Get Your Pardi On!
7 Jan
Get Your Pardi On!
Launch the New Year with Mardi Pardi triathlon training.
Good times roll in fun-filled, healthy event.
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., Jan. 9, 2012–New Year’s resolutions are typically long on exercise and other healthy choices but short on good times. Combining both health and fun, the upcoming annual Mardi Pardi Eco Adventure 5k Run and Triathlon will let you have your king cake and eat it too during this carnival season.
This year’s event has morphed into a music festival as well as a race. It promises a full weekend of New Orleans musical talent, as well as running, kayaking and biking served up with plenty of great, local food, beer and, of course, a Mardi Gras parade! Come out and set a personal goal to run, paddle and let the good times roll!
The fun starts with a pre-Pardi Friday night at the Mockingbird Cafe in Bay St. Louis with music coming straight from the French Quarter to you. There will be more New Orleans sounds and plenty of great food at the Depot in Bay St. Louis during the post-race Pardi. The 100 Men Hall plans to announce a Jazz Fest regular for a special Saturday night performance. Stay tuned for more news on the music front.
Race Details
The race will start at 9 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 18, at the Washington St. Pier on S. Beach Blvd. in Bay St. Louis, Miss. The triathlon is a 2-mile kayak in the calm waters of the Mississippi Sound along the Gulf of Mexico paired with a 5k run and 12-mile bike ride along the beach road from Bay St. Louis to Waveland. The race can be completed either as a 5K run or as a triathlon solo or relay race. See www.MardiPardiAdventure.org for details and to register.
Participants are encouraged to wear their Mardi Gras “racing best” for the Mardi Pardi multi-prize costume contest on the day of the race. And, racers can attend the Pass Parade on Sunday where they will have a reserved location from which to watch the parade.
Registration for the event is $25 for the individual 5K run, $40 for the individual triathlon and $50 per three-person, triathlon relay team (early registration rates). In addition to the race itself, the cost includes food, beverages and music at both the pre-race and post-race parties and a specially designed 100% organic cotton race t-shirt. Unique Mardi Gras-themed awards will be given to the winners in multiple age and gender categories. For more information about the race or to register online, visit www.MardiPardiAdventure.org or http://www.gulfcoastrunningclub.org.
Kayaks are available for rental in advance of the race. Contact Bay Breeze at (228) 466-3333 or Todd Read of Da Beach House at islandbayoutfitters@yahoo.com or 228.547.0085. For race questions, contact Leonard Vergunst of the Gulf Coast Running Club at director@gulfcoastrunningclub.org.
“Last year’s Mardi Pardi, the first ever, was fantastic,” said Marcie Baria, a member of the LOAM board of directors and one of the event organizers. “We are thrilled that we can offer a triathlon this year and are so excited about our great music line-up. It is going to be a rockin’ event and a great way for everybody to celebrate Mardi Gras. We have something for everyone.”
About Hancock County, Mississippi
Hancock County, Mississippi, is a unique, Gulf Coast eco-tourism destination with public beaches and piers, fishing, boating, water sports and miles of public greenways and blueways that open its rivers, shoreline and marshes to hikers, runners, bikers, paddlers and birdwatchers from across the region and around the world.
Proceeds from the Mardi Pardi race will benefit the Live Oak Alliance of Mississippi (LOAM), a nonprofit environmental group created in Hancock County, Mississippi, to foster economic prosperity and enhance the area’s quality of life by coordinating community-wide green programs and nature tourism. LOAM is a fund of the Hancock Community Development Foundation, a 501c3 non profit charity, and the donation less benefits received is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information, visit www.liveoakalliance.com.
Race Sponsors
The Mardi Pardi Eco Adventure Race weekend is currently sponsored by the Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, Peoples Bank, AdLib Communications, Bay Breeze, Da Beach House, Sea Coast Echo, Gulf Coast Running Club, Rainbow Water, Rex Distributors, Silver Slipper, Southern Graphics, Total Body and WLOX.
The organizers of the Mardi Pardi Eco Adventure Race invite local restaurants to showcase a dish at the after-race party. Individuals and businesses can still sponsor the event through monetary and in-kind donations and will be recognized during the race events and in all attendant publicity. If you would like to donate a dish or become a sponsor, please contact Stephen Burrell at 228.342.5660 or asjburrell@yahoo.com or Marcie Fyke Baria at marcie.baria@gmail.com.
Media contacts:
Marcie Fyke Baria
601.918.0658
marcie.baria@gmail.com.
Lisa Eveleigh
919.265.4526
Lgeveleigh@gmail.com
Jenny Bell
228.342.2503
adlib@bellsouth.net
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