Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon

 

This was my 3rd marathon in about 5 weeks (Fort Worth, Logjammer Shreveport, and this one) so my legs weren’t super fresh and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was hoping to get sub 5 and an outside hope at breaking 4 hours.

Race morning – I drove my car from my nearby hotel to the finish line area and found free parking in the Beau Rivage casino garage. Then walked the couple blocks to the finish line to board a school bus. We had to take a bus from the finish line to the start (I think it was around a half hour ride). At the starting area, it was a bit cold (I think in the 40’s) and windy. It started drizzling so many of jumped back onboard the bus until a few minutes before the start. Then we were off.

My legs felt sore from the get-go. Not painful and not tired (actually kind of strong) but sore. Anyway, I wanted to be near the 4:00 hour pacer and found myself there by mile 1.

From the starting gun (technically a countdown) one could feel the wind. It came at me from my left and was cold. I had picked up a $5 t-shirt (from the incorrectly named Dollar Store) the day before to wear until the start to stay warm. I usually drop these at the start as they are often collected and donated to causes….I kept this one on over my running top the whole race. The wind was constant with some gusts – sometimes enough to actually move my drag leg foot if it was in the air.

Overall, the course is flat and 99% right on the Gulf shoreline. It was on a paved road with 1/2 roped off from traffic. Aid stations were evenly spaced and pretty soon – quicker than I anticipate – we were at mile 1o. I was doing well…around a 3:57 pace or so.

At around the half-marathon, my morning coffee and the cup or two of water at aid table caught up and I had to pee. But I passed on the next two port-a-johns as they had people waiting. Soon I came to around the 15 mile area and there were free port-a-johns so I cruised into one. Just trying to close the door in the wind was challenging but I was soon back on the road a liter/gallon of urine lighter.

I found myself slightly behind the 4:00 hour pacers but within a few miles was back with them. I actually passed them a little bit – but they were never more than a minute or two behind me.

I was happy with my pace, still slightly under 4 hours but legs were getting a bit tired. At around mile 24.75 (very rough estimate) we turned the corner and went onto an on-ramp that climbed. I think it was about 3 stories tall (I saw it from my car after the race and I was on the 2d floor and it was a bit higher than me). In addition to this nice climb, the shift in direct put runners into a cold head wind (I hear 20mph).

The 4 hour pacers got ahead of me but I tried to stay up best as I could. That overpass was, just my own personal opinion, the hardest part of the course. As we came down the overpass I saw that I was really close to the 4 hour mark so I tried to pick up the pace but the course ran in front of the baseball diamond where the end was, around another corner, into the ballpark, and along the base line to the finish. Missed my 4 hour goal by 2 minutes 57 seconds. Still my fastest marathon in over a dozen years so in light of the cold and wind, I was pleased with my time. It even put the thoughts of a Boston Qualifying time in my mind (I’m checking out future races to use as a possible BQ….I am entered in Little Rock on March 1, but course description tells me that Little Rock may not be my wisest choice for a BQ). This was also my first marathon or longer finish in Mississippi, so one step closer to the 50 States Marathon Club. Plus, I found a dollar casino chip on the parking garage floor heading back to my car – I kept it as a souvenir.

Overall, a very good race. Well organized and, for me, very good support.