⏵ Course guide · New Orleans, Louisiana
The New Orleans Ultramarathon and Half sends 50 Miler, 50K, and Half Marathon runners on an open city-streets route starting at Jackson Square and finishing at Second Line Brewing, roads NOT closed for the race. I will walk you through the course and navigation setup first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a real open-road ultra, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official UltraSignup registration page. Check the current year's exact route and cutoffs before you commit; the course can shift slightly year to year.
The 50K and 50 Miler start at Jackson Square in the French Quarter, the Half Marathon starts separately at Louisiana Running + Walking Co, and all three distances finish together at Second Line Brewing.
Roads are not shut down for this race. You will navigate by spray-painted arrows at almost every intersection, a Strava route sent with your registration confirmation, and turn-by-turn instructions in Excel format. Organizers flag that the route sometimes changes slightly close to race day, so check your email for updates before you run rather than relying on a route you memorized weeks earlier.
Louisiana Running + Walking Co, roughly mile 15 for the 50K and 50 Miler and the Half Marathon's start line, has become the unofficial mid-race meetup for runners, crew, pacers, and local running friends. Expect a real party atmosphere here, food, drinks, and cheering, alongside the actual aid station function.
With no road closures, part of your "pace" here includes extra caution and awareness at every intersection, not just raw effort management.
Because roads stay open to traffic, plan to slow down and look both ways at every intersection rather than running on autopilot. A race-time calculator can help you set a realistic pace target for your chosen distance, but build in the reality that a genuinely careful urban ultra runs a bit slower than the same effort on a closed course or trail.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Late October in New Orleans is usually milder than summer, but heat and humidity can still be real factors along an open, fully exposed city route.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and keep sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range depending on conditions. Aid stations carry gels, hydration mix, gatorade, coke products, and real food, and the mid-race stop at Louisiana Running + Walking Co is a good place to fully reset before the second half. Running through a city also means you pass countless shops, restaurants, and gas stations along the way as a backup, though your official aid plan should not depend on them.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight and your goal time with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness and this open, urban New Orleans route. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for sustained city-street pacing, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
This is an open, urban road ultra through New Orleans city streets, starting at Jackson Square and finishing at Second Line Brewing. Roads are NOT closed for the race, which is the biggest thing to understand before you sign up: you are running real traffic at real intersections the whole way, navigating by spray-painted arrows and a provided Strava route rather than course marshals. The distance itself, 50K or 50 Miler on flat New Orleans streets, is approachable, but the open-course format demands real situational awareness.
No, and the race is explicit about this: it is an OPEN course, roads will not be shut down, so use extreme caution, especially at busy intersections. Navigation relies on spray-painted arrows marking the route (including at almost every intersection), a Strava route emailed with your registration, and turn-by-turn instructions in Excel format. The organizers note the route sometimes changes slightly close to race day, so check for an updated route before you run.
Late October in New Orleans is usually milder than summer but can still run warm and humid. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and keep sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range depending on the day. Aid stations are fully stocked with gels, hydration mix, gatorade, and real food, and the mid-race stop at Louisiana Running + Walking Co (roughly mile 15) has become an unofficial party for runners, crew, and pacers, a good spot to reset before the second half. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The 50K cutoff is 2 PM (8 hours from the 6 AM start), the 50 Miler cutoff is 6 PM (12 hours), and the Half Marathon cutoff is also 2 PM from its 8 AM start. If you go past the cutoff, the race asks that you notify an aid station captain or race director, since aid stations will be shut down at their listed cutoff times.
Yes. You can move up in distance (paying the difference between what you registered for and the 50 Miler) at any point up to the start, or move down by stopping at the 50K finish point and notifying a race official. Once you continue past the 50K mark toward the 50 Miler, though, you risk a DNF if you do not finish the full 50 miles, so decide before that split, not after.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/new-orleans-ultramarathon-and-half">The The New Orleans Ultramarathon and Half course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/new-orleans-ultramarathon-and-half" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="The New Orleans Ultramarathon and Half course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and rules come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.