BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) has a team participating in the Louisiana Marathon on Jan. 19 and invites veterans to join them.

“Health and fitness is something that service members are accustomed to and we encourage all veterans to be a part of our show of force during the 3.1-mile race,” said LDVA Secretary Joey Strickland who will be leading the veteran fitness charge during the Louisiana Marathon.

The Louisiana Marathon was established in 2012 with a 2-fold mission. The first is to encourage our community to embrace a more active lifestyle and help us become a healthier, fitter state. The second is to be a major racing event on the winter road racing calendar known as a unique running festival that celebrates passion for the sport of running combined with Louisiana culture.

Any veteran wishing to participate with the 2019 5k Louisiana Marathon LDVA Veteran Team still has time to sign up. The Louisiana Marathon $40.00 winter rate registration fee includes a t-shirt and access to Finish Fest. The Finish Festival is open to the public, but for access to food and beverages, you must have tickets, specific to that race-day. Each runner bib has tickets attached to the bottom and each ticket is good for one beverage or one taste of food.

Since this is an official Louisiana Marathon event, in order for veterans to be counted as part of our LDVA team, veterans need to individually register at The Louisiana Marathon, and then email: veteran@la.gov to confirm their registration and participation in the Louisiana Marathon. LDVA is attempting to gather the most miles completed as a department in Governor John Bel Edwards’ Healthy Louisiana Challenge among state agencies.

Veterans are encouraged to wear their branch of service hat and team member are encouraged to wear something patriotic on race day. The LDVA Veteran Team will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, in front of the Galvez Building, located at 602 North 5th Street in Baton Rouge. We will walk together to the starting line at the State Capitol in order to start the 5K race at 8:00 a.m. step off time. Geaux, LDVA!