Two New Orleans Marathons Will Merge
Promoters have announced plans to merge the Mardi Gras Marathon and the Great Marathon 4 New Orleans into one “first class” marathon.
A non-profit corporation, the Great Marathon Assn., is being formed to produce the new marathon. The marathon may carry the name of Great Marathon 4 New Orleans and will be held Jan. 11, 1986.
The corporation will include the New Orleans Track Club, the New Orleans YMCA, Bob Ainsworth and C.J. Mouton. Neil Allen, senior vice president of the New Orleans YMCA, said the corporation’s purpose is to bring together “the key forces of road racing in New Orleans.”
“I think it’s in the best interest of all the runners to have one race,” said Mayo Emory, president of the NOTC, which organized the Mardi Gras Marathon. Participation in the Mardi Gras Marathon has fallen off since the course was taken off the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in 1984, he said.
Organizers also are planning a shorter race of approximately four miles.
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