Louisiana Half Marathon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

The plans for this race trip came together so quickly and easily. It was one of those trips that just felt meant to be. I saw several people recommend the race on the 50 States Half Marathon Club Facebook page, so I investigated it for myself. The timing worked well over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Often we have a family trip planned, but this year we did not have other plans. The race website was really user-friendly and provided codes for easy booking with official host hotels. I chose the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center because the rate was reasonable and they included late check out.

I have visited Louisiana several times before as a tourist and for professional meetings, so I opted to make this a quick turnaround to focus on running the race and getting back home to my family. It was my first time to Baton Rouge, though, and I really enjoyed staying right downtown near the capitol building! The race provided a perfect scenic tour of downtown and the LSU campus.

I left snowy Pittsburgh behind early on Saturday morning, connected through Atlanta, and enjoyed a very smooth travel day. The LSU tennis team was on my flight to Baton Rouge, they’d just played Clemson. It was pretty impressive how many tennis rackets could be wedged into the overhead bins! I listened to my book club audiobook, The Secret Librarian by Soraya Lane, which passed the time quickly. I was hoping that by the time I arrived around 1:30 pm I would have already heard from the hotel that my room was ready, but no such luck. I decided to Uber directly to the expo/packet pick up location instead, which was a couple of blocks from my hotel. The Uber was more expensive than I was expecting, but not terrible. My driver was nice, didn’t murder me, we talked about the air quality in Baton Rouge. He has concerns. I recommended Montana.

It was a little tricky to find the expo entrance, they could have used a sign or two. Plus, I was wheeling my luggage with me and I had to lug it up some stairs to find the right entrance on the upper level of the big arena. Security was tight, they opened my suitcase and poked around with a stick. I was checked more thoroughly for the expo than I was earlier in the day by TSA! The expo was nice, fairly simple, but had all the requisite photo ops and merch available. The Diaper Dash was going on, which was very cute. They get an A+ for bib pick up, perfection! First time I’ve been able to put a QR code in my apple wallet, how high tech and convenient! No digging in my E-mail for my bib number or a code! No line at all, a very friendly guy gave me my bib, shirt, and bag. The shirt appears to be from the same company as the Mississippi Gulf Coast shirt, which is so soft and has been worn frequently over the last month. Score!

Sadly, I didn’t take advantage of any of the photo ops. I usually try to spend some time enjoying the expo, but having come straight from the airport with luggage in tow I was just ready to get to my hotel room. I wasn't feeling up to standing in any picture lines or asking anyone to take my picture for me. Oh well, bib secured, I walked the short couple of blocks to the hotel. I had to talk to somebody at the desk because digital keys weren't working, boo, but she was helpful and my room was ready. I really appreciate it when race host hotels just automatically provide late checkout (2:00 pm!) so you don't have to rush when you're trying to leave town after the race. My room was in the corner on the 9th floor (906) and had a view of the Mississippi River! Cool!

I met Erin for dinner at Cecelia Creole Bistro at 5pm. This was the highlight of my trip! We should have taken a picture, but we were too busy talking about races and enjoying our food. My crab cake was delicious! Highly recommend visiting if you're ever in Baton Rouge. It was easy to make a reservation on OpenTable, so we didn't have to worry about finding a spot. Erin was staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites, which was a few blocks from me, right next to the restaurant, and even closer to the start/finish. It seemed like it would have been a great hotel choice, too. 

My hotel was about a 15 minute walk to the start. I love being able to walk to the start! It was surprisingly cold in Louisiana, in the 30s! I had not brought the right running layers with me. I wish I'd packed a hat or ear warmer. Luckily, the coat I had decided to travel in ended up working well. It was probably overkill, but since I knew I'd be standing around for a while before the start I opted for warmth!

50 States crew braving the cold!

The 50 States Half Marathon Club was meeting for a picture at 6:30 am. Since it was an easy walk from my hotel to the start line, I would have definitely preferred to stay warm in my hotel room until the last minute. 6:30 am was on the early side, but I do enjoy meeting the group for a pre-race picture so I bundled up and made it just in time! It also gave me plenty of time to find Erin for a pre-race picture!

 

The Louisiana State Capitol building is beautiful! I learned it is the nation's tallest state capitol building and one of only four skyscraper capitol buildings (the others are Lincoln, Tallahassee, and Bismarck because I know you are also wondering).

It is a huge race, I think I heard over 9,000 people? Like Mississippi Gulf Coast, all 50 states were represented, which is so neat! The start was a little congested. I lurked in the back with the 12:00 + min/mile folks, and didn't hear the national anthem or the official start. The crowd just started moving, so off I went! Wearing my coat ended up working out well. I actually left it on the entire race. It was cold and windy, even when the sun came out. I also thought it would annoy me if I tried to tie it around my waist. Very glad I had it!

This guy ran in a cowboy hat, jeans, and boots! I worried about his feet.

Distracted by the nicest dog park ever!

Spent a few minutes having fun trying to pronounce this

I thought this was an enjoyable race course with good variety. There is one highway overpass hill that was annoying early on and brutal on the way back at the end. Other than that, it is fairly flat and fast. It winds through scenic neighborhoods and through the LSU campus. The crowd support was a little sporadic, probably due to the cold, but the people who were out were great and had some awesome signs! There were enough aid stations with enthusiastic volunteers. Several people were offering tissues, which I'd never seen before, definitely thoughtful in a cold race. Although, I'm not so sure the aftermath of discarded tissue clean up is very appealing. 

I especially liked running on the LSU campus and in the beautiful surrounding neighborhoods. I did not see actual Mike the Tiger, he was probably staying warm somewhere thinking we were all nuts, but I did see his home and the statue!

This race has a generous time limit and a concurrent full marathon, so I never felt any pressure. I’d been maintaining a pretty decent pace until mile 11 or so, and then lack of time on my feet since December caught up with me and I ran out of steam. Thank goodness for the kind man who gave me a slice of king cake at mile 12! That, and some text messages of encouragement from my family, got me moving again. I had read reviews that mentioned unofficial aid stations offering fun things like king cake on this race course, but I had not actually seen anything like that yet. I had figured I was too "back-of-the-pack" for that, so it really did make me very happy to discover there was still a chance for king cake.

Look who ran by me! Must be the same guy from Mississippi, right?
 There can't be that many people out there who run full marathons in speedos?

I was pretty over it by the time I turned the corner to the finish,
I remembered a sign that said something like "it'd be awkward to quit now" so I kept moving

I made it across that finish line, quite happy to be done. Honestly, I felt like the finish line was a bit underwhelming, at least compared to other races I've done recently. They handed me a bottle of water and my medal. No other snacks, drinks, not even a banana! The medal is beautiful though, big and very shiny! I took a quick picture, and went to collect my sparkly bonus Beach 2 Bayou challenge medal. I found one tent that had warm gumbo, which was tasty. I later heard that there were more food and drink options inside the Finish Festival area in the park. It did seem to be bustling with live music, but I didn't venture inside because my feet hurt and I was ready to warm up! 

 

The medals are super big and shiny/sparkly, so I'm content even without a banana or a cookie!

Overall, it was a solid race and I can understand why it is a popular choice for Louisiana. I am glad I made the trip, but I wouldn't rush back to do it again.

 

#10 Double Digits!

I upgraded my medal display! The medals are clearly one of  my favorite things, so the wider sign with more hooks should let them be spread out more with less overlap. I also love coloring in the states as I go, it is a fun visual representation of where I have been and what states I have left to visit!

 

Louisiana complete! State #10, Half #15

Time: 3:19:56
Pace: 15:16
Date: 1/18/2026
Bib: 4415

Next up is the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon in Apache Junction, Arizona in February!