Run This City: New Orleans
Don’t confuse the Crescent City’s laissez-faire vibe with laziness. There’s a budding running scene transforming this town.
New Orleans pulses with a rhythm all its own. Here’s how runners can catch the beat. Start this 2.5-mile run at Crescent Park and head towards the Aquarium (see maps below).
Don’t confuse the Crescent City’s laissez-faire vibe with laziness. There’s a budding running scene here transforming the town into a runner’s bon temps rouler playground.
New Orleans lures many a tourist with its perpetually festive atmosphere, but that doesn’t mean a serious runner can’t find what he or she needs during a visit here, too. As much as New Orleans is known for its music, food, and architecture, it also maintains an impressive network of urban parks anchored by two belles that date back to the 1800s: the sprawling, 1,300-acre City Park and the lush, immaculate Audubon Park, which offers a popular 1.8-mile loop trail. Folks staying near the hotel-dense French Quarter now have better choices than ever, too. “Make your way to Woldenberg Riverfront Park and Crescent Park to run along the Mississippi River,” says Mike Jackson, founder of the Virtual Runners Club, a group that meets out of Igor’s Bar in the Lower Garden District.
Certainly, runners here know how to party: Travel in May for the organized chaos known as the Tchoupitoulas Barathon, which for 35 years has functioned as a six-mile running bar crawl. It’s traditionally held two weeks after Jazz Fest (because everything here revolves around music).
But NOLA’s running scene isn’t entirely debauched. The Rock ’n’ Roll New Orleans races, which include a marathon, half, and 10K (all on February 5), appeal to many out-of-towners because of the mild winter weather and skillet-flat courses (to say nothing of the coveted Mardi Gras-beaded medals). During the city’s idyllic fall season, the Jazz Half Marathon takes runners under St. Charles Avenue’s majestic live oaks and showcases the city’s renowned local music scene at its postrace party. Truthfully, though, there’s no bad time for a runner to visit The Big Easy (okay, maybe August, when it’s a sauna).
For more on New Orleans’ vibrant running scene, pick up a copy of the January/February 2017 issue of Runner’s World at your local newsstand. And be sure to check out the entire Run This City collection.
Start
Bartholomew Street Parking Lot: This parking lot, free during park hours (6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) marks the eastern edge of the 1.4-mile, 20-acre Crescent Park, which was completed in 2015 as one of the city’s marquee post-Katrina redevelopment efforts. A running path stretches the length of the park, which hugs the Mississippi River and passes along open green spaces, gardens, and old wharves repurposed as public gathering spaces.
Mile 0.3
The Rusty Rainbow: Formally the Piety Street Bridge, this striking and heavily oxidized arch, designed by renowned architect David Adjaye, connects another free parking lot with the park. It’s worth the quick diversion—and quads workout—to step off the running path and march up to its peak and take in the view of the Piety Wharf, meandering Mississippi, and city skyline.
Mile 1.4
Mandeville Wharf: Here marks the western end of Crescent Park, and also its lone restroom. The wharf’s broad overhang creates a cavernous shaded space popular for workout groups, including Move Ya Brass’s cardio dance class on Tuesday evenings. To leave the park and carry on, take the towering set of stairs (or elevator) that go over the Mississippi River floodwall and onto the North Peters Street sidewalk.
Mile 1.6
French Market: Continue along the North Peters Street sidewalk—there’s a long crosswalk at Elysian Fields Avenue and a shorter one at Barracks Street—and you’ll soon reach the French Market. (Stay on the sidewalk to avoid foot traffic.) It’s the oldest public market in America dating back to 1791 and consists of six open-air blocks of craft and food stands, ending at Cafe Du Monde, famous for its café au lait and beignets. Take note: after the first row of stands as you’re coming from Crescent Park there’s a water fountain and public restroom; the latter opens at 7 a.m.
Mile 1.8
Joan of Arc: When North Peters reaches St. Philip Street turn left to get back to the riverfront, but not before admiring this gilded statue of the French heroine, which came to New Orleans as a gift from French President General Charles de Gaulle in 1964.
Mile 2
Jackson Square: The pedestrian pathway here, which marks the beginning of Woldenberg Park, traces the bend in the river along which the city was first founded. To the right as you run is Jackson Square, the historic center of town, marked by the towering spires of St. Louis Cathedral. If there’s a place to pause and take a selfie, it’s here.
Mile 2.5
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas: The riverfront path of the 16-acre Woldenberg Park continues past the Steamboat Natchez (pay attention and you might hear its circus-like pipe organs) and an array of sculptures and artwork until it reaches the bold azure facade of the aquarium at its terminus. Feel free to cool off with a pass through the splash fountain just outside the aquarium before heading back the way you came.
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