February 2014 Preview

The month of February kicks off this Sunday (maybe?) with The Big Game in New York City. While there isn't any local representation at that snow ball fight up north, a big sporting event does hit a lot closer to home February 14th - 16th. The NBA brings All Star festivities to the New Orleans Arena and convention center, where the New Orleans Pelicans will be well represented in several events leading up to All Star Sunday night.

At month's end, the pre-Mardi Gras parades work NOLA in to a full on frenzy before Fat Tuesday, March 4th. Here's a list of February races that will keep you active before the debauchery of Carnival takes over all of our lives:

First Timer Tips: RnR NOLA

For many local runners, this Sunday’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and Marathon will be a first endurance race experience. The popularity of the RnR race series attracts athletes of all skill levels looking to take on a new challenge, and many of these runners haven’t tackled a race longer than the Crescent City Classic 10K. That doesn’t mean, however, that they will be any less successful come February 2nd.

If it’s your first time running 13.1, have you been wondering what to expect come race day? As a participant in the first four installments of the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon, I have a few tips that will come in handy before you get to the start line and eventually help you cross the finish:

TUNESday: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams

In honor of Pharrell's wins on Sunday night's Grammys telecast, I'm bringing back my TUNESday feature with his latest hit. Over the weekend he won awards for multiple collaborations, including his work on "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke and "Get Lucky" with Daft Punk; however, this new hit is a solo track that's sure to keep you moving and put a smile on your face.

Louisiana Marathon & 5K: The 2014 Recap

Rational thinking would tell most people that after returning from a five day trip, taking a weekend off to catch up on real life responsibilities is in order. When it comes to the endurance athletes and their racing schedule, rational thinking is thrown out the window.

After completing the Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge from January 9th – 12th, I decided that I couldn’t let those 48.6 miles complete my month of racing. The Louisiana Marathon was the following weekend, and after months of watching the social media leading up to the race, I knew I couldn’t miss out on another year of participation in this signature event.

Walt Disney World Marathon & Half: The 2014 Recap

In 2010 I ran my first Walt Disney World Half Marathon along with the Walt Disney World Marathon. The two races on back-to-back days combined to make the Goofy Challenge. At the time, it was an undertaking that I wanted to conquer as my next step in distance running. Little did I know that it would lead to a long-standing affinity for all events put on by runDisney, nor did I realize that I would complete 4 more Goofy Challenges in subsequent years.

Walt Disney World 5K & 10K: The 2014 Recap

The team over at runDisney keeps coming up with new and exciting twists to add to their events, and these elements get bigger and better with each passing year. For the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, the trend of adding a 10K race to the pre-existing distances continued. However, with the addition of the 10K, the bigger story was that the Dopey Challenge became officially sanctioned in the runDisney repertoire. Over four days, participants could sign up to participate in the 5K, the inaugural 10K, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, and the Walt Disney World Marathon. When registration came to a close back in April, nearly 7,000 runners had committed to the challenge. I was one of them.

TUNESday: 2013 Mashup by Robin Skouteris

The end of each year always calls for the best DJ's in the world to come up with a mashup of the previous year's top pop hits. I've previously featured these mashups on TUNESday with great reaction from the people who have checked them out.

January 2014 Preview

The New Year kicks off with a new race this weekend and continues with several mainstays on the NOLA running calendar. Traveling outside the parish lines is once again a great idea for those runners who are looking to tackle a new challenge.