Ran the Tupelo Marathon today and it was as advertised, a no-frills, tough, hilly event. The race was well organized and the staff was very helpful. I would highly recommend running this if you are a hardcore runner. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Tupelo, which actually opened at 3:30 AM for a pre-race breakfast buffet. Very nice.

I thought this race was great. Again, for people complaining of the heat and the dark... what else do you expect for a September marathon? I would prefer it start earlier so you do not catch the sun your last 7 miles or so.

Comments:

Organization: Great

Water stops: Water/Gatorade stops every two miles

Specatators: The water stop volunteers were the only ones. So if you need crowds to motivate you to run DON'T do this one.

Medal/T-shirt: They rock and I am definitely going to wear my GLOW IN THE DARK t-shirt.

Course: Back roads out and back along country roads with mild hills.

Time: Started in the dark which was fine with me because it let you beat the heat. The roads are good roads (not sure what people are talking about when mentioning potholes). Do not notice any hills until it gets light.

Food: Beer and McDonalds was great. Nothing like 3 beers to end a race.

Awesome race. Would definitely do it again. It is in September so it is humid and warm. :)

For all the wimps crying about the heat and the dark, stay home! This is what marathoning is all about with a sense of humor. And god bless the Ice Fairy (a member of the 50 States & DC marathon club) for the ice along the way. This is not an easy marathon, but after doing 51 marathons, it is one of my favorites. A great course, organization, and post-race party. The medal is awesome and people were fighting over the t-shirts. It is HOT and HUMID, but that makes it even more awesome when you finish. I'll be back!

This was by far the toughest marathon I have run. It starts in the dark, on pot-holed country roads, with someone yelling go. It is an out and back with sparse water stops. It is humid before the sun comes up and hot and humid after. The out-and-back was mitigated by running the out in the dark. I ran the last 6 miles without sweating (none left in me) and I drank a lot along the way, just not enough stops. It definitely made me proud of my medal and shirt. I wear the shirt frequently.

If you train in the summer in the South for a marathon, you know you are a die hard runner. I ran this race about 5 minutes slower this year than last, and the only difference is that the sun was not as bright, but it felt more humid (of course I could have also been in worse shape). I stashed a couple of power gels this year - which I needed - and would recommend others do the same. Ditto on one more water stop at the end of the race. Three miles to the finish in as much of a sprint as one could muster left me woobly-legged as I crossed the finish. I would also like to see some type of pasta dinner for the out-of-town runners. A little camaraderie before the race for anyone brave enough to run this one would be welcome. Maybe I will get brave enough to run it again.

Barely Brave in Birmingham

This was my first marathon and I finished, which was my goal. The humidity was high, but the early start helped with the heat. A flashlight would be useful early. The rolling hills made it challenging. The course is over country roads, with no real outstanding sights other than the sunrise, and you finish in a store parking lot. Low frills with almost no spectators. The T-shirt and medal are great. They could use one more water stop before mile 3 and after mile 23. The post party and the overall atmosphere made this lots of fun.

This was my first marathon and I had way more fun then I thought I would. The course does have hills, but I trianed for it in the foothills of North Carolina, so I hardly noticed them. I also took advantage of every water stop and had a PowerBar stash on me. I came in 21 minutes faster then I had planned, came in 37th overall, and loved every step. The volunteers and organizers were great and did a fine job. The map of the course left something to be desired, but it did the job (we just had to turn around a few times while driving it). The t-shirt was excellent and was one of the reasons I picked this marathon to be my first. The pizza and beer after the race were an added bonus. A special thanks to my wife for driving out and finding me with that big bottle of Gatorade and the PowerBar resupply. I can't wait to run this one again.

I will be honest: I went for the t-shirt, which did not disappoint. I was a little scared of the hilly course and heat from previous year comments. However, if one proceeds with caution over the first half, then the second half is not so bad. It was not as hot as I thought it would be, but the humidity was very high. It is the first time I have ever been soaked head to toe.

Awards were great. The organizers were very helpful and friendly. Lodging was inexpensive and an easy drive to the start/finish. I would recommend it to anyone. My only preference for improvements would be to have the 14.2 mile runners wear a different color number, since they basically run the first half of the marathon, and it would be good if they could add an additional water stop at, say, mile 1/25 or 2/24.

Cheap hotel. Nice long-sleeve t-shirt. Good finisher's medal. Lots of post-race food and drink. The hills aren't bad, you won't even notice them early because it's dark and they're so small. Roadkill not as bad as billed; no dead skunks. Humidity? Yes, lots. When the sun came out the relative humidity dropped as temp went up, and it actually felt cooler 2 hours into the run. I was 5 minutes faster over the second half because I felt cooler and could run harder. That is my one piece of race advice for men running 3:20 or slower: wait for the sunrise before starting to push. It's a nice run with a great post-race atmosphere. I'd do this one again.

This was a challenging marathon, but enjoyable all the same. A couple suggestions for people who are considering this marathon: Bring along a cheap throw-away flashlight so you can see the road during the first hour of the run. Also, the mile markers could use a glowstick laid next to them so runners can keep their mile splits in the early AM hours of the run. Other than that, I would recommend this marathon to anyone who wants the challenge of rolling hills, and doesn't mind sweating a bunch.