This was my first marathon, and after doing all of my training runs solo, I was very happy with the experience of running my first marathon near my home town. The race was well organized and the volunteers were very friendly. The weather was perfect and I finished in 4:36. Hats off to Leonard and all who organized, volunteered in and staffed a great race! I would highly recommend this race to anyone interested in running a marathon.

I really enjoyed this race. It had a flat course that is PR friendly, although the PR eluded me today. What a unique opportunity to run (actually I race-walked) past NASA rockets, rocket boosters, aircraft, etc. And my family was able to drive to various places around the course to offer support. Really had a great time! I finished in a little over 5 hours and the food was all gone by then, so that was a bit disappointing. And I know there were still several runners who finished after me. So, several didn't get to eat any of the anticipated jambalaya. But I would still do this race again. The weather was perfect as well.

I stumbled across this race trying to fill another state in November. I am glad I did.

This is a no-frills marathon, so I am glad that I came prepared. There was no expo (fortunately I planned ahead an brought backup GU). Packet pickup was held at the MS Welcome Station a few miles from the event.

The course was a double-loop course that ran around the John Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, MS. With the exception of a couple of rolling hills within a mile of the start/finish, it was flat as a pancake.

The start included the half-marathon and 5K, so there were probably 500 people. With only 109 finishers in the marathon, I would estimate that there were probably 130 starters. It was easily the smallest marathon I have run, and for the last half of the race, there were more times than not where the person in front of me and the person behind me were more than a minute away. You better enjoy solitude - which I did with a great playlist on my permitted iPod.

Aid stations were every two miles and had water, Gatorade and fruit. The volunteers were very friendly and supportive.

Outside of the volunteers, I don't remember seeing a sole on the course, so you better not need to feed off the crowd.

The long-sleeve cotton T-shirt wasn't bad, and the finisher's medal was well done.

This was my 17th marathon and I had a PR by 13 minutes, so it is hard to find many complaints. The three minor complaints that I had were (which is why I gave organization 4 stars instead of 5):

1) There needed to be a couple more volunteers to make sure you stayed on course (or at least a better marker). With runners so spread out, on the second loop I missed a turn and added an extra quarter-mile adding 2.5 extra minutes to my time.

2) Because they provided gun time only, and the 5K runners and half-marathoners were in the race too, we had to absorb the extra 20 or 30 seconds it took to get to the starting line.

3) Probably the biggest complaint is that they ran out of food at the finish. After running a marathon, you definitely are hungry. The runner that finished five positions ahead of me got the great jambalaya, but I didn't. There was one beer left, which I quickly snarfed.

All in all, if you are looking for a fall race and want a PR, this is probably a great, inexpensive race to run.

My wife and I were looking for a nice, easy 5K to run on our way back form Georgia where we were visiting her family. We found this race on the internet, and although we hadn't been training for a half, we decided to run it. Registration was fast, we got a great t-shirt, they had a well marked course, there were lots of participants, and we had lots of fun. Everyone (runners and staff) was very friendly. The temperature was perfect. Awards were prompt. If opportunity presents itself, we will do it again. We did the tour of the facility that afternoon and enjoyed it also.

Nice little marathon for the price. Very flat. If you need many spectators, though, I would not recommend this one. I would say there were no more than 50 spectators on the whole course, but that is to be expected. The price is just right for this type of marathon. There were times I got nervous that I had made a wrong turn, but for the most part the course had adequate signs. If you need the distractions of spectators or scenery, you are out of luck. Plenty of water and Gatorade. No chip timing, but being so small, it only took about 10 seconds to reach the start line.

The only complaint I had was at the end. One of the race officials started hounding me immediately after the finish about the fact that I didn't have my race number tear-off. I've never been asked to keep that, so the wife and I put it in our car. I tried to explain we would go get it but the official said, "No tear-off, no official time." I basically yelled at him, telling him we would go get it and just to give us a couple of minutes to recover. After all, we had just run a marathon. The other official - I think he was the director - told us not to rush, to take our time to go get our tear-off, and that we would have an official time. A big thanks to him.

If you want a cheap, well organized, not-so-scenic, un-spectated, flat course, then this one is perfect.

A great race event in 2009. Very small race - about 70 half marathoners and 110 full, and a lot of 5K runners. So one gets very lonely on the second loop. But it could not have turned out better! Crowd support was quality: families at water stations and especially at the finish were awesome. It was refreshing to see children out there with their parents! The post-race jambalaya was perfect, and the weather was ideal. Being able to sign up on race morning was another perk. One request for next time: additional porto-lets at the start.

I am 15 years-old and I did the half-marathon with my grandmother. I think it was an easy race for everyone. It was mainly flat, and there were really no cars. It was my second half-marathon, and even though it stormed, I had a good experience. The people on the side of the road were encouraging to everyone in sight. All I heard was, "You got it," "Keep going," "You're doing great." It was great, and the food was delicious after the race!!

The forecast wasn't good. Coming from Florida, I am used to running in hot, humid weather. On those days, I pray for rain. This was one of those days.

The packet pickup was very smooth. There were three really nice guys at the Welcome Station. Great running CD, and even though it's not a techie, the shirt was pretty impressive!

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't notice on the website any security caution for race morning. To my surprise, I joined a double line of cars getting in to the space center by showing a photo ID and getting checked off by the guard at the gate. This caused the director to delay the start, which was not fair to those who were on time to the start line and who also perhaps had flight or travel constraints for later that day. Perhaps this could have been avoided had there been some notice given ahead of race day.

It was already hot and muggy at the start. It started to rain, then pour, then came the thunder and lightning. A really big THANKS to the volunteers that stayed out there - it was very much appreciated as they also doubled as spectators! There were a couple of water stops that apparently the volunteers were tired of getting wet, or the bad weather forced them inside, because they were completely unmanned. The cups and the coolers were on the tables, but not a soul in sight. A couple of times, I wasn't sure if I was still on the course, so a few more course markers would be very helpful, especially to those slower runners who may be running solo. Eventually the bad weather blew over but it continued to rain through the rest of the marathon.

The post-race food was delicious and plentiful, a fabulous reward at the end of 26.2 miles!

This is a PR course and a BQ, no doubt about it, even in the rain. One drawback is that the field of full marathoners was just over 100. I went for miles without seeing another runner, and parts of this course were out/back. If you are used to running solo, or come with a buddy, you'll have a great time!

Thanks again to everyone at Gulf Coast Running Club!

I knew going into this race what to expect: low-key race with no crowd and temperamental weather. That's exactly what was delivered. They had (small) registration at a Mississippi welcome station, where we received a running music CD and a nice shirt. For $30, you get more than your money's worth.

Race day, temps were near 70 with 100% humidity at 8 a.m. The director then delayed the race start more than a half-hour so more folks could register. While I certainly understand why they did this, it was a mistake to those who had already entered. The weather was getting hotter and muggier as the day progressed and the thunderstorms were on their way. This day would be our Beijing. By mile 3, I was completely drenched. I've never sweated, struggled, or suffered like this in my life. By halfway, we were begging for the rain to be here already; we just didn't know how much of it would come.

About the course: it's very flat and very lonely. There are very few spectators (if any). I think I went more than 7 miles once without seeing a person. I knew all of this beforehand though. My only complaint is regarding the course markings. If I had not run with the race director for the first 10 or so miles, I would have gotten lost. In fact, one of the guys that was with us did get off course at one point and ended up dropping out because he would have had to backtrack about 6 miles. Additionally, at mile 24 when it's pouring down rain, one of the volunteers sent me the wrong way before realizing she was sending me the wrong way. Let's just say it's not wise to irritate someone who is being tortured in muggy, hot weather in the pouring down rain.

Yep, that's right, at mile 23, it started pouring. POURING. I really feel bad for those who still had a long time left on the course. Luckily, I was close to the finish where the misery would end.

The weather is the weather though and can't be controlled. The course markings could be better. All in all, though, if the weather is right, this course is ripe for the PR picking. As long as you can deal with the solitude of being by yourself for a couple of hours, this course is pancake flat and can potentially be run very quickly. To those who want to run a decent time here, there are some very quick guys who run that you can pace with. You just can't predict the weather here.

As far as post-race, the beer and jambalaya were great.

All in all, I did enjoy this day even though it probably was the most miserable race of my life. Never have I suffered quite so much. I did enjoy getting to meet some great people. The director, Leonard, is a super nice guy and really puts on a nice, low-key event. And to the guys from New Orleans, I hope I'll make it down to Mardi Gras one day.

The weather was so bad that I felt horrible the entire time, which may make me feel more negative about the race than I would on a beautiful day. It was 68 with over 90% humidity at the start. I train in Florida and it was even bad for me. But that's no one's fault. It got really lonely when the halfers finished... I only saw 4 people from that point to the finish, and finished with a 7-minute bubble around me of no runners. I didn't think it would bother me, but there were several points during the race where I thought I may have been lost. That was very unnerving. Then coming into the finish you have to compete with the half marathoners driving out, which is the last thing you want to be doing 25 miles in. The shirt is really nice and the food was great. Everyone was really friendly. So really it was the confusion of the course and the loneliness that got to me. I didn't mind no spectators but could have used a few more runners. You get to start right on the line, though, which is nice! I personally looooved the watered-down Gatorade because I normally have to half it with water. That way I could use the water to dump on my head... because believe me: you needed it! Hope y'all get a nice 50-degree day next year! Thanks to all of the volunteers and the track club... good work.