I ran the 2016 Mississippi Blues Half Marathon as the first part of a back to back weekend. Paired with the First Light Half Marathon, they make up the Back 2 Back Challenge. You can participate in any combination of half and full marathons with my option to do two halves. Here's what I thought of the weekend's first event.

There was a light rain race morning that gave way to humidity by Mile 3. The weather for this event has been very different from year to year and 2016 was actually pretty decent.

Location – Jackson, Mississippi is easy to get to by air and the airport isn't too far from downtown. I stayed at the Jackson Marriott. It was three blocks from the expo and the start with easy access to all race amenities. Several other hotels are equally as convenient.

Expo/Swag – The expo is small but well stocked with race themed merchandise and typical expo gear. Packet pick-up is quick and easy during the early afternoon. Along with your race guide and number, goodies received at the expo included a big reusable bag, a race logo-ed harmonica, a BB King CD, a tech half zip race shirt and several coupons for local dining outlets. The swag is outstanding and the small expo is certainly adequate.

Start – In spite of the rainy morning, the race went off right on time. There are no corrals which lead to some serious weaving around walkers and slower runners over the first few hundred meters. The national anthem was electric blues infused. Plenty of Port-a-Potties lined the road and it didn't look lines were incredibly long. Since I was walking distance from the start I didn't have to learn anything about parking but I never heard anyone complain about it being inadequate.

Course – HILLS! Over the 13.1 mile course you are constantly heading up or down with little to no relief in the form of a flat stretch. There were roughly 520 feet of elevation gain which isn't too bad if it comes in chunks. It doesn't. The scenery isn't always the best as you cover part of the highway and some more industrial areas but the last 5k go through a peaceful tree-filled neighborhood. The roads are also prone to potholes. This was a problem for me because it was hard to tell what was puddle and what was hole and I rolled my ankle a bit around Mile 4 thinking one was the other.

Course Support – Tons of water stops and Cliff Shots at Mile 8. The water stops were well stocked and all of the volunteers were cheering at each one. I was disappointed to not hear more music on the course, especially being in Jackson and wanting some blues to help me move along.

Finish - The finish is a straight shot for about 200 meters and the medals are huge. It gets crowded making it hard to find what you're looking for. I picked up a bottled water but missed any food that was right there. With travel to my next race and four ladies needing to shower I didn't hang out at the post race party at all but trotted back to my hotel room so we could catch the bus to Alabama.

Post Race – I didn't visit the post race area past the finish chute but it looked big and well stocked. Rain picked up again right as many of the marathoners were beginning to finish and it probably put a damper on things.

With great swag, easy access, solid support and a tough course, the 2016 Mississippi Blues Half Marathon was a fun event. In spite of not having my best run with a rolled ankle I really liked the variety of the challenging course even if the scenery wasn't always great. For those looking to check Mississippi off their list of states to run this is definitely a good choice.