Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon

I travelled from Milwaukee to complete this event. This is marathon #21 and state #20 completed. Packet pickup was convenient and they had some nice/branded merchandise. Biloxi is a neat little town and everyone is very friendly. The bus pickup was right across the street from the Beau Rivage where we were staying. They bussed us out 26 miles and we started at 7 am. The aid stations were run well. The crowd support was minimal. The course is amazing as you have a view of the gulf coast and pancake flat roads for the first 24 miles. Once you pass mile marker #24, you ascend an on ramp and have a good little uphill run. The problems got worse as we were running into 30 mph winds until the turn around point at mile #25. The finish at MGM park (minor league baseball stadium) was very nice. The post-race food was some excellent Gumbo and the beer was Fly Llama which was good as well! To summarize, I would rank this marathon in the top 5 of the ones I've completed. Other then the last 2 miles, it was an easy course to complete. Biloxi is a very nice town that I would highly recommend visiting!

Given the relatively small size of the marathon and that this was its seventh year, I was really impressed with the organization. I stayed at the host hotel (Margaritaville Resort) and was able to catch a shuttle to the start right from the hotel parking lot. The resort also has a steakhouse in it that I went to for dinner the night before (chicken parm without the cheese and a side of asparagus - perfect). The course is flat and can be fast if the weather conditions are right- this year was a tad warm at the start (temps in the low 60s), some headwind off and on, and a steady rain started maybe 3 hours into the race. But weather is always a gamble with marathons and rarely will race day be ideal. Be prepared for a hill starting just past mile 24 - we ran up an overpass to cross the road from the beach side to run inland. The agonizing part was passing the turnaround for the half marathoners and continuing to run uphill until you reach the marathon turn. But once you turn around, it's a nice downhill (maybe just under half a mile), then you turn and head towards the MGM stadium to finish. Medals are pretty and fitting for the gulf coast - but the ribbon has a Velcro secure on it which is kind of weird. Nice swag overall and a nice small gear store before and after the race - mugs, shirts, sweatshirts, joggers, visors, sunglasses etc. I placed in my age group as well so I got a separate medal for that (you have to pick up your age group award in person at the stadium where you finish - they won't mail it or offer pick up on another day). Overall this was an excellent race and Biloxi is a cute place to stay with a small downtown area and a few boutiques to shop at if that's your thing.

Fantastic organization during a difficult year. These folks did an amazing job of organizing a social distanced marathon, all the safeguards in place. And we ran for 24 freaking miles straight down the beach... how do you beat that? Southern hospitality on full display the entire race weekend. No spectators this year so I can't give it a five for that but I can't give it less than a three given the circumstance.