Louisiana fun runs
23 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Louisiana.
Food and drink: 8 · Holiday and seasonal: 8 · Iconic tradition: 3 · Quirky format: 2 · Novelty course: 1 · Mud and obstacle: 1
- Iconic tradition Courir à la Musique 8K at Festival Acadiens et Créoles New 8K in Girard Park on the opening morning of Festival Acadiens et Créoles, Lafayette's Cajun and Creole music festival.
- Food and drink National Fried Chicken Festival 5K Run/Walk Lakefront 5K that finishes at the gates of the National Fried Chicken Festival, with a registration tier that includes festival entry.
- Food and drink Rice Festival 5K Run Starts from the main platform of Crowley's International Rice Festival in the self-styled Rice Capital of America.
- Holiday and seasonal Krewe of BOO! New Orleans Zombie Run A zombie-infested 2-mile run through the Warehouse District on the morning of the Krewe of BOO! Halloween parade, with makeup artists and Big Easy Roller Derby on hand.
- Holiday and seasonal Light the Way 5K Night race run in laps entirely under the famous Natchitoches Christmas Festival lights along the Cane River riverbank.
- Holiday and seasonal NOAC Turkey Day Race Founded in 1907, it bills itself as the fifth-oldest continuous race in the United States and starts and finishes inside Tad Gormley Stadium.
- Holiday and seasonal Downtown Christmas Run Weeknight three-loop 5K through tens of thousands of Christmas lights and decorations in downtown Shreveport.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run – New Orleans, LA New Orleans’s stop on the Arthritis Foundation’s national holiday run, where teams turn out in festive costumes and jingle bells to raise money for arthritis research.
- Food and drink The Louisiana Marathon Race weekend built around a two-day finish festival at the State Capitol where bibs carry tickets for gumbo and jambalaya.
- Food and drink Shamrockin' Run New Orleans (Guinness Challenge 5K) Its Guinness Challenge 5K makes runners stop at each kilometer to drink a 6-ounce Guinness, with cases of Guinness for the fastest drinkers.
- Iconic tradition LCMC Health Crescent City Classic Easter-weekend 10K from the Superdome through the French Quarter to City Park where elites share the road with walkers in bunny suits pulling coolers.
- Quirky format New Orleans Red Dress Run Thousands of runners of every gender in red dresses jog a secret two-mile hash route through the Marigny and French Quarter with drinks in hand.
- Novelty course CCC Bridge Run The only chance all year to run across the Mississippi on the Crescent City Connection, rising more than 300 feet at sunset toward the downtown skyline.
- Iconic tradition Courir du Festival 5K Saturday-morning 5K through downtown Lafayette during Festival International de Louisiane, finishing to live music, food and beer.
- Food and drink Happy's 5000 & Beer Run Downtown summer-evening 5K followed by a competitive beer mile and a costumed non-competitive beer-mile heat.
- Food and drink Jambalaya Festival 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run Opening race of the Jambalaya Capital of the World's festival, with free jambalaya for every finisher at the after-party.
- Holiday and seasonal Mardi Gras 10K/5K Carnival-season race that ends with king cake, beer and a costume contest and leads straight into Jefferson Parish's Family Gras and the Krewe of Mad Hatters parade.
- Holiday and seasonal Mardi Gras Madness 5K Runs down the Children's Mardi Gras parade route on Ryan Street just before the parade rolls, with king cakes and boudin at the finish and a king-and-queen crowning for the winners.
- Food and drink Ponchatoula Jaycees Strawberry Strut Strawberry Capital race where finishers are served homemade strawberry shortcake during Ponchatoula's Strawberry Festival weekend.
- Food and drink Run for the Peaches 5K Opens the Louisiana Peach Festival, with custom peach baskets for the overall winners.
- Quirky format San Fermin in Nueva Orleans – Running of the Bulls Pamplona parody where thousands in white with red sashes are chased through downtown by roller-derby skaters in horned helmets wielding plastic bats.
- Mud and obstacle Spillway Classic Trail Run A muddy 3-mile off-road course called 'The Gauntlet' inside the Bonnet Carré Spillway flood-control structure.
- Holiday and seasonal St. Patrick's Day Classic Two miles down Metairie Road on the actual parade route, starting outside Gennaro's bar, just before the St. Patrick's Day parade rolls.