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May 4, 2024

Tupelo Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Tupelo Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.4

Spectators 2.6

Number of comments: 156 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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R. R. from Memphis, Tennessee (9/3/2012) "Trampled the Weak but Still Standing Strong" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Tupelo Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 'Trample the Weak and Hurdle the Dead.' How's that for a marathon slogan? The website is filled with images of fire and the occasional skull. I guess nobody can say they didn't warn us. Tupelo is a great race with great swag, reasonably priced and a small field of dedicated runners who must of lost their collective minds. This is the south... in early september. Most people go north for summer marathons. Not Tupelo. They celebrate your suffering. They put the heat and humidity on display for all and challenge the brave (or is it the stupid) runners of the world to come and have a swing. Although this race has had the odd cool day in the past, this year was HUMID and warm. At least it was mostly overcast and spared us the full strength of the summer sun. Do not come to Tupelo unprepared. Be ready for the weather or it will kick your butt. The race starts in the pre-dawn darkness which is nice from a temperature standpoint but the humidity is unaffected so it is still sweltery and sticky. It also is very neat running in the dark on a quiet country road.There are very few spectators and the scenery is mostly bucolic and rustic farms. Aid stations are a bit widely spaced early but tighten up as the race goes on. The dedicated volunteers are attentive and enthusiastic. There are a few rolling hills but nothing too outrageous. It is an out and back course but due to the darkness during the early miles the scenery doesn't seem too redundant as you pass by it in the full light of day. The swag here is amazing. Beautiful tie-dye long sleeve shirts that will make any wanna-be DeadHead smile. The Finisher's Medal is First Rate and worth the price of admission all by itself. How a race this size does the swag so well is amazing. Tupelo has grown in popularity in recent years so sign up early. It is already a cult classic and many runners (including this one) come back year after year. Well run. Good course. Great swag. And all the suffering the late southern summer can dish out. Trampled?.. yes. But not disappointed. Consistently one of the best small races out there.
Mark Rice from Alabama (9/3/2012) "Great Course, Fun time, Varied weather, BQ" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tupelo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I loved this race. FIRST, Marathon Guide asks for the specific ratings, and not everyone values the same attributes. Judge for yourself. If you need spectators, you need a bigger race. The ones there were supportive, but most of the race is fairly solitary. So on to SPECIFICS.... FUN: This race is informal and small with great organizers who really want to help in anything.. That added greatly to the feel of the event. THE ORGANIZATION: perfectly adequate. The water stops were slightly less frequent than I like (each 2+ miles) but were OK. Near the end I'd like to have seen another added to make it more dense there. Also, the hassles were minimum... even parking was great. This is a low fuss marathon, adding greatly to the appeal. THE LOOT TO TAKE HOME: The shirt was technical (for 2012 anyway) so don't expect that unless they state it (I thought it was technical.. so was disappointed). The medal, while very cool (they did an awesome job, actually), may not appeal to some because of the skulls and possibly more dramatic, the saying on them. If you're easily offended by the like, then check it out so you can adjust your expectations accordingly. LOVE the 14.2 mile medal.. as if it's ripped in half. THE COURSE: rolling relatively small hills, If you've practiced hills, don't push too hard up and make up time correctly on the downhills, these will not affect you much. I got a BQ (-5:57) even though temps were 74+ and 97% humidity at the start. WEATHER: The only downside is the apparently highly varied weather; it is a gamble as to whether you get cooler temps and non-90s humidity. If you're here only for fun, no big deal. If you're here for a specific time, that could matter to you.
M. B. from Tuscaloosa, AL (3/28/2012) "Different but great!" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Tupelo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Signed up for this to hopefully qualify for Boston since my sister and both my parents had...ended up with a 3:11:03 - missing 'technically' qualify by 4 sec! - although I think the cutoff time was another 2 min or so. Anyway, great run, not too many spectators but that just made you appreciate the ones you saw more. David, as others have said, is an awesome race director and promptly answered emails. The race was just fun - the atmosphere is not super competitive, had a great conversation with a runner for the better part of the first half. The last half dozen miles I was mostly alone, but enjoyable (or about as enjoyable as the last six miles can be!). I enjoy bigger runs too but it is nice to not have to stress the logistics of everything.
J. L. from Columbus, OH (9/10/2011) "I stayed in Mississippi a day too long...." (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tupelo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I'm not sure which was worse; the 80 degree temperature at the start (a 5am start I might add) or the complete deluge of running in Tropical Storm Lee during the second half of the race. You can't blame the organizers for the weather though. Aside from the weather, this was a nicely run, albeit very small race. I found out afterward that there were a lot of no-shows (presumably due to the heat/storm) which maybe made it feel even smaller. Tupelo is a rather small place so the hotels, race pickup and start/finish are all within a few miles of each other. There is plenty of free, adjacent parking on the morning of the race but if you can, scout that out in daylight beforehand. The course meanders through rolling hills (nothing very steep) out into the country and eventually into a subdivision for the turnaround. The course is sort of a big circle so the half-marathoners stay with you 13 deep (also that's why it's a 14.2 back to the start/finish for them) before the marathoners reverse to loop back to the start. Post-race included barbeque, beans, slaw and even beer. More importantly there was shelter from the rain. The course is well marked which is important since there was very little crowd support. The Gatorade was cold and while the water was not, I was very thankful that they didn't run out on such a hot, hot day. As an added bonus, I made my way an hour west to Oxford the day before to tailgate in The Grove before the Ole Miss home opener. With the right weather, it could be a PR event but not on this day. If you are looking to skip all the logistical calisthenics of a big event and don't require a lot of crowd support then I'd definitely recommend this race.
J. P. from the USA (9/10/2011) "Fun Fun Race" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Tupelo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 This is an old school low frills fun run and I would compare it to a training run with a great support group. It's small which add to the charm of the event. No bands, music or warm up people screaming at you. Just loved it! The course is an out and back that starts at 5 a.m. The start is so low key we missed it until everybody started running down the road. Never saw the start line until I was coming back in and saw it painted on the road. I would consider it a rolling hill course but not really bad. The good news was we had a driving rain for the back half of the race that cooled us off. This course would be tough on a hot, sunny, humid Mississippi day for sure. The course is also open to traffic so if you're a back of the packer be aware of some cranky sunday drivers. We almost got clipped a couple times. If you want flat and fast then go to Waveland, MS for the Gulf Coast Marathon. However, it's held on the space center property and it's desolate on race day. Bring your own water as the first water stop didn't happen until about 3-4 miles into the race. Maybe they slept in. I never could figure out the spacing of the water stops but they had them and everything went well. Super volunteers. Only two porta potties that were off in a field so bring paper too. LOL. Loved the shirt and medal, very unique. Thanks to all the volunteers and everybody who worked hard to put this on. Tupelo was such a friendly town and everybody knew the marathon was that weekend. Super event and I would highly recommend this race.
j. v. from the great state of Texas (9/6/2011) "Ignore the stars...good race, but no cake walk" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Tupelo Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This is not a tough course...rolling hills with nothing that should hurt you...well except for the weather! This is a grueling run for the slower runners, but can't be much better for the faster runners either. This is a nice smaller sized run with a great shirt and a great medal...the 14.2 is the class run, but I always do the full. What a idiot, eh? This year we got some rain later on in the race...sweet! It was overcast and then the rain, made for an easy jog...and even finishing almost last there was a ton of great food left...unlimited beer and soda was left as well! It just doesn't get much better...easier maybe, but not better! I used a coupon from the race packet and 'discovered' a nice place for a post race meal...sweet deal!
Mike Gill from Franklin/Nashville, TN (9/5/2011) "For Real Runners" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Tupelo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I signed up for the Tupelo Marathon knowing it had a reputation for being a challenging course. For one, it starts at 5 am and you run the first 7 to 8 miles under the cover of darkness. Two, the starting temperature was around 81 degrees, which is about on par with temps during this time of year in MS. This year, we received a special treat: Tropical Storm Lee. It was kind of a nice treat as the temps dropped during the run and there was a nice mist to run through most of the race. My last two miles were run in a monsoon, but I also ran my best two miles in it (averaged 7:55 miles). David and the volunteers do an awesome job with the organization. I sent several emails to David leading up to the race and they were promptly answered. There were plenty of volunteers on the course and plenty of fluids. They hand out flashlights before the race starts if you care for one as well. This was my ninth marathon. I've run Chicago, Marine Corps, Miami, Atlanta, Huntsville, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville and half marathons like the Quebec City half and others around Nashville. I appreciated the rural atmosphere this marathon had to offer. The other runners on the course were very encouraging as we passed one another (it's an out-and-back). Even as I passed people at the end, runners encouraged me to finish strong, so we all began encouraging one another. I would recommend this marathon to any runner who loves to run and does not need an iPod or a 'cheer station' to keep him/her going. I ran it without music and ran it for the love of running and enjoyed scenery along the way. And by the way, the shirt is by far the best I've collected along the way (tie dye with a skull on it). Thanks to all of the volunteers!
D. S. from Tennessee (9/5/2011) "Wonderful Marathon" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Tupelo Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second consecutive year to participate in the Tupelo Marathon and both times I have been very impressed. Packet pickup is very well organized, the course is rolling but no bad hills and is marked very well. The volunteers were awesome. There are not very many spectators but I am fine with that. The past two years weather has not been bad at all with a nice cool rain this year during the second half that kept temperatures down. The post race food was delicious. The shirt and medal are cool and unique. I definitely plan on doing this one in the future. Thanks for another great time Tupelo!
E. C. from Houston, Texas (5/4/2011) "One of the BEST!" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Tupelo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I cannot say enough about David Whiteside and his team. First-class all the way. I have done a number of great races, but this one is just so darn unique; it is a race for runners. Not many spectators, but that is okay. I mean, it starts at 5 a.m. I registered for 2011 early because dedicated runners know this is the race to run. I did it in 2010 as a warm up for another race only to fall in love with it. So much so that I have had it marked for a year.
JEFF HUNT from Senatobia, Mississippi (9/9/2010) "SUPER, SUPER, SUPER" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Tupelo Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is my 6th Tupelo Marathon to run and they get better each year. This year came two surprises. The first was a change in weather. No lie - I could see steam coming out of runners' mouths. It was that cold. The second suprise was the BBQ at the end of the race. Meat for days, along with all the fixins. The only downside to the marathon (if spectators are your thing) is the crowd support. I gave it two stars, one for each spectator. If you run this race next year, you better sign up now; space is limited and they have maxed out the past two years.

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