Choosing a marathon

If the timelapserunner is going to invest from four to six months of training towards achieving the demanding goal of completing a marathon, it would make sense to carefully choose the venue. This would seem important, perhaps especially so for a first marathon.

With so much investment going into the preparation upfront, I'd want the experience to be an inspired and a successful one, with an energizing route and plenty of logistical support from race direction and moral support from the local community.


One could choose one of the big name races like the New York City Marathon or Chicago Marathon. There, you'd have lots of company, including some of the world's elite runners. One could choose a race with pomp and tradition like the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, D.C. One could choose a "vacation marathon" and head to the sunny Honolulu Marathon or the fantasy-filled Walt Disney World Marathon. These races have lots of appeal, but they also have lots of runners. LOTS of runners.

If the timelapserunner had to list his qualifications for his ideal first marathon, here's what those'd be:

Not very far home, with a smaller number of runners - Not being a fan of travelling, much less taking a plane to get there, I'd look for some place close to home. That could be New Orleans or even Houston, both of which boast of hosting great marathons; but some place close to home. However, even the New Orleans race is a big one, with more than 22,000 entered in this past February's event.

Reputation of being well-run - Given my inexperience and rising anxiety about personal race management the day of the race, this first marathon should be one that has a reputation for being planned and executed well. There's no need to be angsting about whether or not there'll really be a water station where there's supposed to be one.

Scenic, engaging, reasonably flat route - Certainly running something like the San Francisco Marathon would provide a scenic and engaging route, but that event is not exactly close to home. Heck, if we want engaging, why not sign up for the Pike's Peak Marathon? I'm guessing that the adjective "flat" can't be used in any sentence describing that event, however. I'd think that most of the marathons held in the Deep South would qualify on that account though.

Turns out that the Louisiana Marathon - held right here in Baton Rouge - fits the bill on all three of those qualifications quite well. It's close to home, for sure, and registration will be limited to 2000 marathoners and 3000 half-marathoners. Though the 2013 version of this event will only be its second, nearly every piece of feedback from runners, many experienced marathoners, suggests that the inaugural event in 2012 was very well directed and provided great race day logistics. Finally, the route passes through some of the most scenic and engaging real estate in Baton Rouge.

Well, ... "Iacta alea est" (i.e., the die is cast), as Caesar would say.

The timelapserunner is officially registered for the 2013 Louisiana Marathon on January 20, 2013.