Marathon Man

18,000 people did the RnR NOLA marathon.
Here's a shot from the start line, courtesy of the RnR page.
The NOLA edition of the RnR series is one of
the largest of the 32 stops on the tour. 

For a city that likes to, shall we say, indulge, in food festivals, the occasional alcoholic beverage and good 'ol time, you'd be surprised about how active New Orlenians are when it comes to athletics. The state of Louisiana has more triathletes per capita than any in the country, and as you may recall, we are home to the largest Half Ironman in the USA, which I participated in a few years ago. We also have a lot of runners here. The Crescent City Classic is held each Easter Weekend and is one of the largest 10ks in America with over 20,000 runners. It's a favorite of Tulane students, staff, faculty and alumni. The Tulane community takes advantage of all of the great races around town each year. From short 5K like this Saturday's Tulane Athletics 5K to longer races like the Rock n Roll Marathon held this past weekend, Tulane loves a good race.

Speaking of the Rock n Roll Marathon, well... I did it! It was my first marathon that I have done. I have done the half marathon the last few years, and decided this was my year to kick it into high gear. I ran it with a few friends who all went to Tulane including my good buddy Chris. We both finished in one piece which we were happy about. You hear a lot of talk about hitting "the wall" during the latter half of the race. I was cruising at 8:50 minute miles for the first 21 miles. Then I hit a wall that felt like it was made of adamantium. My legs, knees, feet, they all just kind of gave out. I had to take it easy and do some walking for the last five miles, but I made it! I finished at slightly over 4 hours, so my goal for next year it to hit a sub 4 hour race. It was great to see so many other Tulanians on the race course as both runners and spectators. The course goes right out front of Tulane so it was easy for our students to come out and cheer people on. It was even cooler to see two-time Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah leading the pack as they came back down St. Charles Ave. He was a bit ahead of me. A bit.

Chris and I finished! Phew. 

Speaking of active students, if you are the active type, you'll fit in great at Tulane. We have a very active cycling team that has won some great awards in years past. We have a club swim team that practices in our indoor Olympic swimming pool at Reily. We have a runners club that does all the races around town (and there are a lot of races!) and even a TIDES course called A Running Conversation where, you guessed it, they whole class is taught during a nice long run. And if those aren't your kind of sports, don't worry, we have 56 different club sports to choose from- everything from AMA to water polo to ice hockey. You can see a list of our club sports here.


When I was a senior in high school, I knew I wanted to find a school with an active student body. I was a track runner and lacrosse player in high school and wanted to find a school that was conducive to all kinds of outdoor activities. I found it at Tulane and found it even more right here in New Orleans. Come check it out!

Swimming pool at Reily. 

Check out our killer cycling team.