photo courtesy of Christy Franklin, BGR! New Orleans

First off, if you lined up right behind the elite runners, but started walking within the first quarter mile, you’re a douchebag. Not only did I notice a couple dozen people who did this, most made no effort to move to the side, causing many runners to weave through those idiots for the first mile. I got at least three emails from Crescent Classic administrators who talked about running etiquette and it’s importance because there would be so many runners. If you’re running a race with 20,000 people and don’t think you need to move to the side when you start walking, I automatically assume you’re stupid, because that’s common sense.

Now, I don’t know who the race director was for the Cresent City Classic and that’s probably a good thing, because I want to punch him or her in the face. Last year, the corrals weren’t properly regulated. The volunteers did a good job of making sure people were in the right corrals, but as soon as the elite runners took off, they opened all of the corrals at the same time. Also just stupid. This year, there were no corrals. Literally!! There was a map of how the corrals were set up, but all of the volunteers kind of just stood around. What!?!?

Now, the good parts of the race. I got to spend some time with lots of my CYJ and BGR! Louisiana friends. It’s such a great mix of personalities and I just love being around them. Yes, I’m around them quite often, but the race always ends with delicious and FREE Abita beer and I needed a small getaway. The band at the post-race party was much better this year. My time was nowhere near my goal of sub-one hour, but not bad because I hadn’t ran at all in a week and a half and spent the month slacking. Also, I never get tired of running through New Orleans. It’s a beautiful city. I don’t know if neighborhood associations coordinate or the people of New Orleans are just awesome, but people are always on their balconies or on the sidewalk cheering for thousands of people they don’t even know. That’s awesome. And I want to see New Orleans continue to do better. Full hotels and restaurants help that.
I know these are all small things, but this small getaway was a good way to start the month. Two weeks ago, I found out my job site is completely shutting down and despite six months of searching no other job prospects have materialized. I’m not happy about this. Somehow during all of this, I’ve been very calm and that’s a bit surprising. I’ve been working since I was 15. I’m sure it’s a combination of blessings. My parents and friends are there for me with prayers, encouragement and job openings.

Oh yeah, so that whole 6.2 miles I ran…here’s a little bit about that. I got up around 4 a.m. to drive down to New Orleans. Last year, I parked in the wrong area and got towed. Not this year! I quickly found a spot just outside of Delgado Community College and hopped on a shuttle to the starting line. I met up with some members of the Black Girls Run! Baton Rouge chapter at Jackson Square, took a few pictures and listened to the Marine Corps Band. Their first song was “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. Only my favorite band EVER.

Everything ran smoothly until the start, of course. PS: you early walkers, be glad some tall black girl didn’t push you down as she tried to weave past you. I ran the first mile in 9:54, which was surprising since I had to weave through a bunch of people with no common sense. The next mile was in 9:33 and it felt too fast because I reallywasn’t ready for this race. But I was on pace for my sub-1 hour goal. This didn’t happen as the remaining three to six miles got slower and slower. The heat and only four hours of sleep didn’t help. But when it was all over, I felt good. My legs weren’t very sore Sunday. I’m back to the real world and running trails on Monday. I miss them so much and am starting to hate all pavement running.

Overall, this was a good race despite epic fails missteps from the organizers. Small things like a good time with good friends made up for that.