The Barathon and me: A couple of survivors

I'm happy to report that another New Orleans institution, the Tchoupitoulas Barathon, has survived Katrina. And I'm even happier to report that I survived the 2006 edition — albeit with a personal-slowest time of 1 hour, 15 minutes. My goals were (a) to finish; and (b) to finish without injury — I hit both.

For those unacquainted with this event, here's the skinny: Twenty-four years ago, there was a running club known as the Tchoupitoulas Social Aid & Athletic Club. The club's Big Chief, Ron Brinkman, organized a six-bar, six-beer, six-mile drinking-and-running race as a club event. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Tchoupitoulas is history, but the Barathon survives, bigger and better than ever.

Unlike 2004 and 2005, I didn't take any pictures. But my wife, Suzanne, did. You can browse among the thumbnail images by clicking here, or view a slideshow by clicking here.