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☰
Mississippi Blues Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Mississippi Blues Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 260 [displaying comments 121 to 131]
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P. L. from Maine
(1/9/2011)
"Wonderful people make up for boring course." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Everyone did a great job. This race is well organized, with friendly road marshals, great medals, etc. The course, on the other hand, is kind of boring, especially in the last 8 miles. | |
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J. J. from Jackson, MS
(1/9/2011)
"Super Friendly; Hard but Fun" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Mississippi Blues Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I love the size of the race; I think I read that there were about 2,000 between the half and the full. The expo is small, but easy (almost no lines). Getting to the race and starting is also easy. No marathon is perfect, but this one is really nice. I listed a few positives and negatives below, but don't let the negatives scare you away. I will definitely run this again. THANK YOU to everyone involved! Good: -Governor Barbour was present at the start and the volunteers were wonderful throughout. -Great weather (I know this can change, as last year was really cold, but in general January in Mississippi has great running weather). -Very challenging course. It is hilly. Some certainly wouldn't consider this a positive, but there are enough flat courses out there,and this was nice. Difficult, but nice. -I know I repeat myself, but the best volunteers anywhere. Super friendly and helpful - just great people. Thank you. Bad: -There wasn't much crowd support. Most cheering was from volunteers and a few neighborhood associations. -Need more police/volunteers at some of the intersections. All of the big ones were covered with police, and most drivers were very understanding, but a larger volunteer presence would have been good. -I know the organizers can't control everyone, but please try harder to encourage slow people to start near the end. I am slow (4:30 marathon), but it still took about a mile of zigging/zagging around walkers. Perhaps have a separate start for walkers or for the half-marathon. Maybe just 10 minutes later or something similar. -As mentioned by another, PLEASE provide a map of the course at the expo. And the online map has horrible resolution; please improve that for next year. | |
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J. R. from Bainbridge Island, WA
(1/9/2011)
"Great experience overall" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The expo was small, but never to be missed. I went back a second time just to listen to the rolling cast of singers and bands performing. Awesome. Super friendly people of Jackson, both around town and along the course. Their encouragement was certainly appreciated by this runner. It was especially cool to have the governor at the race start. Host hotel (Marriott) and all main hotels are very close, but quite rigid on noon checkout times (come on, guys). They worked hard to accommodate runners' diets for race-evening and breakfast, soliciting input from runners on their needs. You can't do much about the rolling course, but some of the streets were pretty pitted/rutted and I slowed my pace to take more care. "Moderately challenging" is how I'd describe it. Overall, I think this is a must-do race. I'm thinking of signing up again in '12 to spend more days in Jackson! | |
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E. B. from Madison, MS
(1/9/2011)
"Southern Hospitality!" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the 2011 half marathon and truly enjoyed the experience. The course is hilly and challenging but fun. The start was well organized and the finish line was easily negotiated. Great swag in the goody bag (harmonica, Elvis glasses, t-shirt, CD of the blues). The finisher's medal is classy and substantial. Lots of drinks, food, and fruit at the finish tent. Blues bands along the course and at the finish were a nice touch. | |
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K. R. from Atlanta, Georgia
(1/9/2011)
"Hilly, but a very enjoyable time" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Kudos to the organizers and to the community. Everything from the friendliness of the community to the party afterward to the awesome medal made us ALMOST forget about the brutal hills - one after another, after another.... | |
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g. r. from Atlanta
(1/8/2011)
"This course will have you singing the blues..." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 First off, I want to the volunteers for doing an amazing job marshaling the course and traffic. Now to the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good: Most downtown hotels are within walking distance of the start/finish. If you stay at host hotel (Marriott), you will be just 3-4 short blocks away. The hotel has a nice restaurant that offers special dinner options to runners and is open early for breakfast too. They also offer special rates. I highly recommend you stay at the host hotel. Moreover, the finisher's medal is huge if you like that sort of thing. The bad: Although race director does a good job showcasing the city and some very nice neighborhoods, the roads are pretty bad. The camber is tough in some parts. I felt like I was running sideways at times. The food at the end was blah.... The ugly: Traffic... needs to be improved. Overall, it's ok but it's not great. If you are a 50-Stater, I'd recommend this one for MS. Also, this course is not for the faint of heart! Very challenging... | |
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A. S. from FL, USA
(1/8/2011)
"Great fan support, great medal, course is tough" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Nice, small race with great support from the locals. I must have been told 30 times during the race, "Thank you for coming." Organization was solid, the race started on time, and the expo was small but the great volunteers made it smooth. Also, a fantastic finisher's medal and the governor came to the start of the race. The course was tough - rolling hills the whole way (none were that bad, but they were constant and wore you out). Here's what they could improve: -cotton race t-shirt was disappointing -no maps at the expo and the map on the website was hard to follow -they used chips instead of d-tag -no organized pasta dinner. There were plenty of people staying at the Marriott if they would have had it there -roads in MS are terrible (can't do anything about that) but there was a mile or so on onramps to highway -half marathoners who were walking clogged up the last few miles (although they were great at cheering me on) | |
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K. R. from Atlanta, GA
(4/12/2010)
"Frigid Marathon - Warm Experience" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 As most marathoners, we were looking for the 10-day cold snap to break the day before the race. Instead, with a 17 F start, the race started off with a warm sun and no breeze to speak of... so the first 5-6 miles went well (the year before, some of the local racers told me the start temp was in the mid-70's - so the "average" of 47 F for Jackson in mid-January, makes sense... just watch out for the standard deviation). It clouded up and a breeze kicked in around mile 8 and for the next 15 miles - so the sweat started to solidify. BUT, I can't adequately describe how friendly the race monitors and traffic police were! - the best effort of my 25+ marathons. Every intersection was staffed by a volunteer who greeted you and thanked you for coming!! (I wouldn't have blamed them for being home in a warm bed!) The course route was above average for a metro run and the traffic control was superb! Rest stops were well spaced and staffed (brrr, it was cold for them) - but they made you feel welcome and special). The Marriott, a few blocks from the start/finish, accommodated the marathon runners and allowed for late post-race departures. I'd recommend this race to anyone. Nice JOB, BCBS of Mississippi and the Mississippi Track Club! | |
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J. G. from Thousand Oaks, CA
(4/11/2010)
"Well organized despite freezing weather" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Wonderful event despite temps in the single digits with the wind chill. Layering worked well for this So Cal native. Enthusiastic welcoming volunteers and spectators showed their true southern hospitality in such adverse weather conditions. Great expo with wonderful music, best swag (guitar medal, blues tee-shirt, engraved harmonica) and deals on apparel of any marathon I've been to. Loved exploring the delta blues towns and Civil War sites (Vicksburg) nearby. Intimidating hills last five miles. Thanks, Mississippi. | |
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L. T. from Nashville, TN
(2/12/2010)
"Definitely cold, but a great race" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I didn't notice the hills, but I think that may be because I was freezing my butt off. I had my worst marathon clock time ever, but an awesome time on the course. All the volunteers and police were great. Only 2 bands showed. Jackson State University drum corps, you rock! This would have been an exceptional marathon if it were 50 degrees, like it usually is. Do not stay at the Roberts-Walthall. Very bad experience. |
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