Running in New Orleans

Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans

Whenever I travel, whether on business or for pleasure, I never forget to take along my running gear. While I enjoy running locally, it can get a bit stale and I always welcome the opportunity to try a new route.

French Quarter of New Orleans

Recently, I was in New Orleans for a conference and made a point of running there. Even though it was November, it was still plenty humid. My first run was down along the Mississippi River from Canal Street up toward the French Quarter and then back up the river to the facility where they store all of the Mardi Gras floats.

Streetcars Run Along St. Charles Avenue

My second run was the next morning and I decided to try a run up St. Charles Avenue toward the campus of Tulane University. This is a beautiful part of the city and the avenue is lined with stately homes that remind me of the houses along Monument Avenue in my hometown of Richmond. Running the sidewalk was difficult, because many of the large live oak trees that line the street have pushed up the sidewalks making for lots of tripping hazards. On my way back, I noticed that a lot of runners used the streetcar path. I decided to adopt that strategy and found it made for a much easier run. Just had to watch of the occasional oncoming streetcar.

New Orleans was a great city to run in. Based on my experience in the fall, I would not want to be running there in July or August.