I found this race because I was dead set on completing 50 lifetime half marathons by the end of the year. This race was nearly 5 hours away from home, … MORE
I found this race because I was dead set on completing 50 lifetime half marathons by the end of the year. This race was nearly 5 hours away from home, but I was willing to make the trek. Natchez is a beautiful city on the bluffs of the Mississippi and I was impressed by the quaint, yet beautiful architecture. I stayed at the Magnolia Bluffs Casino that was about a mile from the start line. I drove because its a small enough town, that I didn’t think there would be traffic issues. There weren’t. The race had 63 registered and 61 finishers and the course was not closed! This was the first time during a race I had to dodge cars and wait at lights like I would during a training run. As in the description, there were definitely hills, but not too dreadful. There was a little bit of a dirt trail section that was nice on the legs for a change. There was a party water stop that you would see in the beginning and the end. Also another good stop with pickles and snacks. The finish line was at Natchez Brewery and I enjoyed my free beer. Overall, this was definitely the smallest race I ever ran in, but I did definitely enjoy the people I ran with and saw at the water stops.
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Holly Hilly Half
I found this race because I was dead set on completing 50 lifetime half marathons by the end of the year. This race was nearly 5 hours away from home, … MORE
I found this race because I was dead set on completing 50 lifetime half marathons by the end of the year. This race was nearly 5 hours away from home, but I was willing to make the trek. Natchez is a beautiful city on the bluffs of the Mississippi and I was impressed by the quaint, yet beautiful architecture. I stayed at the Magnolia Bluffs Casino that was about a mile from the start line. I drove because its a small enough town, that I didn’t think there would be traffic issues. There weren’t. The race had 63 registered and 61 finishers and the course was not closed! This was the first time during a race I had to dodge cars and wait at lights like I would during a training run. As in the description, there were definitely hills, but not too dreadful. There was a little bit of a dirt trail section that was nice on the legs for a change. There was a party water stop that you would see in the beginning and the end. Also another good stop with pickles and snacks. The finish line was at Natchez Brewery and I enjoyed my free beer. Overall, this was definitely the smallest race I ever ran in, but I did definitely enjoy the people I ran with and saw at the water stops.
Nope.
I ran this to check Mississippi off my 50 in 50 list. Leading up to the race I was nervous about the lack of communication and how little information was … MORE
I ran this to check Mississippi off my 50 in 50 list. Leading up to the race I was nervous about the lack of communication and how little information was available online… they didn’t announce packet pick up until about 5 o’clock the day before – even then they only announced it on Facebook (no email and no update to the website).
The morning of the race I got there about 45 min early and no one could say exactly where the race was going to start. We asked about water stops and bathrooms and they said there were no official water stops but some would be put on by locals and if we really need to use the restroom to ask somebody if we could use theirs. Yes. You read that right. They told us to ask a stranger to go in their home to use the restroom. NO WAY.
While I waited for the start I got to know some of the other runners and we hung out in a hotel lobby close by to stay warm.
When it was about time for the start a boy came and told us there was a line spray-painted down the street for us to gather around. We were told there would be arrows on the ground for us to follow for the race course and then they blew an air horn and we were off. There were only about 60 or so people running the half and the roads were not closed to cars. At first it wasn’t too scary because we were all together but as we all spaced out it got pretty nerve-racking being on the roads. You really had to pay a lot of attention to the course and to the cars. I was taking it really slow to be careful of cars but at some point I got off course. As I was running the area around me was seeming less and less safe (collapsed buildings, boarded up homes, bars over windows and doors). I paused to gain my bearings and saw another runner just ahead of me. He and I started making our way back together and two police officers stopped to help us find our way.
I knocked out about 15.5 miles but I finished.
I do not recommend this race.