calendar icon Nov 14, 2024

Baton Rouge Beach Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Baton Rouge Beach Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.3 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 4.5 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 2.9 
 
 
Number of comments: 113 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 12 > ]

 

D. H. from Alabama (12/3/2016)
"Fast and flat!" (about: 2016)

2 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 2


Food was amazing, atmosphere was awesome. The weather was awful but you can't control that!

 

J. E. from Pennsylvania (12/3/2016)
"Organized, small, beautiful city with lots of wate" (about: 2016)

50+ previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 2


Organized, fun theme, food, food and more food. Expo was small, but having Dick Beardsley speaker was a treat, plus they served dinner. First time I've cried at an expo. Course was fairly flat 2 loops with incredible water & wildlife views. White pelicans studded the water. The weather was awful with rain & wind. Colorful medal. Organized, with shuttles. I stayed at embassy suites, a very short walk to expo & shuttles, plus free airport shuttle & complementary happy hour & breakfast, 2pm checkout. In spite of weather, I really enjoyed this race. Food was great, socks adorable with chicken theme & free heavy throw away gloves which I couldn't part with. Shirt was basic, but nice name brand tech...just ill-fitted for me. Aid stations 1.5 miles or so, some with candy, but no gel. My only complaint was I ran 4:50 & the finish arch was gone. By 5 hours it was deserted and many were still on the course. Hats off to RD and Spectacular volunteers who endured the rain.

 

A. D. from Colorado (12/3/2016)
"Rough" (about: 2016)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 1


Everything had closed down for the 5:30 finisher. All but two of the aid stations in the second half were unmanned (BIG thank you for the two that stayed), and there was one sole tent at the finish with cold food (although it did have food).

The entire ENTIRE course was lake, cypress and waterfowl. At first it was charming, then it felt like Groundhog Day- a real pretty Groundhog Day, but Groundhog Day.

And it rained. Hard. For 15 miles.

This would be a great race for some, but not me.

 

W. C. from Upstate NY (1/3/2016)
"Super fun small-town marathon" (about: 2015)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 1


A great marathon for those who don't need a lot of spectator support. It's a fast, flat, beautiful 13.1 mile course that is run twice for marathoners, with virtually no spectators, save for the water-stop volunteers. And on the second loop, even most of the water stop volunteers had gone home (but there was plenty of plastic cups waiting for thirsty runners on the tables.) Even still, the race has a special charm, and it's a lovely course.

 

Mark Zaffuto from Williamstown, KY (12/8/2015)
"Will definately tell my friends to do this one!!!" (about: 2015)

50+ previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


Best pre-race and post race food and beverage ever!! Great organization. Nice to see a marathon put on by runners for runners. Outstanding!!

 

Matt Feldmann from Edwardsville, IL (12/7/2015)
"Seriously? No. Seriously the BEST small marathon." (about: 2015)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


158 marathon finishers and Bart Yasso comes to speak, runs the race and stays to congratulate the finishers till the very bitter end. What? Seriously WHAT? What else could I say? Food was good. People were exceptional. Great shirt and medal. Whatever. PAY ATTENTION. This is a marathon put on by marathoners for marathoners. I'm really, really sad that I didn't wait to make this my 50th marathon. Seriously a good marathon.

 

P. A. from MS (12/7/2015)
"Small Marathon, Flat Course" (about: 2015)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 2


I did this marathon in 2015. The course is just about as flat as can be, with the exception of a bridge going over the railroad tracks. It is a loop course. If you are doing the half marathon, you do one loop around University Lake. If you are like me and are doing the full marathon, you do two loops. All the water stops are manned the fist time around the loop. On the second loop, they may be manned, or they may have cups sitting out for you to grab. There were not many spectators on the course at all. I wish the community would get behind this race.

The organization for the marathon is great. Getting your packet was easy. Bart Yasso spoke at the pre-race supper. They provided transportation from the hotel to the course, and back again. The food provided afterwards was excellent: fish, chicken, jalapeno poppers, gumbo, alligator, and more. (Somewhere there were pralines, but I did not find out about them until afterwards.) There is plenty of water, poweraide, cokes, and beer for both the pre-race supper and afterwards.

 

G. H. from Birmingham, AL (12/6/2015)
"Great race." (about: 2015)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 2


I picked this race because of the time of year, was in a state I hadn't run in, and the comments on here were all pretty positive. I will say I will agree with most everyone on here - this was a fantastic race and I'm glad I did it.

Weather - Obviously, you can't control the weather, but on this day it was near perfect. Started out in the low 40s and was near 50 when we finished. A little warmer at the end than I would want, but again can't control it.

Course - One of the nicer courses I've run on. I know some people don't like the double loop, but if you don't mind it then this course is really great. You run through the LSU campus, through some really pretty neighborhoods that are shaded by big, live oak trees, and around a lake. I would consider it to be pretty flat, I can only remember 2 or 3 'hills' throughout the whole course.

Spectators - Minimal at best. This isn't a negative comment, just a fact. This is a small race so there were few spectators out (other than at the aid stations), especially on the second loop.

Swag - Smaller medal than most races, but still very nice. The shirt was a nice tech shirt. The additional running socks were a nice touch.

Post-Race - Small, fun after-party with Louisiana style food-jambalaya, sausage, alligator, fried chicken, french fries. It was unique, but delicious.

There are few marathons that I've done and would go back to run again, but I'm pretty sure I would go back and run this one. If the weather cooperates, I definitely think this is a great PR race.

 

S. W. from Pennsylvania (12/8/2014)
"Best Post Race Food Ever!" (about: 2014)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


I didn't know much about this race , but I entered it because I needed Louisiana and it fit my schedule. The website wasn't too impressive so I really wasn't expecting much. How wrong I was! This race was very well done. It was well organized, friendly, and the food...oh, the food. Jambalaya, fish, alligator sauce piquant....and beer! Almost as good as the food was being able to meet and talk to the people who were cooking it. It was very evident that were proud of their craft and very eager to share it....even with a Yankee like me.
The course was not bad, but not terribly exciting either. Mostly flat with a few very minor rolling hills.
All in all, I highly recommend this race. Kudos to the organizers for putting on a great event.

 

D. B. from Houston, TX (12/7/2014)
"Decent Smaller Race" (about: 2014)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Baton Rouge Beach Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


I chose the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon as it fit well into my schedule and is only a 4 hour drive from Houston. Overall it's a decent race. Let's start with the good.

The race director is clearly well connected in the running community. He drew some big name speakers (Katherine Siwtzer) that some major marathons would be jealous to get. This race definitely appeals to the marathon maniac and 50 stater crowd, as I saw large representation from those groups as well. Good expo for a small race. Most races this size don't even bother with an expo, the fact that this one has one was pretty neat.

Race is very well organized. Quick and easy packet pick-up at the host hotel. Shuttle service to the start-line from the hotel was quick and efficient. As I got out of the lobby one bus pulled away and another was there 5 mins later. Plenty of porta pottys at the start area, short line. Finish was nice, tons of food (good fresh cooked food)!

Course is average, nothing special. It runs through LSU campus and some nice residential neighboorhoods. One dig is that it is an open course, so there is active traffic. While they do have crossing guards at most major intersections, there are some times where you are dealing with live traffic. Fortunately, most of the course is on quiet back streets, so it is not a major issue. It is fairly flat as advertised, only a few minor inclines to deal with. Some water stops were sparse on staffing, some good. Spectators were almost non-existent.

Other good stuff - nice shirt, actually a branded (New Balance) tech tee which is rare in a small race. Medal is OK. Good swag bag with a nice pair of custom socks.

Weather - I don't gripe about weather, because you can't control it, so I'm writing this as a caution to people who travel to the south for winter races. This year was warm and muggy (66 at the start). Last year was cold (30s). This is gulf coast weather, you need to be preparred for it...it can vary dramitically during the winter months. This year's weather had a clear impact on finishing times.

Last comment is more in general around these small races. All three of my marathons this winter have been at small races (which include half marathons). The half has become so popular that what you are quickly seeing is these races have become half marathons with some people choosing a full option. This race had over 500 half finishers and only about 150 full finishers...do with this comment what you want, this is just a general observation on the state of our sport.

 

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