Jazz Half Marathon

This race was featured in a running magazines and when my boyfriend and I saw that the race which supported a great charity landed on Halloween we thought that it was two good reasons to go to NOLA.
First, this race is small and made up of mostly locals from what we could tell. We thought it would be bigger but oddly this did not appear to be a popular destination run.
Second, the course is awesome. I’m not sure how it could be better as it takes you from the heart of downtown near the grand courthouses, through the gorgeous homes of the jaws dropping Garden District, in and through Audubon Park. There was at least one, maybe two, points where you are making a uturn so you see all the people ahead of you but that would be the only negative.
Third, there was definitely less music along the course than I was expecting which is why I took off stars. I was really hoping for at least 5 – 6 jazz bands — hello «Jazz» is the race’s namesake — but there wasn’t so that was a little disappointing. There were 2 bands that I remember and a heavenly gospel choir singing on the steps of a church. That’s all. Oh, and a radio was playing on one stop. One would think they could have gotten some high school bands to play or something but alas, there was not enough to make me want to run this race again.

Great race with a scenic route. Bands every mile or so to look forward to. There were more than enough water stations and port a potties. Only downfall was the start was a little chaotic, the lines for the bathrooms at the start were beyond backed up and there was no pre race water or fuel. Also, the roads were a little rough on the knees but I should have followed the locals lead and hopped on the neutral ground to run. Overall I would do it again!

This is the first half I do in the Fall. It’s a great time of year weather-​wise. The drink stops and porta-​potties on the route are plentiful. My only complaint is that there are never Gu or any other supplements along the route like with the bigger races.

This was such a fun race! Packet pickup spanned a few days at a local running store, and there was no line when I went. The course was flat as a pancake, which was nice, since it was my first half marathon. Water stations every couple miles were always well staffed, and had plenty of water and Gatorade. Live jazz every couple miles kept things entertaining, and the spectators were great and super encouraging. I loved the after party-​beer and jambalya are definitely the best post race food ever, even at 9 in the morning. Special shout out to the guys handing out whiskey shots just past mile tweleve; that was much appreciated! I can sum up this race by saying that by 9:30 AM, I had run a half marathon, drunk a couple beers and a shot of whiskey, and eaten a ton of jambalya and red beans and rice-​fabulous start to a Saturday in New Orleans!