I think there were more volunteers than marathoners, and every volunteer I encountered cheerfully offered assistance and thanked me for participating. As a slow runner, I was especially appreciative of these folks for enduring the cold temps for hours. Their support and the event organization earned high marks in my opinion. No surprises about the hills, but the course was a bit dull as it followed highways for many miles. However, everything was well marked, and traffic was controlled throughout. I loved the blues music at the expo, great schwag, and the trolley pub crawl post-race party. Stayed at the host hotel and was happy with the location, quiet, and extended meal hours for runners. Excellent experience in Jackson... despite the frigid temps!

First off, I am from Mississippi and now live in the St. Louis area... so I always wanted to do at least a half in my home state. At the same time, I was a little worried. Jackson is not always the most organized of cities and I was unaware of there being much of a running community there.

Well, I had a GREAT time. I showed up the night before to an expo that had plenty of parking and was well organized. No, it did not have a 100 vendors, but they have live blues music playing. Cold race day, at 21 degrees. But I have never been to a half or full that was so easy to get around. I got a hotel that was a 10-minute drive to the start line. I arrived at the event at 6:20 for the 7 a.m. start. I was able to park on the same block as the start line, free!!!

If that were not enough, they had planned for the weather and had two large party tents equipped with full-siding... inside: live blues music and HEATERS! YEAH! Both were fewer than 50 yards from the start line. Very nice.

Now, if you dont like hills - dont come to this event. Very hilly. Also, not a large crowd, but they were all super nice and all cheered. Don't expect thousands cheering you along, but expect friendly groups along the way.

The finish got you a great medal and plenty of food! The red beans and rice were awesome. After some cold water for me, there was plenty of hot coffee and chocolate. A better selection of food than you will get at Memphis or Chicago.

KUDOS! I was very happy to say I was from Mississippi and proud of the people from Jackson that put it on. One or two fewer hills would have been nice, but oh well!!!

All of this and a harmonica engraved with the logo of the race!

It was cold, unusual weather for MS, even in January. Course could be improved by running same course only clockwise. The big hills would be early and leaving smaller hills at the end. Great support on the course. Ran the full this year; ran half previous two years. Plan to run again next year.

This is the second time I participated in the Mississippi Blues Marathon. In 2008 I ran the half, and this year, 2010, I ran the whole. I enjoyed it so much the first time that I could not wait to come back. The course was challenging, but beautiful. The volunteers were outstanding. Looking forward to doing this again in 2011; I hope the temp will be above freezing next year.

What a great experience! Expo was small but well organized and very friendly. The goody bags were awesome: great t-shirt, engraved harmonica, and blues cd. There was even live blues playing at the expo. At the start there was a warm-up tent (since it was so cold) with live blues playing, which really got you ready to run. There seemed to be no porta-potties around, which was weird, but after the race we found some sort of hidden. They could have made these more visible or at least announced where they were. No one knew when we asked. Bag check was not made clear on the instructions, so maybe a little more info in this would help some.

The starting line was a little weird; I'm not sure if everyone knew which way we were heading as it started in the middle of a big intersection. Not a big deal at all since the race was fairly small anyway. The course was very hilly, but all in all, I loved it. For every uphill there was a downhill. Some great scenery of the city, especially the older estates. The volunteers were the best and most friendly of any race I have ever done. Great aid stations. Not a big deal for me, but my wife would have liked to see more porta-potties at the aid stations. Most just had one, which if there had been a line would have cost a lot of time. We ended up running into a Shell station along the route. The course gets hillier toward the end, but I still loved it. I was a little disappointed with the finish line; we took over 5 hours in finishing, but still... the announcer was saying nothing and crowd support had dwindled. It was 27 degrees, so anyone who stayed was awesome - not a big deal.

Post-race warm up tents had great food, including sandwiches, though I heard there was pizza earlier. Best part about this race was the people - both the volunteers and runners we met were some of the greatest people ever. All in all, I loved, loved, loved it. I'd do it again and would recommend this race to everyone.

Race (half marathon) was well done with a few exceptions. Having ice chips in the water is not a good thing for runners. I picked up my race packet after registering 6 weeks earlier and found only a t-shirt and race number. My racing compatriots had CD's, harmonica's and other amenities. That should be rectified. Music tent should have had heaters, as the blues were excellent but the environment frigid. Volunteers and support staff were excellent in their jobs and support. The hills and course was very challenging, and the road surface was poor. Had great empathy for those marathoners 2-6 hours out in the cold. Medals were nice, though the t-shirts could be upgraded for a race of this caliber (i.e., long-sleeve, tech material).

The volunteers at this event were top notch. It was like having a big Mississippi welcome mat, with each supporter thanking the runners for running. Such hospitality! There was plenty of aid, from water/Gatorade to power gel (or was it GU?). The hills were no surprise - they were clearly indicated on the elevation chart - but were a bummer nonetheless. The cold was a real challenge.

The warmth of the spectators and volunteers more than compensated for the frigid temperatures on the day of the race. Coming from New England, I never expected it to be colder in Jackson than it was in CT, but it was. Despite that, the spectators and volunteers cheerfully came out to cheer us on, man the water stations, and direct traffic. The course was hilly, but none of the hills were long or particularly steep (more just rolling). My only complaint is that there were no clocks along the course to check the time (even at the halfway point). Unfortunately, the cold prevented most of the bands from coming out, so that was disappointing... but we can't control Mother Nature. The event was well organized and parking just 2 blocks from the start was a cinch (which was nice when it's 17 degrees and I could wait in the car until 5 minutes before the start).

The volunteers and police officers were the friendliest I've ever encountered!! I could have done without the out-and-back along the highway, but the rest of the course was pretty, though hilly. Loved running through the neighborhoods. No yellow vest in my packet. Thank you, Jackson, for a wonderful race!

What excellent organization given the extreme weather conditions! Great support and very friendly. Difficult hills, but I broke four hours.