New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon 2006

The Mardi Gras Marathon was run yesterday in New Orleans. It was the first major athletic event in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. This AP article has some descriptions from a runner's viewpoint. The race started in the French Quarters which survived Katrina and subsequent flooding without much damage. After 7 miles, the author noted how the damage became more apparent with street after street of abandoned homes. The last part of the marathon finished with a loop around the Superdome. The author noted that while some neighborhoods are in very bad shape, there are some that look "like they could throw a parade every day of the week".

It's good to see there was a solid turnout. There were 698 marathon finishers and 1426 half-marathon finishers. As would be expected, this is down from last year when there were 1966 marathon finishers and 2394 half-marathon finishers (see my post from last year).