It’s not uncommon for Baton Rouge residents to enjoy a jog around the  lakes or a run along the levee, but it’s not often that run lasts for 126.2
miles. 
For ambitious runners, Denver Benton co-created the perfect event for those up to the challenge. The Rouge-Orleans team relay and ultramarathon is a three-day race from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. 
Benton started the race after running a similar 200-mile course from Maryland to Washington, D.C., but he has designed this race’s route to follow along the levee from one city to the next. 
“There’s almost no other 100-plus mile course anywhere in the country where that’s even possible,” Benton said. “It’s a really cool thing that we’ve got.” 
This year’s race begins on Feb. 13 with the first wave of runners beginning at 8 p.m. and will end on Feb. 15 around 2 p.m., which means runners will power through the cursed Friday the 13th, Valentine’s Day and straight into New Orleans’ Mardi Gras festivities in Audubon Park on Sunday.
When registration opens, participants have two different options to choose from — the team relay or the ultramarathon. Team relay runners can put together a group of two, three or six runners to take turns running over the three-day event, while ultramarathon runners tackle the entire route solo. 
“They don’t stop,” Benton said. “One of the sins of running that kind of distance is you just don’t stop because as soon as you do, there’s no way that you’ll start back up again.”
Out of the 340 runners registered, 40 chose to run solo, which means they will potentially run 42 hours only stopping to rehydrate and eat. They are allowed to run with a crew to aid them along the way, but 11 individuals are running uncrewed and will carry everything they plan to use on their backs. 
“You start to hallucinate at certain miles,” Benton said. “It’s bizarre to watch these people go through that. They are a different breed of humans.”
The run may be taxing, but the view makes up for it. The first 55 miles of the route are more rural with the occasional factory or chemical plant. Farther ahead are plantation homes and eventually, a residential area. The race will take runners all the way to Magazine Street in New Orleans, where they will have about half a mile to the finish line. 
“In the first half of the race, you are way out in the middle of nowhere,” Benton said. “It’s nice to have the River Road right there next to you, but you’re out there. There’s nothing but you and that levee — the road and the river.”
One runner who will experience all the effects of the ultramarathon is child and family studies junior Alissa Draper. She moved to Baton Rouge after serving in the military for the past six years to be closer to her family and eventually earn her degree.
But Draper isn’t running the race solo. Starting at mile 55, Draper will be pushing a little girl with a sensory processing disorder in honor of Ainsley’s Angels of America. 
Ainsley’s Angels’ mission, as said in its mission statement, is “to build awareness about America’s special needs community through inclusion in all aspects of life.” The organization was founded because of Ainsley herself, who suffers from a disorder affecting her nervous system. 
The organization doesn’t have a chapter in Baton Rouge yet, but they recently established an ambassador in the area. 
“I asked if I could have the privilege of taking her for her first marathon,” Draper said. “She’ll be riding in the marathon until mile 80. Her family will come out this Saturday, and hopefully, we’ll get more people involved in this
organization.”
The Rouge-Orleans was also recently mentioned on an episode of “NCIS: New Orleans.” This mention was exciting for Benton said he hopes to involve celebrities in the race one day.
“Louisiana has the movie scene going on right now,” Benton said. “That’s something we’re going to try to do for next year, whether it’s a documentary or a team of celebs.”
He said the event takes months of planning and navigating red tape, but it’s worth it in the end. 
“It really highlights some of the most important features of this part of our state,” Benton said. “Next year will be a year where we get a lot of community involvement from everybody in Baton Rouge on down because it’s a cool thing to watch.”
You can reach Greta Jines on Twitter @TheGretaJines.