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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 71 to 81]
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J. D. from Virginia Beach, VA
(3/10/2010)
 "Great race; I love New Orleans" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 2 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Great race; great city; perfect weather; back half got a little boring; long walk to the shuttles. | |
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S. D. from Alabama
(3/10/2010)
"ONE AND DONE!!!" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Let me start by saying that we LOVE NOLA and frequent the city often!! So, we were excited about the chance to race there.... BUT, I can't say that we will ever run this particular race in the future. Understandably, there is little that could be done about the condition of the roads; however, it must be said: they were terrible!!! I actually recall very little of the sights along the course because I was watching every stride and dodging holes and cracks!! I agree with previous comments that the start and finish area should have been at the same location. If you had never been to the city before, it would have been VERY difficult to find your way to the start and especially back from the finish! There was no shuttle that we could find from the finish back to the downtown area!! We actually took the trolley (that required EXACT change, and who has that after running a marathon??!!) back to the hotel, as did several other racers. I felt that the water stations were very crowded. Tables and volunteers were jammed into a very small area and there was no way of knowing if you were grabbing water or the CytoYUCK stuff!? I was most disappointed with the finish... I had to search for my medal!! The finish area was very crowded, and once you left the area, there were no stations for water or food. I left the finish area with 1 bottle of water and 1 banana, and took the post-finish hike to the bag pick-up area (actually had to ask another runner where it was because there was NO signage!!). I got my bag and changed into dry clothes and headed out in search of more water... only to discover that I had missed my opportunity for water by leaving the finish area! So, for the most part, I found this event to be very expensive and poorly organized!!! With all of that being said... I LOVE the City of New Orleans and the people are great!! I did enjoy the colorful spectators along the course! And while I'm sure we will return to this city many times in the future, I can't say that it will be to run this race.... | |
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K. C. from Dallas, TX
(3/6/2010)
"A Great Run, But an Ugly T-Shirt" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Very well organized marathon that started the participants in waves (hello, LA - try it). Scenic course; lots of complaints from others about the road surface, but I wasn't affected by it very much. Really great bands, but not as many as I would have expected for a Rock & Roll Marathon. Shuttles were quite a hike from the finish line, so if someone had blisters, etc., it would have been pretty tough to get to them. If you like spectators, this isn't the race for you; having run 6 other marathons, this one had the fewest spectators, despite beautiful weather. And, the t-shirt was so ugly (dingy gray??? Seriously???) it's doubtful that any of the female marathoners will ever wear it. | |
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D. T. from Atlanta
(3/6/2010)
 "Mardi Gras Half Marathon" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have read through the earlier comments and had a similar experience. Overall, I enjoyed the race despite battling with an Achilles problem, and we had a great time in New Orleans after the race. The good: -Well organized start area -Nice course (though roads were bad) -Expo check in was easy and the 1.5-mile walk wasn't that bad from the Royal Sonesta -Finish area worked well (at least for the half) -Shuttle bus from the finish was easy -Enjoyed the bands The bad: -The roads! -Cytomax or whatever they had... yuck! I bet they had a lot left over at the finish -The price... an expensive race -Would like to see a start and finish in the downtown area, but the park was nice -The expo beyond the Brooks area was very cramped I will be back next year and have already added the race to my 2011 calendar. | |
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M. R. from Brooklyn, NY
(3/5/2010)
"The only problem is Rock 'n' Roll running it" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 This was my fifth race and second Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (I did Vegas in December). This was much better than Vegas, but I give no credit to Competitor or the Rock 'n' Roll people who seem to be in it only for the money only. All of the credit goes to the amazing city, fantastic fans - especially the local running clubs at the fluid stations (they should go back to running this race) - and the course (okay, one thing R'n'R did right - my PR). Yes, the course was bumpy from potholes in areas (the city is built on a swamp - expect it), but otherwise, it was a great, scenic route through the city. If you run a Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, be prepared to be nickel and dimed - they're expensive, you don't get much for what you pay for, and from the surveys I've been getting from them, they want to charge for other things too (like day-of packet pick-up!). Still, I don't regret it; I just wish that I could have done the race when the local clubs organized it. Ps. R'n'R, it's sort of ridiculous to try and insinuate that this is the first NOLA Marathon (instead of just the first R'n'R Nola Marathon) - especially in a city that LOVES its history. | |
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J. M. from DeRidder LA
(3/5/2010)
 "Good time in WHO DAT-VILLE" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Had a great race. PRed. Course was nice. Fans were sparse early. Great organization. Maybe half-marathoners could start a block or two over. Enjoyed the whole experience. | |
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J. H. from PA
(3/5/2010)
"Avoid this race if you have IT band issues" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The roads in New Orleans are not my friend. I was in great condition to run this marathon and was in pain by mile 6 due to the slope of the roads. I had to stop at a med station to have my leg wrapped and ended up walking the last 5-6 miles of the marathon. This was not the easy Boston qualifier that I anticipated. I am very disappointed and am now forced to take time off to recover from the injury. | |
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k. r. from California
(3/4/2010)
"Great first half course, weak second." (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 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. | |
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M. T. from Tennessee
(3/4/2010)
"Beautiful course; organization could use work!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 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. | |
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J. Z. from Virginia, USA
(3/4/2010)
 "Rock 'n' Roll Series should stick to Halfs only" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 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. |
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