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Apr 29, 2024

Mississippi Blues Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 3.8

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.1

Number of comments: 260 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 26 > ]

Joseph Javier from Vancouver, Canada (8/24/2014) "Beautiful City/Friendly People/Best Medal Ever!" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Doing my marathons alphabetically by city name so 'Jackson' was my 'J' marathon. Course had just enough rolling hills, volunteers were plentiful to hand out refreshments. Pay off in completing marathon is 'The Best Medal Ever'. I would recommend booking one of the preferred hotels to stay before they are sold out. Finally coming from Canada it was 'kewl' listening to people with real southern Mississippi accents.
R. A. from Minnesota (3/7/2014) "Friendly people" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Jackson, MS has the friendliest people I have met anywhere! It started with the rental car company staff and the hotel clerk who wished me luck to the many, many spectators, road crew volunteers and police who waved and cheered and ended with the TSA crew at the airport who congratulated me. It was incredible. The race was fine - very hilly as others have said, but a nice tour of the city. I didn't see any pizza at the end, but the red beans and rice was awesome. Thanks for the chocolate milk. Many (most?) of us got fleece shirts with a zipper that didn't work, but the race director made it right and my new and better shirt came in the mail this week. Kudos on acknowledging and fixing the problem.
D. B. from chicago,il (1/27/2014) "friendly people,tough course" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course is largely rolling hills -there are only a few flat stretches. Good scenery overall. The Jackson State Campus was vibrant with energy from the band. Everyone I encountered in Jackson was friendly; however, as a slow racer I found some of the later aid stations abandoned. The water and gatorade was still there though. On the full marathon course spectators were sparse for long sections between miles 8-21 which is ok by me but some runners would like a larger crowd. Due to some of the volunteers taking off the 'road crew' was opening some of the intersections starting about 5 hours in. According to the race brochure this shouldn't have happened for another hour. Myself and a few racers around me commented to the road crew about this but they continued to pick up cones, etc. Fortunately one of the road crew on a scooter kept returning to our group and keeping us on course - his assistance is much appreciated. The hills between mile 21 -24 are tough. The medal is unique and very cool. Last but not least : I recommend the IRON HORSE Grill for good beer and good quality bar food.
R. H. from Midwest, USA (1/26/2014) "Well Organized Race, Great Volunteers" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a race that is worth doing because it is well organized and the volunteers couldn't have been better. It is not very scenic. It has rolling hills but nothing all that difficult. For those complaining about the hills, toughen up, all races don't have to be flat as a pancake. Take what they give you and enjoy the experience. As for the roads, they were just fine. I don't expect marathon courses to be as smooth as my kitchen floor. What's the fun in a course if you aren't dodging something here and there! I stayed at the Marriott and would recommend it as it was close to the expo and start/finish line. They also graciously allow late check out - 3 p.m. The medal is as good as it gets - large and very colorful.
M. H. from VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (1/23/2014) "TOUGH HILLY COURSE" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This marathon is a definite not a PR course. The website said it has a few small hills and would be called a roller course. The course is hilly the most of the way. The roads in Jackson are horrible with potholes and cracks in the roads everywhere. It is too bad since this race has the potential to be one of the best not only in the south but also in the country. The volunteers were totally awesome and the people who came out thanked us for coming to Mississippi. Unfortunately there wasn't too many of them out there. The post- race was good with pizza, bananas, cookies and chocolate milk!!! Thank god some race directors listen and provide chocolate milk at the end. The race shirt was a long sleeve fleece winter sweeter which is nice but does have zipper problem. My quick solution was to leave it zipped and pull it over the head. Medal was totally AWESOME. Guitar shaped medal which has to weigh at least 2 lbs. My favorite medal by far. You also get a harmonica. The packet pickup was easy at the convention center and had a lot of vendors along with racing legend Bill Rodgers. Some suggestions for runners of future Blue marathons: I stayed at the Marriott which was nice but you will need a car if you don't want to be stuck there for the weekend. Jackson is completed dead on the weekends. In summary, as I am now 1/5 through the 50 State quest, I am glad I ran this one for the Mississippi Marathon. If Jackson can ever get there roads fixed, this would be a perfect hilly race.
R. W. from Memphis, TN (1/19/2014) "Hilly is an understatement..." (about: 2014) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Overall, the Blues Marathon was well organized and the plethora of volunteers more than made up for the sub par crowd support. To say the course was hilly is an understatement. The elevation profile does not look bad, but trust me... the hills are tiring. The roads were not in the best shape and I found myself dodging potholes and unevenness in the road quite a bit towards the end. The weather turned out to be fantastic. At the start of the race it was around 50 and warmed to the low 60's by the conclusion. I cannot believe I was wearing a tank top and capris in January! Would I run this race again? It would not be my first choice due to the challenging course, but the location is very convenient and the finisher's medal is top notch! Complete Race Recap: http://mrsrebeccawade.blogspot.com/2014/01/race-recap-2014-mississippi-blues.html
R. B. from Little Rock, AR (1/19/2014) "Hills, Hills, and more Hills" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my 1st year doing the MS Blues Half Marathon, it was a hilly route, but a good race. The weather allowed for a fun, nice, and hilly run.
J. B. from KY (1/18/2014) "great organization & small town feel" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Organization was top-notch, from the expo to the race itself. The race has a great feel starting with the expo where you receive a blues cd, harmonica, and long-sleeve zip shirt with your packet. The start was a mass rather than a wave, but this wasn't an issue due to the number of runners. The course was very well marked. The pure number of spectators was, as expected, not overwhelming, but those that were out were all extremely friendly, I can't count how many individuals thanked myself & the other runners for coming. The volunteers were equally as welcoming. Not a lot of music on the course, but given the number of runners for the full (around 800), it wasn't disappointing. The course was quite rolling, but no single hill was too painful. The course is well set-up to run predominantly in the shade. Overall, though not a PR course, it's a great event.
D. R. from Cincinnati, OH (1/14/2014) "Great Marathon in Welcoming City" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi Blues Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything about this race was well-done: 1) Medal, Half-zip fleece jacket for full marathoners, harmonica and CD were great. 2) At the expo, they sold last year's t-shirts for $5.00 and had many great bargains. 3) Packet pickup was very easy. 4) The course show-cased Jackson nicely. The neighborhoods were beautiful. 6) All volunteers did a great job and were very welcoming to the runners. 8) Plenty of food at finish line (chocolate milk, pizza, fruit, cookies). 9) I stayed at the Jackson Marriott and it was convenient to start/finish and expo. 10) Personnel at the Marriott made runners feel very welcome and had pre-race food available and towels, water, Gatorade and bananas available for after the race. I strongly recommend this race. I found Jackson to be one of the most friendly, welcoming cities I have ever visited.
L. R. from Southeast USA (1/14/2014) "Great volunteers, tough course" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Mississippi Blues Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Volunteers were the best. Very well organized. Pros....best medal ever, and I always enjoy the blues CD. Nice refreshments afterward including beer. Expo is small, but well done. Great entertainment before and after the race. Cons...rude Jackson drivers getting upset at intersections, a long line at the beer table (too much time marking bibs and not enough time pouring drinks by the two over-worked volunteers), no tee shirt (just a cheap fleece with a flimsy zipper that broke in one try) All the cons can easily be fixed next year which is why I mention them. The pros make this a race worth repeating. Oh yeah, the blues crawl is a good idea, but terrible execution. I don't think all the venues realized they were part of the crawl.

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