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Mississippi Blues Marathon Race Report - 1/9/10 by Gloria Hinton |
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Written by Susan
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Wednesday, 13 January 2010 |
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This past weekend took me to Jackson, Mississippi where I completed the Mississippi Blues Marathon, state # 23. This race was my coldest marathon ever with the temperature at the start around 17 degrees and in the single digits as the day went on when the wind chilled effect was added. Over 2,000 had registered for the combined marathon and half but the two races had a total of only 1,373 finishers. I stayed at the Jackson Marriott - the host hotel for the race which was 4 blocks from the start. At 20 minutes before gun time for the start, I believe half of the participants were still in the lobby trying to stay warm. The race was run in conjunction with a race in Iraq with about 600 military personnel taking part. There was a big screen at our start where we could see all of the soldiers (it looked very cold there as well) and they counted down for the start. It was a nice touch and made you want to run a little stronger for them.
The volunteers were exceptional - every single one I passed thanked me for coming to Mississippi to run their race. It has to be tougher to stand out on the course for seven hours (the race time limit) pouring water and gatorade in ice cold weather than to be moving and staying a little warmer by participating. I was amazed at the cheerful support in such extreme conditions. The cups of liquid that had been poured in advance froze into a slushy substance. It was a new experience to get brain freeze from a cup of gatorade and it was also a first to experience my sweat freezing the second it hit the air. I had icicles hanging from my stocking cap. The course was very challenging even without the weather conditions due to the many hills on the course, especially in the last few miles. I was sorry to hear that the race had one death. A 40 year old male who was running the final leg of a 5 person relay collapsed with a heart attack on the course about 10 minutes ahead of me. He had only about a mile left to the finish. The race was rated by Runners World as having the "best schwag" (giveaways) for runners. We received a great medal shaped like a large guitar, an engraved harmonica with the race name, a CD of Mississippi Blues songs, a nice goody bag and a free ticket for a trolley ride and armband to get into the Blues clubs to celebrate on Saturday night. They had a nice tent with heaters at the finish and provided sub sandwiches, bagels, fruit and other food. I am happy to say I have finally worked through my injuries and I am back on track for my goal to complete a marathon in all 50 states. My next marathon will be the Bataan Death March in New Mexico in March. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 January 2010 )
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