Overall, an amazing experience. I was not sure about this marathon due to my poor training, a 7 hour time limit, and lots of hills but I made the trip after all and I am so HAPPY that I did.

1. Hotel very close to start and finish
2. All the Volunteers in their bright orange shirts were AMAZING - very friendly and positive. As I would thank them, they responded with 'Thanks for coming!'
3. Police support - fantastic, not sure if Jackson had in police officers at work that day cause they ALL seemed to be directing traffic.
4. Plenty of AID stations and GU for the marathon
5. Race director and support staff - upon finishing I approached someone in a blue polo shirt and asked if I could change my marathon shirt size as the one I requested was to small. He happily said yes, and then offered to find one and walk down to my hotel so I wouldnt have to walk back up. Wow, I was shocked at the offer but glady took him up on it.
6. The course was nice - I enjoyed the variety of scenic views around Jackson. Yes, there are hills but everytime you go up - you get to go down so I enjoyed the challenge.
7. Medal - best one out of 20 marathons! Nice detail and colors.
8. Shirt is fantastic as is the matching bag, my kids are already using it.
9. Weather - LOVED IT!
10. Overall - all the people I engaged with over the weekend were friendly, positive and helpful.

Thanks Jackson! Glad I made it to the race.

I ran the Mississippi Blues Marathon in conjunction with the First Light Marathon as back2back marathons. The Blues Marathon is VERY hilly and challenging. There were very few spectators. The medal was definitely the largest medal ever!!! They also gave us a harmonica and blues cd. The organization was very good. Improvement needed in crowd support!

I wasn't sure what to expect when we signed up for this marathon, what we got was an amazing experience. The race started right on time at 7am which I loved the weather was perfect mid 50's (compared to the 20's and 30's of central New York). The crowd support was outstanding all the volunteers were thanking us runners for running the course and the police officers did an outstanding job of stopping traffic for us runners. The pace groups were amazing the group I was with was telling jokes at each mile marker which helped lift our spirits, I had so much support on the course it helped get me through the hills which seemed never ending but the downhills were nice. I would definitely recommend this race for experienced marathoner's not for a first marathon but its awesome!! I am so glad that I did this marathon and may come back again. There was plentiful water stops and GU stops were ideal and had a lot of variety. The finish was great and the medal is huge and the prettiest of all the marathon's I have done. The food at the finish was good with lots of choices. To sum it up, the course is tough but not impossible, incredible crowd and volunteer support!! This is a must race for marathoners (and 1/2 marathoners). Great Job to all runners!!

OMG, over the top niceness.
Even the police controlling the intersections thanked you for coming to the run. EVERYONE was so nice.
The Marriott had theIR staff in the lobby as we left w/ water, oatmeal cookies, bananas, etc
When we came back, they met us at the door with fresh towels.
Party at the end was fantastic.
These are the nicest people I've ever done a marathon with.
Congratulations to Jackson MS. YOU ARE THE WINNERS!

This marathon far exceeded my expectations.

PROS
* friendliness of everyone, including race officials, volunteers, spectators, hotel (Marriott) staff, cabbies
* very nice expo
* great music post-race
* race organization
* early split between half and full marathoners
* the best finishers medal of my 15
* plenty of water stops
* well policed course
* course ran through a variety of areas

Be Aware
*ups and downs and ups and downs and ouch (as advertised) ... actually, I'm not sure it is a con .. I viewed it as a challenge

Cons
* Downtown Jackson is fairly desolate and didn't seem overly safe/policed in the evening ... don't count on a nice evening stroll from your downtown hotel

Overall 5+: way to go Jackson!! Although I'm pursuing 50 states, I will return to do you again next year!!

I've been lucky enough to run all of the Blues Marathons, and it's gets better every year. This year was great. Of course, you can't control the weather, and it was perfect. I even got a little sunburn! Not bad for January. Yes, there are lots of small rolling hills, none too bad, but man, there area a lot of little ones ! Great race, nice organization. Thumbs up.

Mississippi Blues was almost everything I'm looking for in a marathon. Yes, there were hills after hills after hills, and I could have used a good flat stretch before mile 23, but no one hill was a killer. So that challenge aside, let me roll off the many plusses:
1. Volunteers and more volunteers. Yes, the organizers got this right. Aid stations done well, including 3 GUs.
2. Smiling, happy people. Almost creepy, but EVERYONE I met in this city wanted to welcome me and wish me well.
3. Decent variety on the course. After the first 2.5 miles, it was lots of older residential areas- about 15 miles of them. Good variety with interesting homes, changing scenery, and shade. Inevitably, the course passes through a few tired areas, but you get the good and the improving.
4. Great after party. Wonderful Blues concert. And considering that there was a half AND a full, believe it or not, there was plenty of food. Unlimited pizza and beer, but also tomato basil soup and rice & beans. That's a nice touch.
5. Reasonable logistics. Easy flights into Jackson and no need to rent a car. Quick cab ride to the downtown area. I got a great rate at the Hilton and walked to the start.
6. Yes, the medal is huge and the shirt is a work of art. Not sure I'd run in it, but I might frame it.

This was not a PR- the hills and unseasonably warm weather (71 at the finish) nixed that- but still faster than my average. The experience was well worth it, And really, how many marathons are there in January (or in Mississippi...)?

Do this one.

Wow, this was a very tough hilly course but so worth the trip. Everything was top notch including packet pickup,race start,police/traffic control,ammenities, hotel,beer, etc. I would have given it a perfect score except the road conditions were tough. I knew it going in so I was very carefull but I definately could feel the difference in my feet during and after the race.
The volunteers were the friendliest people I have ever seen. At least 100 people thanked me for coming to Mississippi. When I thanked a little boy, picking up cups,for volunteering, his response was,' My pleasure Mam thank you for coming to Mississippi'. I have never seen anything like it.
The after party had never ending food, beer and music and volunteers even walked around the entire sight handing out extra bananas and water.
I highly reccomend the Marriott. I was there 3 nights and everytime they saw me in the lobby they would offer me a free bottle of water. The bartender even offered water to take to my room after cocktails one night.
And...the medal is HUGE!!

Flew in from NYC to run the MS Blues. The distance from the airport to the hotels/expo is about 12 miles. The expo was well run and very easy to get in and out. My goody bad included a harmonica as well as the coolest race shirt I've ever received - a tye-dyed tech shirt!!! Groovy!

Race Day - Walk the half mile or so from the Hilton Garden Inn where I am staying to the start. You line up by the honor system but they have pace groups with signs so you should know where to line up. Most people lined up honestly. The national anthem is played on the electric guitar. Cool!
The conditions of the roads were somewhat poor only the first few miles and the last few miles with lots of cracks but for the large majority of the race it was never an issue. Yes, this is a rolling course but IMO, it's not as hilly as many reviews have made it out to be. All the hills are short and there are just as many downhills as uphills so I do think it's possible to run a good race here.

The course does wind through several neighborhoods and returning to downtown by the Capitol Building. What was nice was that there were no long highway stretches that you often have in marathons. There are hydration stations every 1.6 miles with enthusiastic volunteers who constantly thanked me for coming before I could even thank them for their service. Traffic control was also excellent. With the half marathoners splitting off from the marathon after Mile 3, crowding on the course is not an issue at all. Not a ton of spectators but those that were there were awesome!
Nice finish, eventhough it's a bit uphill but who cares? A friendly volunteer places the most humongous and without a doubt the coolest guitar-shaped finisher's medal around my neck. The finishers area also has free beer, pizza, sandwiches, soups, gatorade, etc.

On my way back to the hotel, I pass by Downtown Cafe on Capitol Street where the owner is grilling burgers and hot dogs. He usually isn't open Saturdays but had a special menu just for the runners. Have to say, that this was some of the best food I've ever had. He was just an example of the downright hospitable and friendly nature of the locals. Every person will feel at home and welcome by the entire city of Jackson. Oh, and also drop by Elite Restaurant for dinner and get the famous veal cutlets in cream sauce!!!
In closing, I highly recommend this race. Very well organized, great volunteers, no crowded conditions, great post race food. They really do treat the runners well here. Don't be too afraid of the hills, just incorporate them into your daily runs and you'll be just fine and will be glad you did this race. The entire city is appreciative of you participating in this race. I'm just sad that my weekend had to come to a close.

I traveled from California to Mississippi for this year's Mississippi Blues Marathon, and it was worth it! I knew I was in for a great experience when a race official even went out of his way just to help me with my registration because I had made an error. The race weekend organization and execution were exceptional.

The race expo was small but efficient...appropriate for a race of this size. The race swag was great though! The creative race shirt captures the spirit of the race. The blues CD and harmonica were an unexpected surprise. There was no official pre-race pasta party, but the race bag included a long list of restaurants that were offering race weekend specials. I ended up eating at my hotel (Hilton Garden Inn) which had an excellent pasta special and was ideally located near the Expo and starting line.

Race day was similarly well orchestrated. The starting line was well organized, all announcements were clear, and the race started on time. Aid stations were plentiful and well stocked and there was enthusiastic support at many locations on the course. I was impressed by the number of fans that said things such as 'I'm proud of you' and 'Thank you for running our race'...true southern hospitality! During the race, I found that the road surface was a little choppy in places, but at least there were signs posted to warn us. The course had many rolling hills as advertised, but there were no overwhelming climbs. I did enjoy the fact that the last 3-4 miles were downtown so that there were more spectators along this part of the course (although that didn't make the last 3-4 miles hurt any less).

Once I crossed the finish line I received a huge medal that rivals that of the Little Rock Marathon. I then made my way to the food tent where I found plenty of Gatorade, pizza, cookies, bananas, beans and rice and soup (I was one of the earlier marathon finishers though, so I can't comment on how much food was left for the 4 or 5 hour finishers). The band in the post race area was fun and there were plenty of friendly, interesting people to chat with.

In summary, Mississippi Blues is a marathon that I wouldn't hesitate to run again. I really appreciated the race director's attention to detail and the great southern hospitality. On a side note, if your a sports fan, I definitely recommend driving out to the sports bar Last Call to watch the NFL playoffs. It was recommended to us by some locals and we had a great time there.