WILD CARD - Mississippi Blues Marathon

  I just signed up for this race a week ago.  My good friend, Andrew, and I had a weekend open so we decided to head down to Jackson, Mississippi to run the Mississippi Blues Marathon.  I left my house at 3:30am on Friday morning to pick him up by 5am.  From there we had a 13 hour trip down to Jackson, Mississippi.

  Here we are at the Start - Oh yeah, it was freaking freezing there.  I thought Mississippi was supposed to be warm.  The starting temperature was less than 20 degrees!

A quick video I took.

  For the last 6 miles, I ran with this guy.  I don't know his name but I found that Mississippi was his 49th state and 92nd overall.  He was a very nice guy and was encouraging everybody we passed.  I didn't intend to take a picture with him at the finish, it just sort of happened:

(shortly after we finished)

Me:  "Great run.  Do you mind taking a picture of me?"

Other Guy:  "No Problem, I bet that girl can take it."

Me:  (Now realizing that he thinks I want to take a picture WITH him instead of BY him) "Okay... Uh, Great!"

  Here I am with Andrew at the finish.  This was one of the coldest races I've done and it was by far the hilliest - Even hillier than Knoxville.  There were very few flat parts, you were either running up or down hills the entire time.  I still enjoyed my time in Jackson.  The volunteers were amazing - especially considering that they were out in the sub-freezing temps.  At most water stops, I had to drink the water through my teeth to filter out the ice.  Had a pretty good time considering the conditions - I finished in 4 hours and 25 minutes.  I was just happy to get in the car for the nice, warm, 14 hour ride home.

  Here's the take-home stuff for the wall.  A great finisher's medal shaped like a guitar, a race bib, and a Mississippi Blues Marathon engraved harmonica!