Not many spectators due to the frigid weather, but the volunteers were terrific, thanking me for coming to Jackson. As a walker I appreciate the folks who braved the elements to the end. Great race in every way!

I knew that this wouldn't be a PR course, what with the rolling hills at the beginning and the ups and downs of Old Canton Road and State Street at the end, but my quest through all 50 states brought me here anyway.

The hospitality tent at the start with the great music helped us warm up a bit before taking off in 11-degree wind chill. Jefferson Street and the neighborhood northeast of Ridgewood and Lakeland were beautiful -  great distractions from the snow flurries.

The best features here were the volunteers - they were  friendly and outgoing even though the temperature never got above 28 - and the cool schwag, which included a  harmonica, a neat T-shirt, and a blues CD. There was a blues festival Saturday night, complete with a trolley to haul us around.

I would run this race again if I weren't headed through all of the states, and I know it won't be that cold again in 2011. This marathon will only keep improving.

Like the comment below says, you should be so proud of your marathon. I fully expected to see unmanned aid stations and intersections due to the extreme temps, but no, all were fully staffed, with smiling and friendly faces. I stayed at the Marriott; it had clean rooms and was within walking distance of everything. Pasta at Sal and Mookies Excellent and inexpensive. I walked over to the small history museum; I was only the 3rd visitor of the day and again was greeted with warmth. I did not rate the course highly, as it was just ok - highway running is never really pretty and there were few spectators - but I did enjoy the houses with the fire pits blazing and the kids bundled up cheering us onward. Yes there were lots of rolling hills, but I train for hills, and it's no big deal. The course is honestly represented. A great medal too, and while the shirt is cotton and appealing design that carries over to the bag, too. Even the SW flight home out of Jackson talked about the runners, and the winner and number 2 man were both on my flight home, making it a more special end to the day. Overall, as a city, you put on a great race, and you should be proud of your efforts. Well done!

It was really COLD!!! However, everyone (volunteers, runners, spectators) was cheerful and supportive. I've never been to the south before, the entire town was extremely friendly. The hills were brutal! It seemed as if you were always heading up or down a hill; there was very little flat running.

I paced for the MS Blues Marathon this year and I can't say enough about the hospitality. Amazing number of helpful and cheerful volunteers at the expo and on the course, which was unusually cold. It is absolutely a challenging course with the hills, but that is part of the fun. Great swag, with a blues CD, harmonica and cool shirt. I definitely recommend this race.

Like many others, I booked this one as a warm winter-time race. After all, how cold can it be in Mississippi in January? Answer: bone-chillingly cold. But the cold was more than offset by the warmth of the staff and volunteers - big enough to have great organization and community support without being so large that you are just another number. Great giveaways, friendly folks, plenty of food and drink at the end; all well organized and fully staffed despite the unseasonably frigid temperatures! Kudos to the downtown Marriott for being the best race hotel we've stayed at!

A starting temperature of 17 degrees with single-digit wind chills was on everyone's mind on race morning, but that did not deter the large number of neighbors, spectators and volunteers from offering support, drinks, advice about icy spots on the course, and heartfelt care to all of the runners (amazingly over half of the racers came from out of state, and the neighbors repeatedly thanked us for coming to their race). The course was a bit hilly early on and then really was tough the final 5 miles, but the combo of the support, great-looking give-aways, post-race food, and a desire by the race committee to make this race top notch overshadowed the hills and frigid temperatures. This was my first visit to Mississippi, and I could not have asked for a better welcoming.

Every single volunteer along the course thanked me for coming to Mississippi to run - where else do you get that? Even Mississippi runners were thanking out-of-state runners for coming to Mississippi. After watching the wonderful course monitors and volunteers standing out there all morning in frigid temps, I won't complain about the hills. This is an outstanding event, with the best-looking medal of my 55 marathon medals, great food afterwards, tremendous organization - the list goes on. It's not the easiest course out there, but I'd come back again on a warmer day.

Much will be made of the bitter cold, but you can't control that. The locals were amazing: Bundled up, cheering us on, and everyone saying, "Thanks for coming to Jackson." Awesome hospitality. Very well organized, with tons of police and volunteers. Challenging course.

Beginning temps were in the upper teens with wind chills in the single digits. However this marathon had to have the most appreciative volunteers I have ever encountered. They all thanked us over and over again throughout the course for coming to Mississippi to run the marathon. These volunteers endured temperatures that were below freezing to hand us water and Gatorade that had a layer of ice in the cups. Tough job - what a great crew!! Note: We could have had more porta-potties, and I didn't get a finisher's shirt.