The Rock 'n' Roll race you may remember, with its St. Charles Avenue streetcar tracks and Lakeshore Drive finish, is gone; the organizers pulled out of the city after 2022. What you can run instead is the brand-new New Orleans Marathon on November 14, 2026, starting at 7:30 am outside the New Orleans Museum of Art under the live oaks of City Park. The course heads along Bayou St. John, where the water smells faintly of mud and magnolia, out to the Lake Pontchartrain seawall and back to a finish in Roosevelt Mall renamed 'Mardi Gras Mall' for the day. It is as flat as a marathon gets, with a generous seven-hour limit and live music on the course. As an inaugural event there is no history to lean on, so treat the first year as an adventure rather than a sure thing.
Starts at the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park, passes Bayou St. John to the Lakefront on Lake Pontchartrain, and returns to finish in Roosevelt Mall (renamed 'Mardi Gras Mall' for the day) with the party at Tad Gormley Stadium; the organizers call every course flat and fast.
Closes 2026-10-31. New Orleans Marathon: $150 marathon (regular $190), $130 half, $50 5K, $350 relay; prices rise after October 31, 2026 at 11:59 pm CDT. All races on Saturday, November 14, 2026; 5K at 6:30 am, other distances at 7:30 am. Register ↗
- Ironman Group announced in September 2022 that it was cancelling all future Rock 'n' Roll running events in New Orleans after disputes with the city over routing and police staffing. ↗
- The New Orleans marathon lineage dates to 1965; Rock 'n' Roll took it over and ran it through 2022. ↗
- The new New Orleans Marathon on November 14, 2026 is organized by Premier Event Management in partnership with New Orleans & Company and has a 7-hour time limit. ↗
- The new course runs from the New Orleans Museum of Art to a finish in Roosevelt Mall, with a USATF-certified, ultra-flat route. ↗
Checked 2026-10-13. Always confirm on the official site before booking travel.