Overall Rating
Overall Rating (69 Reviews)
4.2
(69 Ratings)  (69 Reviews)
DIFFICULTY
2
SCENERY
3.9
PRODUCTION
4.4
SWAG
3.9
The Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon course features a fast, flat, BQ-friendly path along the coast from Pass Christian to Biloxi. Runners are entertained by supporters and spectators while viewing breathtaking beaches historic homes, local restaurants and luxury casino resorts. The course will be a USATF Certified Boston Qualifier route. Founded … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Dec 14):
  2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
 
H (°F)  67  74  72  67  58
L (°F)  48  59  55  44  51
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Recent reviews

    mojolobo83 FIRST-TIMER '23

    Packet pick-up was very simple and easy. Small selection to shop from. VERY FLAT, turn off your brain course. Just run straight until Mile 12. Spectators mostly at the Start … MORE

    Packet pick-up was very simple and easy. Small selection to shop from.

    VERY FLAT, turn off your brain course. Just run straight until Mile 12. Spectators mostly at the Start & Finish line but can sometimes be found along the shoreline. I really enjoyed the positive and sometimes hilarious cheers from the water/electrolyte volunteers, they were great.

    Post drinks from Fly Llama Brewing were great. Jambalaya from Uncle Larry’s was delicious.

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    3
    SCENERY
    3
    SWAG
    1

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    mnjogger FIRST-TIMER '23

    If you are looking for a flat December course with comfortable temps, this marathon is one to give serious thought to. The course runs in one lane of a road … MORE

    If you are looking for a flat December course with comfortable temps, this marathon is one to give serious thought to. The course runs in one lane of a road along the sandy beaches – which are beautiful – for most of the way.

    Here is my assessment:
    Race communications … very good. You knew where to be, when, and what to expect.

    Packet pickup – easy
    Expo – small (3 maybe 4 booths mostly promoting other races). There was some race merch for sale.

    Race Day:
    – Weather was between 55-60, overcast, with a 17 mph swirling wind on our day. Wind wasn’t an issue until part of the last mile where I needed to put my head down to run into the wind once I got on top of the ramp.
    – Rode the bus from the Margaritaville Resort, which is where I stayed, to the start. Can you ever have enough biffies at the start?
    – Not a lot of spectators along the route, so hopefully you are self-motivated.
    – Ample police presence keeping runners safe in the one lane of traffic set aside for us.
    – Fluid stops and biffy every ~1.25 miles
    – Missed gel stop at 8 but found the others at 12, 18, 22
    – Flat course except at end. For me the issue with the ramp at the end is not its elevation, but its angle in the ascent. It’s maybe 0.25 mile in length and tilted, but not a reason to avoid this race. It’s peculiar why they didn’t start the race further down the road so we could avoid the ramp entirely.
    – As mentioned, we ran in one lane of traffic Be mindful of that for your ankles because roads are sloped. Try to run on the flattest part you can find.

    Post race:
    – Nice finish area in a local baseball stadium.
    – There was some food (soup, sandwich, chips?) and water/beer. I did not see the usual banana/bagel.

    Recommendations:
    ** Add hand sanitizers to biffies or have them at water stops
    ** Since the water stops coincide with the biffy, provide the water stop staff with extra TP just in case it’s needed.
    ** After the race you needed to walk up stadium stairs to get to food/beverages on the upper level. Preference would be to have them on the same level as the finish line.

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    3

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    Alexandrarose1 FIRST-TIMER '23

    This was the flattest course I've run so far. It was completely flat until the hill at the end. It was a point to point course along the water, which … MORE

    This was the flattest course I’ve run so far. It was completely flat until the hill at the end. It was a point to point course along the water, which was great. Not a lot of spectators, plenty of water stations, shuttles to the start line. I really liked this marathon.

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    4
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    3

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    pablopelos REPEAT RUNNER '23

    Course is essentially flat except for an onramp and offramp near the end, You can choose to either run on the roads, or like i did on the miles of … MORE

    Course is essentially flat except for an onramp and offramp near the end, You can choose to either run on the roads, or like i did on the miles of sidewalk along the beach. Nice view of the Gulf of Mexico and beautiful house across from the beach. Very nice post race festivities, gumbo, beer, champagne, pulled pork, etc…

    DIFFICULTY
    2
    PRODUCTION
    4
    SCENERY
    3
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    slosey76 FIRST-TIMER '23

    Second, Time around doing a race with fresh junkies racing as I had competed in the Louisiana Marathon with them as well, and once again, I was completely blown away … MORE

    Second, Time around doing a race with fresh junkies racing as I had competed in the Louisiana Marathon with them as well, and once again, I was completely blown away with their over the top production for such a small-ish mid-level race. These guys know what they’re doing. I wish they were in charge of some way bigger races that don’t operate even half as good.

    Let’s start out with the small expo that they produce but it absolutely has everything you want need and desire, including race specific swag items that are 2nd to none.

    Transportation to the start of this point-to-point race was flawless, and the buses just stay there in case of bad weather, as they have plenty of buses for a one-way trip for every race participant, and I absolutely blows my mind.

    This race course is absolutely pancake flat minus mile 24 1/2 to 25 1/2 which is a bit of a challenge running up at Cloverleaf after zero elevation gain but as somebody from the Midwest it was not an issue except for the 20 mile an hour headwind, which they obviously can’t do anything about.

    Finishing inside the baseball park stadium was a absolute thrill and being up on the Jumbotron coming across the finish line what is a very special touch. After race, food and drink was plentiful and varied, including all of the other southern favors that you would want to have both in the way of food and beverage from local breweries.

    Race swag is everything you wanted to be with a nice comfy T-shirt and a beautiful metal which happened to be a really cool turtle for the marathon this year that I really enjoyed

    Cannot recommend Mississippi gulf coast, marathon enough to friends and foe alike would be an absolute great first marathon or 50 state addition.

    DIFFICULTY
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    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    5
    My Media

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    emilousmiley FIRST-TIMER '23

    Epic aid stations spaced perfectly throughout the course. An absolutely amazing half weather it's your first time completing one or you are a repeat runner. The culture present at this … MORE

    Epic aid stations spaced perfectly throughout the course. An absolutely amazing half weather it’s your first time completing one or you are a repeat runner. The culture present at this run was spectacular and made an amazing experience even better. As much as I enjoy other runs, they don’t hold a candle to this one 15 out of 10 DO RECOMMEND!

    DIFFICULTY
    4
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    5
    SWAG
    5
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    SkylaneVal FIRST-TIMER '23

    The race support at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Half is great. They had aid stations at every mile with a couple port-o-potties, water, and power aid. I know they had … MORE

    The race support at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Half is great. They had aid stations at every mile with a couple port-o-potties, water, and power aid. I know they had Gu at some stations as well, but I didn’t pay attention to that because I had my own fuel. The medal at the end is really cute as well (a sea turtle).

    There is not much in the way of crowd support. Very few people cheering. The course is flat and straight, but this year had a lot of wind, sometimes a headwind to make it challenging. The course also was about 0.1 miles too long. Since it didn’t have any turns, I don’t think my watch was off that much and I saw others talking about it too.

    Packet pickup was super smooth. Nice t-shirt and not a lot of junk in the bag that I’m just going to throw away.

    Overall, I recommend this race.

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    3
    SWAG
    3

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    seagroves87 FIRST-TIMER '23

    I chose this race for Mississippi since I thought it would be nice to run by the beach and it also worked out well with the Memphis St. Jude Half. … MORE

    I chose this race for Mississippi since I thought it would be nice to run by the beach and it also worked out well with the Memphis St. Jude Half. This is the week after the St. Jude Half so I took the week off and spent it in the South and made my way to this race from Tennessee. This race is pretty easy to travel to as it is about 1 hour and 20 minutes from New Orleans and there is also a smaller local airport in Gulfport. I flew into Memphis for my trip last week and flew out of New Orleans after the race as there were more and cheaper flight options than Gulfport and I was renting a care anyways and it was an easy drive. There are lots of lodging options in hotels and casinos by the finish line of the race. I stayed at the Double Tree in Biloxi since I did not want to stay in a casino as it’s been a rough year for my lungs and I did not want to be somewhere with a lot of smoke. This was a very convenient hotel and within walking distance to finish line and shuttle. This race offers race day packet pick-up or you can get the packet early at the Margaritaville Resort. I got my packet before the 5K on Saturday. I was happy they let me pick up my packet for both races that morning. This was the most time efficient plan. I’m not sure if more booths open later but there did not appear to be much of an expo just an area selling race merch and running gear. Packet pick-up was relatively efficient. Packet included bib, a cute drawstring bag with a turtle design and a polyblend T-shirt with a turtle design. You also got a free polyblend training T-shirt mailed to your home the spring before the race if you register early. I liked the swag a lot. My only complaint is the 5K and half shirts were exactly the same except the distance written. I wish they were slightly different i.e. one short-sleeved and one long-sleeved, one polyblend and one tech, or different colors or designs. The race is a point to point course. There are shuttles that take you from the finish at MGM park a minor league baseball stadium in BIloxi to the start by the Mississippi aquarium in Gulfport. I was able to walk to the shuttle from my hotel. The shuttles seemed organized and it was very clear which ones were for half and which ones were for the full. It was a little annoying waiting for the race to start as it was a bit cold and windy and quite dark in the start area. The start was otherwise well organized. There were no corrals but there were pacers to help people line up by pace. The slowest pacer was 3 hours. I lined up a bit behind the 3 hour pacer. I was hoping to finish around 3:15 as I was feeling better than last week but not 100%. Everyone passed through the corral quite quickly which was good as I had a flight to catch after the race but the start was more congested than Memphis where the start was more staggered. This was a pretty large race with a few thousand for the half. There were lots of back of packers and I was never running alone. The half is the second half of the full marathon so the half marathoners basically have the same time limit as the marathon so this is very walker friendly. Although I’d imagine this set up is annoying for fast marathoners who have to weave around us. As I said it my title the first 11.5 miles are wonderful. This race is a point to point along the road next to the beach and you actually see the beach for the entire first 11.5 miles. The other side has interesting tourist attractions and buildings. It is a really nice course. It is also very flat for the first 11.5 miles. Although I will admit it was almost too flat and straight. Sometimes I need a little elevation change or a turn here to mix it up or I get kind of stuck in a steady, slow pace. This is what I was doing and I was exactly on pace for 3:15 during this section. The course is also well organized with one lane closed from traffic and mile markers and plenty of aid stations. Aid stations were nearly every mile and had very enthusiastic volunteers with water and Powerade. One very minor suggestion is I wish they used different cups for water and Powerade. They had the same cups and I’d sometimes have to ask the volunteers which one they had. I didn’t see any nutrition on course but maybe I missed it. It’s not the most spectator friendly race but there are some spectators and enough volunteers and other runners to make it an exciting atmosphere. I thought the weather was pretty good. It was a nice running temp although cold for Southerners but there was a strong wind. The wind wasn’t too bad the first 11.5 miles as it was mostly a crosswind and was slightly blowing in the right direction. Not enough to help speed us on along but it also didn’t slow us down. This all changed at mile 11.5. I’ll be honest I absolutely hated the end of this race. At about mile 11.5 you go on a highway ramp. It is a pretty steep uphill and also quite ugly and ruins the peaceful beach vibes. The worst is there is a slight uphill for about half a mile right into the wind. This was miserable and I realized I did not bank nearly enough time to make my goal with the difficulty of this section. I trudged along and was very happy to make it to the turn around as it was downhill and with the wind to get off the ramp. You then ran a block and into the baseball stadium. There was a slight include leading up into the stadium which was also a bit annoying. The finish is the stadium is cool with a finish arch with an announcer. My finishing time was slower than my goal as I didn’t bank enough time for the end but was faster than last week. If you are trying to PR or BQ make sure you account for the end in your strategy. The medal is a really cute sea turtle design. I like it a lot though it is a bit smaller than some of my half marathon medals. You get water at the finish. There is a table where you get an extra challenge medal if you also did the 5K as well. It was very annoying though to have to go up stadium steps to get to the post race party. I’ll start with the positives of the post race party. There were good drink options and I loved that they had both soda and non-alcoholic beer (though it was Heineken 0.0 which is not nearly as good as Athletic brewing company). However they had some of the worst post-race food for vegetarians. They only had fruit for basic post-race snacks. No granola bars or chips or anything more substantial. There were lots of savory food options but absolutely nothing vegetarian. I thought the race was between 4 and 5 sneakers and rounded down due to the lack of veggie options. I still thought this was a very good race and a good choice for Mississippi. If they could figure out how to fix the end so it wasn’t as miserable and had some veggie options at the end it would be 5 sneakers for sure.

    DIFFICULTY
    3
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
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    slomojohn FIRST-TIMER '23

    Fresh Junkie racing puts on this race and the Louisiana Marathon, and it's simply top notch. The race organization is great, the people are wonderful, and its just a wonderful … MORE

    Fresh Junkie racing puts on this race and the Louisiana Marathon, and it’s simply top notch. The race organization is great, the people are wonderful, and its just a wonderful experience. Highly recommend doing all their races.

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    4

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    todd17406 FIRST-TIMER '23

    Highly recommend this one for Mississippi. As many others have posted, the views of the Gulf and the nice homes are gorgeous. Very flat and fast course as long as … MORE

    Highly recommend this one for Mississippi. As many others have posted, the views of the Gulf and the nice homes are gorgeous. Very flat and fast course as long as the wind cooperates. Dec. of 2023 brought 15 mph headwinds, but the NNW direction made it kind of a cross-breeze. Aid stations about every 1.2 miles were stocked with Water and Gatoraide. Very well organized event. Police were in abundance on all road crossings.

    DIFFICULTY
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    3

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    beachbum67 FIRST-TIMER '23

    One way fast flat course until the last mile when you have to run up an exit ramp. Overall it was an easy course with lots of aid stations. MORE

    One way fast flat course until the last mile when you have to run up an exit ramp. Overall it was an easy course with lots of aid stations.

    DIFFICULTY
    1
    PRODUCTION
    4
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    4

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    CAL55 FIRST-TIMER '23

    I’d recommend this race if you’re looking for something flat and point to point. The bib pickup was under a covered parking lot of Margaritaville hotel/casino, and it was pretty … MORE

    I’d recommend this race if you’re looking for something flat and point to point. The bib pickup was under a covered parking lot of Margaritaville hotel/casino, and it was pretty small. I think it was the race merchandise tent and a couple of local vendors. The shuttle was a block away from my Hilton hotel, and the lines went pretty quickly. The drop off point at the start was cold and windy, but I sought shelter in a business building entranceway. The course was flat and ran down a single road for most of the race. The last two miles brought us up a bridge against heavy winds, but then back down toward the MGM Park for a in-stadium finish. Post race party was decent; free beer; shrimp gumbo, pulled pork sandwiches, fruit, and bottled electrolyte drinks. Medal and race shirt both featured a turtle. Biloxi is pretty easy to get around once you’re out of the downtown area. The GPT airport is small with two food options and one gift shop and coffee shop. Plenty of Half Fanatics and 50 Staters were in attendance.

    DIFFICULTY
    2
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    richwoo2 REPEAT RUNNER '23

    Summary: small expo, phenomenal afterparty, free race photos, best ocean view for 99% of the race, waffle houses, loads of aids stations, sweet afterparty, cool turtle metal medal, and Desi … MORE

    Summary: small expo, phenomenal afterparty, free race photos, best ocean view for 99% of the race, waffle houses, loads of aids stations, sweet afterparty, cool turtle metal medal, and Desi Linden ran this!

    I ran the half marathon during covid with a group from my hometown and we ran into Desi Linden in the restaurant of the Beau casino, so it’s cool a racing celebrity decided to partake in this small town event! I decided to run the marathon this time by myself in conjunction with the Louisiana Marathon for the challenge medal. Coming in from New Orleans, I saw a lot of advertisements and billboards talking about this event.

    Race morning: free parking, parked within 2 blocks of the finish line, no line to get on bus. Mid size crowd for the marathon. Very windy out, but we could stay on the buses before the start!

    Not a lot of pacers. I had to choose between a 3:15 pacer or 4 hour pacer, but I found a few Midwest runners who decided to form a 3:45 group! You won’t see a lot of spectators until the end, but you will catch a lot of aid station every 2 miles or just another Waffle House along the way. Best part is you aren’t leaving the coast ocean view until the last two miles with the giant looping bridge by the Beau casino. Coming down the bridge and into the stadium wasn’t a tough or boring finish. I am glad I drafted with this group for 90% of this race because it was windy and I wasn’t expecting anywhere near PR that day.

    I loved the afterparty! First, you have to walk up the bleachers to get your food and drink after running a marathon. They rewarded us with shrimp gumbo, bbq pork sandwiches, sodas, fruits, mini snack goodies, and beer. Also, the race volunteers and people were super sweet. I did get a cool folding backpack from the casino since I was a MGM member at the race. Lots of casinos or local restaurants walking distance away to celebrate!

    DIFFICULTY
    3
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    5
    SWAG
    5

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    BrianYowler FIRST-TIMER '23

    -Well organized point-to-point race -25 miles of running directly beside beach/gulf -No parking at start, but easy drop-off -More aid stations than I could count! Water and Powerade at all. … MORE

    -Well organized point-to-point race
    -25 miles of running directly beside beach/gulf
    -No parking at start, but easy drop-off
    -More aid stations than I could count! Water and Powerade at all. Gels at 2.
    -Pancake flat (short out and back in mile 25 that has slight uphill/on-ramp)
    -Great local/craft beer and pulled-pork sandwiches at finish
    -Finish inside the baseball stadium allowed great view for spectators
    -1 lane of road closed for runners, 1 lane open to traffic…easy for spectators to see you as many times as they’d like!
    -Packet pick-up was no frills and easy
    -Free race photos
    -Super soft race shirts
    -Nicely themed medals (sea turtles in ’23)
    -Nice area for a winter beach weekend

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    jjmather FIRST-TIMER '23

    Good course support. Flat for majority of the race. A half marathon that would be good for a p.r. or first time half marathoner. Hill towards the end of the … MORE

    Good course support. Flat for majority of the race. A half marathon that would be good for a p.r. or first time half marathoner. Hill towards the end of the race. Good medal for all finishers.

    DIFFICULTY
    4
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    4
    SWAG
    5
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    Lphi FIRST-TIMER '23

    This is a flat coarse, with beautiful views of the MS Gulf Coast. There are plenty of aid stations, the race is very well organized and the community support is … MORE

    This is a flat coarse, with beautiful views of the MS Gulf Coast. There are plenty of aid stations, the race is very well organized and the community support is great. There is plenty of post race snacks, food, and beer. I also really love the medals and t-shirts each year. I’ve run the Half Marathon twice and this was my first year to run the full. I’ll be back next year for sure!

    DIFFICULTY
    4
    PRODUCTION
    5
    SCENERY
    5
    SWAG
    5

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    islandgirl FIRST-TIMER '23

    Loved the 5k, so many friendly people!! The swag, directions, after race food etc! Very professional organized race!! There isn’t one thing i can add to make this race better. … MORE

    Loved the 5k, so many friendly people!!
    The swag, directions, after race food etc! Very professional organized race!! There isn’t one thing i can add to make this race better. This race will not disappoint!

    DIFFICULTY
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    seagroves87 FIRST-TIMER '23

    This 5K takes place on Saturday the day before the Mississippi Gulf Coast Half & Full Marathon. I did it as part of the challenge with the half marathon. My … MORE

    This 5K takes place on Saturday the day before the Mississippi Gulf Coast Half & Full Marathon. I did it as part of the challenge with the half marathon. My half marathon review has more details about the specifics of the race. The 5K is also point to point and ends at the Margaritaville Resort. This is also where packet pick up is. Of note it is about 1.5 miles from MGM park which is the finish for the half/full so I drove and it was easy to park. I got my packet race day and it was easy and they let me pick-up both the 5K and half packet before the race. Packet included drawstring bag and nice polyblend shirt. You then take a shuttle to the 5K start. The 5K start was at a beautiful beach and there was a nice boardwalk to get a warm-up walk on. There was no corrals or signs for pace and people just lined up for the race. The race was easy to follow as it was just point to point. I didn’t really look at the course and I assumed it was going to be flat and it was for 1 mile but then it was up a pretty steep bridge and there was a headwind for most of the race so it was actually pretty hard for a 5K. I think it would be pretty scenic though it was foggy this morning. I took it pretty easy and walked-jogged it and finished it under 45 minutes which is normally slow for me but what I was aiming for. You got kind of a cute medal with a ferris wheel at the end. The post race party was nice for a 5K but again there was no veggie options. Overall this is a nice additional to the longer races on Sunday and worth doing for some extra bling if it works with your schedule.

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    jmattw02 REPEAT RUNNER '23

    This is my 2nd year running this race. Getting to run near water is always a plus, not to mention all of the fun things to do in the area. … MORE

    This is my 2nd year running this race. Getting to run near water is always a plus, not to mention all of the fun things to do in the area. The majority of this race is across a bridge, and the incline can be a challenge, so be prepared. The finish line is at the Margaritaville Resort, which is nice. Overall, this race is very well put together.

    DIFFICULTY
    5
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    4

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    smearon77 FIRST-TIMER '22

    This was a fun race along the coast that was super flat except for the last stretch that goes around the freeway entrance. I was a little surprised by this … MORE

    This was a fun race along the coast that was super flat except for the last stretch that goes around the freeway entrance. I was a little surprised by this but I still got one of my fastest times in recent years. The temperature was great for running and the air stations were well-organized and plentiful.

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  1. Races
  2. Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon