I ran the Tupelo Marathon on Sunday, September 8, 2015. Below are thoughts and observations about the weekend.

Packet pickup was at Trails and Treads - a pretty cool running and biking shop in Tupelo. The volunteers were super friendly and there was no hassle picking up other people's packets. The swag bag was pretty weak. The race shirt itself was awesome - long sleeve cotton, tie dyed with the skull logo. There were two "Tupelo Marathon" car decals in each bag that were cool too but that was it. The normal Biofreeze packet and a bunch of flyers was the remaining swag. There was a Tupelo Visitors Guide - honestly I had no idea that there was so much to do in Tupelo - that was a well done piece of marketing material.

Race morning was a little crazy. We stayed at the host hotel which was right next to the Banccorp South Arena (where the race started and stopped). I was disappointed that the hotel didn't have bagels/peanut butter or granola bars or oatmeal out for the runners. They had a good rate though - $99 was reasonable for a Hilton Garden Inn and the rooms were nice. Although the start line was outside the arena, the doors were open so bathrooms were available. Always a plus. Runners milled around forever until someone finally announced that the start was outside and we all headed that way. By the way, the registration cap of half and full runners was in the "hundreds" so there was no big crowd. There was no start corral, no timing mat, no official start line that I ever saw. The race director (I think) opened with a few funny comments about the race and the course, led us in prayer (huge ++++) then said "go!" and we were off.

The race started at 5am so it was dark for the first several miles. The course started downtown where there were enough streetlights. Around mile 5 or 6 we got near some woods and "In the country" and had to run by lantern lights in the middle of the road. That was a little hairy. There were lots of motorcycle cops along the way providing light and direction but those blue/white strobe lights were about enough to incite seizures!

Miles 5-10 were pretty - we ran alongside a golf course and out near some beautiful subdivisions in the countryside. There were plenty of short hills with decent inclines and a couple of rather steep declines. One of my friends saw a deer. Miles 11-13 took us back to the arena through some less-than-pretty areas......the one block with an abandoned grocery store buggy was one where I think we could have avoided. The half marathoners got to run into the arena and finish, the rest of us got to run the course a second time as the sun was starting to beat down. There was a timing mat set up halfway (in the arena parking lot) - I guess to make sure you really didn't take a big detour.

Course support was sparse but where there WERE aid stations the volunteers were great. There were a handful of water/Gatorade stations. It seemed like there were more offerings on the second loop - peanut butter on spoons, watermelon, peppermint and orange slices. My favorite stop was around mile 22 where I had a sip of coke, a wet wipe and an electrolyte popsicle. Lifesaving!! Port-O-Potties were scarce - I only remember seeing 4 at one place on the course. It was at the bottom of an area that we looped so it was at mile 6 going into the loop and mile 8 (?) coming out of the loop then again at 19 and 21 or so. It worked for me but wasn't ideal at all. As far as people support along the way, there were maybe 10-15 people along the way and three of them were my friend Jessica and my two daughters. Thankfully the volunteers at the aid stations were always cheering and encouraging.

The run ended inside the arena. The cool blast of air for the last 100yds was nice! We finished under the blowup finish line and crossed a mat. Got the medal and grabbed a drink out of a cooler. There was no fanfare but at least I had my squad there to cheer me in. Three friends had finished the half and two had just finished the full and my friend Jess and my two daughters were there so that was cool. I grabbed a cookie off a table, I think there were packs of chips or something next to them. I saw where there was a long table set up with Bbq sandwiches (and other stuff?) but never went over there. There was nothing else going on post-race other than the Best Times tent handing out timing stickers.

In summary, the Tupelo Marathon was a confidence building challenging run. I'm glad I conquered it - it's not for the faint for sure! I wouldn't recommend traveling for it or doing it as your first - the lack of people and just the small size made it less than exhilarating and inspiring. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.