If you are looking for a marathon in January, this may be it: A quality, small race with a rolling course. Traffic control was excellent and the locals were very supportive. Huge finisher's medal. Needs more Elvises!!!

A huge thanks to the volunteers and staff for: national anthem by electric guitar to start; encouragement up the brutal (for a flat-lander) hills; fun music throughout; marmalades for energy; placing that ENORMOUS medal around my neck, covering me with a blanket, removing my chip and tying my shoes back up at the finish; and offering beer for recovery. THANKS!!

Probably the best overall marathon experience of any that I've been involved with. The City of Jackson makes you feel welcome and wanted. From the expo workers to the course volunteers, the people are the friendliest and nicest people I've ever into!!

The course is pretty challenging, with relentless, rolling hills. The hills are pretty small, but they are relentless for the first 21 miles. Oh, and did I mention the last .2 miles are uphill to the finish??

As tough as the course is, it is also scenic and fun along the way. As I said above, the people surrounding the race are the best ever, anywhere, and that includes Boston!!!

The cotton shirt is kind of lame, but the harmonica, Elvis sunglasses and the enormous finisher's medal are extremely cool. No issues whatsoever with half marathoners/marathoners converging on the course... this was policed very well.

The finisher's medal was so large that it set off the TSA at the airport. After a quick bag search and several oohs and ahs from the TSA workers, I was on my way home.

DO NOT MISS THIS RACE!!!!! A MUST-DO!!!

My 6th marathon, but first non-big-city race. Although I read good reviews about this race from prior years, I still went in with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. Jackson has no real iconic landmarks or spectacular sights, so the course goes mostly through residential neighborhoods and strip malls. However, the winding turns, hills, and changing landscapes manage to keep the 26.2 from being too mundane. I was blown away by how much the community really gets behind this race - lots of friendly people, from volunteers to normal people coming out to get the morning paper and greeting runners from their driveways. The organization is top-notch from course amenities to goody bags. The medal, while awesomely huge; it almost seems out-of-place on my shelf, as it is 3x the size of my other medals from big-name races (Chicago, Marine Corps, Philly, etc.).

Given the time of the year, when they're aren't many options, this is a great marathon. I still prefer the big-city races, but this was definitely fun for a change of pace and to get out of the cold for a weekend.

The race has everything but big-city crowds, and that's a good thing. Challenging course but that's OK. Great gifts and music. The race rocks!

This is the only race where the volunteers say, "Thank you" for running Jackson! Speaking of southern hospitality, this race has it. The course is challenging but great, the organization is outstanding, and the volunteers and police working the roads and aid stations go above the call of duty. Once the word gets out about this southern gem of a race, it is going to explode, so you might want to run it before that happens. The medal says it all; the race directors do not cut corners. The organization earns 5 stars on all accounts: the post-race concert, the Blues Crawl, and of course, the race itself.

This was my 31st marathon in 27th state and I enjoyed it tremendously. Yes, there are hills, lots of hills, and though many are not long, they do seem to go on forever. My only suggestion: there were a few points in the race where they could have done a better job of protecting the runners. One short section did not have cones up and there were a few times when I wished there were volunteers directing us. That being said, the organizers did a good job with water stops, and thanks to the many volunteers. There's nothing like running past an Elvis who is directing traffic. Registration was a breeze - there's not much of an expo but who cares, really? As mentioned by others, the swag, medal, food and entertainment were all great. The medal got my bag searched at the airport...! We lucked out with the weather this year; the storm hit on Sunday.

From the organizers to the volunteers to the community to the other racers, I met some of the nicest, most helpful people in my life. The course, on the other hand, was anything but nice. Tough footing at times and hill after hill after hill throughout the course, though it was interesting and scenic. The expo was small but very nice and there was a large variety and quantity of food at the finish. The swag was among the best and the medal rivals Little Rock for size. Overall, a very good race.

Although I set a PR here, as the other comments said, this is probably not a PR course. The course was very scenic with many hills and a good portion was on one side of the road, which caused the curvature in the road to work on your legs. The course was very well supported with ample water stops and several GU handouts.

They changed the policy after I registered and wouldn't allow a friend to pick up my packet; however, once this was pointed out, they were completely willing to work through it and even opened up race-day packet pick-up.

I probably won't be back since I'm working on 50 states (this being #4), but this was an overall great experience and I encourage others to try this course. The finisher's medal was a little overkill. You couldn't ask for a friendlier bunch of people than the people of Mississippi!

I'm a local, and I ran the Blues for my first half. Great organization including volunteers and race support. Being from here, I feel your pain regarding road complaints. We drive - and run - these daily, and they are rough. Believe it or not, they are better than they have been!

My only beef (albeit a minor one) is that the course contains many brutal hills. That being said, this was my first and I'm sure that there are worse ones out there.

I'm sure I'll do this half again next year, but will reserve my full for elsewhere.