There will be road closures this weekend in downtown Lafayette and the reason for those closures is kind of a tradition in these parts. It's the Big Pete's Classic 8k road race. While this gathering of the weakened knees is a fall tradition there are some very important changes you need to be aware of for this year's event.

Probably the biggest change will be the location of the event. It will not be at Pete's on Johnston Street. This year the course covers 8k. To those of us who refuse to acknowledge the metric system, that's 4.97 miles or basically five miles. And the course will take runners on a journey in and around Downtown Lafayette.

The epicentre of all the Big Pete's fun this Saturday morning will be Lafayette's Parc San Souci. It's where you'll get to sign in or do your race day registration. You can even do your race packet pickup at Parc San Souci but event organizers would appreciate it if you did your packet pickup this afternoon (Friday) at Geaux Run by Fleet Feet. That business is located in the Oil Center at 906 Harding Street.

Now, we did mention that the route will be confined to the downtown area and that will mean some street closures. First, here's a look at the route compliments of the Cajun Road Runners Club. 

Cajun Roadrunners via Google Maps
Cajun Roadrunners via Google Maps
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Here's how the route will affect motorists who need to get in and around the downtown area during the event. You can look for road and lane closures on the following roadways between 8 am and 10 am on Saturday morning.

These closures will affect the 100 block of Polk Street, the 100-600 blocks of West Congress, the 700-900 block of Jefferson, the 100-300 block of Convent, that 700-1000 block of Lafayette, and the 100 block of Taylor Street.

The race route will begin at Parc San Souci and then proceed to West Congress. Runners will then proceed through St John, St. Landry, St. Mary, Girard Park Circle and through the Freetown Neighborhoods. The race will conclude at Parc San Souci.

Cajun Road Runners
Cajun Road Runners
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The Big Pete's 8k is also the RRCA 8k State Championship race and will kick off the Cajun Road Runners Club Triple Crown Challenge. That challenge features three great local races, the aforementioned Big Pete's Classic, the Cajun Cup, and the Al Comeaux LA-10.

I think the weather is going to be about as good as it can be for running in South Louisiana early Saturday morning. I would advise using some Body Glide on those sensitive area that might get chaffed a bit. Yes, I am including the nipples too. There is nothing like cool temperatures and sweaty runners to lead to an incredible outbreak of bloody nipples. Trust me, it's gonna happen.

Oh, and since you won't want to walk or run anywhere else today, why not take a nice drive in the beautiful fall weather?

10 Must-Drive Roads in Acadiana

 

 

 

 

 

 

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