Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon



The Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & 1/2 Marathon was an annual international road running marathon hosted in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, between 1965 and 2022. It was part of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series organized by Advance Publications' Ironman Group. The Ironman group announced in September 2022 that it was canceling all future running events in New Orleans due to conflicts with the city over routing and police staffing.

History
On 1965.03.06, the New Orleans Road Runners Club held the inaugural race, named "The New Orleans Marathon," on the Mississippi levee, from behind the zoo at Audubon Park to St. Rose and back. The race had 19 starters and 12 finishers, and was held with no aid stations. Harry Belin, a Tulane University student, won the race in 2:47:30.

The marathon was held annually since, except for 1968.

In the 1980s, a noted local participant was John Allen Dixon Jr., Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, who won the race in the over-60 category several times.

The event was taken over by Competitor Group for the 2010 edition and adopted the Rock 'n' Roll Series name after its takeover.

In 2010, the marathon was run as an open class or mass race while the half marathon formed the elite section of the event. The elite competition started strongly, with Martin Lel beating Samuel Wanjiru in the men's section while Berhane Adere and Kim Smith ran the fastest and third-fastest times ever on American soil, for first and second place respectively. A total of around 13,000 runners participated in the day's events.

In 2011, Kim Smith returned to set a 19-second personal best of 1:07:36, a new U.S. all-comer's record for the women's half marathon.

The 2021 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Course


The marathon started on Poydras Street near Lafayette Square in the Central Business District and ends in City Park near Tad Gormley Stadium.

The course made significant use of St. Charles Avenue, Decatur Street, Esplanade Avenue, Wisner Boulevard, and Lakeshore Drive along Lake Pontchartrain.

Winners
Key: Course record (in bold)