St. Charles Avenue, Audubon Park, the river levee and Oak Street will be the backdrop for the cross-town New Orleans Ultramarathon on Saturday (Oct. 1).
Running for Dreams, a nonprofit founded by New Orleanian and two-time cancer survivor Phil de Gruy, is sponsoring the New Orleans Ultramarathon. The urban race will lead participants through New Orleans’ beautiful neighborhoods, parks, and waterways.
The first 31 miles will be identical for all runners, and the 50K participants will finish at Second Line Brewing in Mid-City. The 50-mile participants will continue and do two loops that cover Bayou St John, the Lafitte Greenway and parts of the Marigny and Bywater before finishing back at Second Line Brewing as well.
The 50K and 50-mile races begin at Jackson Square at 6 a.m. The half marathon begins at Louisiana Running Company, 4153 Canal St. The full route can be seen on the map below.
From Jackson Square, runners will head through downtown and by the Superdome before strolling down the historic St. Charles Avenue on their way to Audubon Park. Next, you’ll hop on the levee for a bit, and jump off at Oak Street and make your way to the Fountainbleau area.
They will run over the Norman C. Francis overpass, check out a bit of Mid City via Bienville Street, then run around City Park. Afterwards, they’ll do a stretch along Lakeshore Drive, then head back to City Park via the Wisner path along Bayou St. John, and on to the finish at Second Line Brewing.
Those doing the 50 miler will continue on for another 19 miles. This will be an out-and-back section, using the Lafitte Greenway to head down to the Marigny and Bywater, and heading back to Second Line Brewing to the finish.
The course will be marked with small spray painted arrows on the ground.
In addition to the races, experts from the local physical therapy clinic, The Stride Shop, which played a role in Phil de Gruy’s recovery journey, will be on hand to offer quick PT tips and tricks for participants before and after the race.
The 50-mile runners must complete the marathon by 6 p.m. The 50K runners are required to complete the course by 2 p.m.
Runners who litter the route will automatically disqualified, the posted rules say. Stopping traffic for any reason is also prohibited. Ultramarathon runners are required to obey all traffic laws.
For more information, see the race website here.
New Orleans Ultra Marathon
Editor’s note: The press release on this event originally called Running for Dreams the host of the event. The nonprofit was the sponsor, not the host. This story was corrected on Oct. 3.
