The Crescent City Classic
New Orleans, Louisiana
April 10, 2004 - Saturday

I think a little history about New Orleans is in order to get a better feel as to why the architecture and customs are very reminiscent of the European way of life. Louisiana was claimed for the French king Louis XIV in 1699 and is the only U.S. state that was once a French royal colony. "La Nouvelle Orleans" was founded in 1718 and ruled by France and then Spain for 100 years. French was the predominant language spoken in New Orleans for over a century. It is very evident in the names of the many different historical landmarks found throughout the French Quarter. New Orleans became a part of the United States by way of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

New Orleans is also called the Crescent City due to its particular location on the bend of the Mississippi River which is in the form of a crescent moon. That is where the Crescent City Classic name came to be for New Orleans' annual 10k marathon.

Saturday morning seemed to come way too soon after a night full of one on one attention with some well needed Hurricanes a Pat O'Brien's. The starting area was only a few blocks from our hotel so we made our way there at about 7:30am. Walking through the French Quarter early in the morning is definitely a special feeling. The St. Louis Cathedral is in the background soaking in the morning sun. 



The St. Louis Cathedral is the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States. It was designed by Adrien de Pauger and was originally built in 1724 but had to be rebuilt twice after a hurricane in 1789 and a fire in 1850. Pauger died in 1726 before the cathedral was completed and was buried beneath the unfinished building at his request.



Here we all are like a herd of cattle standing on Dectaur St. waiting to hear the cannon fire to signal the start of the race. I am still waiting for the Crescent City Classic website to be updated so that I can get a final tally on how many participants turned out. In true New Orleans fashion there were many groups of people who showed up in costume ready to have a good time. Just to name a few, I saw a group of Elvis's, a group of guys dressed in tuxedos and shorts, a group dressed as belly dancers (seen in the pic below) and many many more out having a good time. Also, at 8:00am in the morning it was not abnormal to see some runners ready to go with beer in hand.



Here we all are running along N. Peters St. at about the half mile marker. Since we all started in the very back of the group it took about 15 minutes or so just to reach the starting line another 15 minutes or so to reach this point in the 6.2 mile race. In fact the winner finished the race in a little over 28 minutes so it is now is a little disheartening to know that the race was won before we even had a chance to get to the first mile marker. :o) The winner was from Kenya and him and his country men secured the top 6 spots which were the only ones in the 28 minute range. Man can those guys RUN!



This is Jackson Brewery, another great landmark in the city of New Orleans. It is about 113 years old and has long since brewed beer within its walls. It was built in 1891 by a German born architect and was at one point the largest independent brewery in the south and 10th largest single plane in the country. Today the building is no longer a brewery but is now a modern day mall which includes many shops, restaurants and especially a great history. 



The 10k course took us along N. Rampart St. and we came across this very antique looking marquee outside one of the local buildings. It was a perfect photo op since while I was still looking through the viewfinder, I could already see what this final image would look like after a little Photoshop work to give it a light sepia feel to it.



A couple of block down we saw The Old Mortuary Chapel which was originally built in 1826. This chapel was built as a burial church for victims of Yellow Fever and is the oldest surviving church in the city. Now known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, the chapel is the official chapel of the New Orleans Police and Fire Departments.



The New Orleans Fire Department supplied runners (and walkers) with a nice refreshing cool down area. I have to admit I had to walk through it to help cool me off and give me the energy for the last 2.5 miles of the marathon. 



FINALLY! Man I thought we would never see the Finish Line. Lisa and I were very thrilled to finally get this walk over with. We had never ridden our bikes that far much less walked that far. We were ready to hail a cab back to the hotel to rest our weary feet. I know it almost took 2 hours to walk 6.2 miles but hey, at least we weren't last. Also it is a pretty safe assumption that the Kenyans were already on their flight back home to Kenya by the time this picture was taken. Hehee.