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May 8, 2024

Mississippi River Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Mississippi River Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.9

Spectators 3.8

Number of comments: 66 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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

N. B. from TN (2/15/2015) "A Well 'Run' Race." (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi River Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Like everyone else says, the course is long. I ran 26.56. I know gps isn't always exact, but over the seven years I've used Garmin, I've never had this much discrepency. So if you're trying to qualify, plan to run a few seconds faster pace per mile. Finding the packet pick-up in the local mall took a little guesswork, and the mobile site for the race doesn't easily provide a course map or complete race info. If you need it, make sure you print a course map beforehand. Other than that, everything was great! Beautiful course with an amazing bridge crossing at 14. Only an eighty foot elevation gain, mostly over the two miles on the bridge. Plenty of water stops with gatorade, at every mile from mile 6 on, except on the bridge. Gu at several stops. All the volunteers are enthusiastic and helpful! Crowd support is sparse along most of the course on the highway. But the few that are there are great! An excellent race for those that like to get in the zone. If you have friends or family cheering you on, it's really easy for them to see you many times along the course. They can just hop in the car, drive down the road to see you come by again! Great finish in downtown Greenville, after the last five miles through a neighborhood with lots of people cheering you from their yards. If you're running fast, you'll be weaving through the last of the half marathoners at this point. The half starts at the same time, at mile 13 of the course, allowing for most of the half to finish long before the marathon finishers. If you're a 50 stater, this counts for either AR or MS, though it's officially registered in AR. I'll definitely be back, but just for a great run, not for another PR.
D. B. from Oklahoma City, OK (7/30/2014) "Flat and fast. Good PR course" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi River Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I agree with most comments already posted. I loved that the weather was cold for my attempt at sub-3:00 marathon (which was achieved). The point to point course was great and an easy run. The 'hill' in the middle, over the river was not bad and certainly at a fair part of the course. My only concern was the course was long. 26.55 miles on my Garmin. My friend's Garmin read 13.3 miles for the Half. Great race! Will be back for another PR someday.
J. J. from Jackson, MS (3/3/2014) "Flat, friendly, and fun" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Mississippi River Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A great race in the Mississippi River Delta and the perfect size for me. I think there were around 1000 or so between the full and the half, but per this website only 379 full finishers. I like this amount. You won't be lonely, but you also won't be in a tight pack were you can't ever catch your stride. Good: 1. Organization - Easy packet pick-up, parking at race dace, and transportation. This is a one-way race, so you have to get there early to ride a bus to the start (you park at the finish obviously). But it is small enough and well organized that you really don't have to get there that early. 2. Arkansas and Mississippi. It's a nice race in two states and can count towards either (but not both) for the 50 state thing. You run through a nice little town in Arkansas, cross the Mississippi River (the only 'hill' on the course), and then finish in Greenville, MS. 3. People. As for most races this size, there were not a lot of spectators, but the ones that were there were very friendly and energetic. From the people at the hotel the night before, all through the race, and then the finish, everyone was thankful for us to run it and genuinely interested in us, in running, and in doing anything they could do to help us enjoy our time there. 4. Good cause. This is not an affluent part of the country and the cause (teachers) is great. Maybe I should just think more about running, but if I'm going to spend some money on hotels, food, etc. it felt nice to do it in an area that could really use a little economic stimulus. 5. Post race food. Really good stuff and plenty of it. It had all the usual post marathon, but the best were two different types of Mississippi Delta tamales. There were amazing and a great local tough. Thank you. Bad: 1. It is long. I know the race director will disagree for the second year in a row and I know Garmin watches are not perfect, but PLEASE re-measure this course. Every single person I know who has run this both last year and this year, myself included, has measured this at over 26.5 miles. So maybe our watches are off a little, but in 10 marathons, this is the only one that is that far off. Maybe the director is correct, but PLEASE, PLEASE re-measure the course to be sure. It is flat and would be perfect for a PR or Boston qualifying time. But if you are trying to qualify or set a PR but just a few seconds or even minutes, plan to run 26.5 miles. If you pace yourself for 26.2, you will not make your PR or qualifying time. 2. There are not a lot of hotels in Greenville. What is there is fine, but book early. 3. The few miles of the course right after the bridge is pretty boring. Not bad, but not exciting. There were several groups of organized spectators which helped a lot.
J. A. from AR (2/13/2014) "Awesome small race! Plan to be here every year." (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Mississippi River Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great race, well run, and benefiting a great cause. I ran the inaugural last year and enjoyed it again this year. The first half of the course around the lake is nice, the bridge is pretty cool, but the next 4.5 miles are a long, straight stretch of HWY 82. Thankfully, the good folks of MS come out and set up several cheering stations through here. Lots of residents in the neighborhoods from miles 20 - 23 do a great job with support. Great finisher amenities too. Lots of food and fun.
J. H. from Tennessee (2/12/2014) "Great race with a hard working race team" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Mississippi River Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is the 2nd time this race has been held and my 2nd time to participate. I enjoyed this year's race much more, due specifically to 'no head wind' like last year. It snowed slightly the night before but the city/county/race team had everything cleared by the start (8:00 a.m.) I love running in cold temps and also REALLY appreciate volunteers who work all the water stops & intersections under cold conditions. I can't really recall any negatives to mention. The positives are: 1) Bonfires at the start, to keep us warm until race time. 2) Volunteers (as I mentioned before). 3) Lots of port-a-potties, since the 1st 17-18 miles are mostly rural. 4) Free post-race 5 minute massages, to help 'work out the kinks'. 5) Lots of post race food, even if the pizza was cold by the time I got there (not their fault). 6) Nice T-shirt & medal. Thanks again for a great race!
F. A. from Clinton, MS (2/11/2014) "Good small marathon" (about: 2014) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi River Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The night before the marathon in 2014, Greenville had snow and ice. Thank you goes out to whoever built three bonfires to keep us warm before the race. That was needed, and very much appreciated as was the bag drop. The organization for the marathon was great. There was no confusion on the course, and all the turns were staffed. The aid station workers were great. The course was very flat, excepting the bridge over the MS River. The spectators that came out were great in Lake Village, AR and Greenville, MS. Elsewhere they were sparse, but that is understandable since it is the Delta. I am a race walker, not a runner, and I thoroughly enjoyed this marathon. I plan to come back and do this marathon again.
B. J. from Tupelo, Ms (2/10/2014) "Overall pretty good" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mississippi River Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My daughters who are 12 and 13 wanted to do a half marathon and we chose this one because it is fairly close to us and because it is so flat. I would say they had a wonderful experience. The ONLY problem is it measured extremely long. Like 13.4 and I didn't find one person out there who ran the 1/2 or full that said different.
D. D. from Jonesboro, AR (2/10/2014) "Flat, fast course" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Mississippi River Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my second time running this race. I was trying to qualify for Boston. It is a great course to qualify on and the volunteers and organiztion is excellent. However, for the second year in a row, my watch has measured the course to be 26.55. From reading what others have put, they have got the same thing. A little discouraging to come back when you are pacing yourself for 26.2 miles and it ends up being long. The course is a little boring in the middle because of the long stretch of highway. All in all, its an okay marathon. I would just recommend fixing the distance of the course.
L. M. from Mississippi (2/10/2014) "Really enjoyed myself!" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mississippi River Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first year running the full, ran the half last year. Both years it was very well organized and enjoyable. Look forward to running again next year!
C. C. from Greenville, MS (2/10/2014) "This was a great experience!" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mississippi River Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I had a great time running my first (of many, hopefully) half-marathons! It was a bit icy due to some winter weather the previous night, but it felt great! The run over the bridge was beautiful, and all the people cheering us on along the way were amazing! Each time I passed a group of supporters and volunteers, it motivated me to run harder. Lots of food and beer (including craft beer!!) was at the finish line and the race itself was very organized. I would definitely recommend this race to others.

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