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.

Reunion On The Bayou

In mid-May I joined the Marathon Maniacs Club, becoming one of the members who have completed multiple marathons in a given time period (read about it HERE). One of the perks of the club is that you get discounts and recognition at races across the country. A couple weeks ago it was announced that a local race would be welcoming the Maniacs to reunite in 2014, and of course the term "Lagniappe" is being redefined by the Louisiana Marathon for this event. The added bonuses being offered at the race this coming January are so numerous and exciting, I can't wait for race weekend to get here!

Marathon Maniac #7105

He's a maniac, maniac on the floor. And he's running like he's never run before.

Ok, so marathon running isn't anything like "Flashdance," but the song gets stuck in my head every time I have a discussion about the  Marathon Maniacs Club. The Maniacs are a group of die-hard marathoners that apply for admission and join after they achieve a certain criteria of marathon completions. This is a group of people who decided to embrace Einstein's theory that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." However, they clearly don't want different results, and ultimately look forward to the same outcome.

I achieved my Maniac status a couple years ago when I ran 9 marathons in 9 different states in a 365 day period. It was only after Karen applied for her Half Fanatic status last week that I decided to claim my spot in the Maniac hierarchy. I'm so glad she spurned my decision to go ahead and join the asylum of crazies.

The group is well represented at marathons across the country with members wearing the bright yellow and red colors during the run, planned and unplanned meet-ups occur regularly before, during and after races, and a "reunion" race happens annually for Maniacs to meet others with the same mindset (or lack thereof). Its going to be fun to meet other maniacs at upcoming races as we attempt to improve our streak and climb the ranks of madness.

My Maniac membership number is #7105, and you can now refer to me as such. You never know, I may even respond!