Mississippi Blues Half Marathon
Jackson, Mississippi
Saturday, January 8, 2011

On Saturday, January 8, 2011 which would have been Elvis Presley’s 76th birthday, I race walked the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon in Jackson, Mississippi. The event celebrated the “King” and his Blues Roots. It was cold as the temperature started at 34 degrees and only climbed to 42 degrees by the time I finished the race. The wind varied around 5 to 10 mph and the skies were mostly sunny as I traversed the hilly and challenging course. I really appreciated the enthusiastic volunteers who manned the water/Gatorade stations which were located approximately every 1.5 miles in the frigid temperatures. I also greatly appreciated the police and other volunteers who braved the cold and kept the participants safe by ensuring that course was completely closed to traffic. The race was very well organized and featured many blues playing musical groups along the route and at the finish area. It was surprising how many spectators cheered along the course and thanked the participants for coming to Jackson to do the event. The people of Jackson were especially friendly and it was quite apparent that they were proud to be hosting the event and were really appreciative of the revenue that resulted from its occurrence. $30000 was offered in prize money which caused a significant number of elite runners to run both the marathon and half marathon. Many of the athletes met the USA Olympic qualifying standard for the marathon despite the fact that the course was very challenging. Many Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics, and 50 State Marathon Club members participated and it was especially enjoyable to spent time talking with so many of my friends from throughout the USA and meeting many members that I had not met before. As usual I had an enjoyable trip.