Running News Daily

The Louisiana Marathon is expected to attract 8,000 runners over the Jan. 17-19 weekend

The projection for the 2020 event—which begins Jan. 17 with an expo at the Raising Cane’s River Center and continues Jan. 18-19 with a series of races downtown—is a significant jump from the early days of the Louisiana Marathon. It’s already a 183% increase from the inaugural event, which took place in 2012 and drew in 2,830 runners.

“It’s become the premier event,” says Pat Fellows, who helps organize the annual marathon. “People know what they’re getting—a great course and a great post-race party.”

Based on registrations to date and past statistics, runners will likely come to downtown Baton Rouge from nearly all 50 states and from as many as 10 countries. They’ll also bring with them an average of 1.75 additional people, swelling the potential economic impact even further.

Fellows declines to comment on anticipated revenues the weekend will generate. However, previous studies have shown the Louisiana Marathon generates between $2 million and $4 million in economic impact each year, spread among hotels, restaurants and other local attractions.

“We’ve sold out every downtown hotel every year,” Fellows says.

Some runners will arrive as early as the Wednesday before, while the majority will pour in that Thursday. 

Over the past couple of years, the event has steadily gained more runners after a downturn in attendance that took place at the 2017 marathon, when organizers’ marketing push was interrupted by the 2016 Baton Rouge floods. At its 2016 peak, the event attracted nearly 9,000 participants. 

In the meantime, marathon organizers are continuing a major marketing push that’s evolved over the years to include mostly social media promotions. Currently, they’re focused on getting the word out about the Saturday races, encouraging more people to register themselves and their children for the quarter-marathon, 5K and kids marathon, in particular. Meanwhile, the more publicized full- and half-marathons will take place Sunday.