Rock and Roll New Orleans Marathon Weekend Part 1: DetermiNation Team Brunch

I know, I know…it’s been FOUR months! What’s wrong with me?  Why even bother now?

Well, I knew in the back of my mind that this recap from start to finish would be very time consuming to put together, so I procrastinated…and procrastinated….and procrastinated some more. I apologize, especially to those who emailed and asked about this recap.

Since this was my 2nd Full Marathon AND I raised money (with your help) to run the race with the American Cancer Society’s DetermiNation Team, it definitely warrants a recap to me! :0)

If you didn’t see my race recap on Claim Your Journey, check it out here.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Jason and I decided to leave on Saturday morning to drive into New Orleans. The DetermiNation weekend schedule included a Team Brunch for noon.

We made it – and we stayed in the ACS DetermiNation host hotel! :0)

The DoubleTree!

Our room was ready upon check in, so we dropped off our bags, then headed to the meeting area to check in!

List of DetermiNation events for the day.

Socialization time prior to the brunch…

We ran into a few fellow teammates - Ariel and Garrett!

Team Brunch

I’m not going to lie – the food was “just ok”….nothing special or spectacular.

 

My favorite part?

Dessert! Good old traditional New Orleans Bread Pudding!

I loved how they incorporated the “Happy Birthday” theme into the table decor! Nice touch! :0)

After we ate, we heard from several guest speakers – one of them being Claim Your Journey’s very own Brandon Williams! He did a spectacular job and spoke about his running journey and tied it in with a family member of his who battled cancer.

 

I loved the quotes from the video that played throughout the brunch. Very inspiring! :0)

 

All of the survivors in the room were asked to stand – it was amazing to see how many survivors were also running this race! Major kudos to them! 

Katie and Erin! Two fabulous teammates! :0)

After the brunch, we walked together as a team to the Expo, then broke up to shop!!

Up next: The Expo and Singlet Decorating Party!