City Park will fill with runners, race officials and wellness vendors next week as the New Orleans Marathon makes its first appearance since 2019, anchoring a two-day event called Fit Fête New Orleans. The marathon, half marathon, marathon relay and 5K are all scheduled to start Nov. 14 at the New Orleans Museum of Art, with race organizers expecting more than 4,000 participants to take part.
The marathon’s return was detailed in a news release reported by WGNO, which covered the Fit Fête weekend’s comeback to New Orleans. According to race-day details published by runsignup.com, marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay runners are set to start at 7:30 a.m., with all distances launching from the museum in the heart of City Park.
The field is drawing well beyond the New Orleans area. Per the WGNO report, marathon registrations include runners from 49 states, the District of Columbia and 24 foreign countries, with 57 percent of marathon sign-ups coming from outside Louisiana. It’s a notable comeback for a race that, according to WWNO, marks the city’s first marathon since 2019.
A Double-Loop Route Through City Park and Along the Lake
The marathon course is built as a double loop, carrying USATF Course Certification #LA26003DJR, the race’s course page on runsignup.com notes. Per WGNO’s account of the route, runners travel along St. Bernard Avenue toward Lakeshore Drive, then east along Lakeshore Drive near Shelter No. 4…