It was a chilly morning in Bogalusa. 47 degrees at race time. Not a cloud in the sky, except for the occasional steam cloud from the paper mill. The race was a single loop which started and ended in Cassidy Park. It was a nice flat course, with one moderate hill to climb in mile two.  Good straight-aways at the start and end.  Also the course tracked the parade route for the Mardi Gras parade which followed the race, so there were plenty of spectators. There were nearly 50 runners/walkers. Traffic control was good except for a couple of  blocks where the runners ran amongst moving vehicles. No mishaps, though. Most runners are pretty good at dodging traffic. There were plenty of course monitors who did a great job pointing the way! 16-year-old Jordan Penton  was fastest overall, at 17:50. Pine Belt Pacer Hollie Ryder placed 2^nd in his age group, 36:57. Charles Jackson finished 7^th overall, and ran close to his PR, but didn’t place in his age group. (Charles was also excluded from the results, so I don’t know his time.) Apparently, 3 of the 6 guys ahead of him were in his age group. I ran a minute slower than my PR, but placed first in my age group anyway. (Hey, Charles! Sometimes it’s GOOD to be old!) Charles’ wife Audrey, was the fastest overall female, at  23:37. She got a huge trophy! I thought it might take two people to get it in the truck! Great party after the race! Plenty of fruit, and some fantastic sausage jambalaya.  The Bogalusa Rotary Club put on a great race! © Eric Weill