the-packer, I met many first-time marathoners with great stories. I would run this one again.