I had an absolutely amazing time with my boy out in the Arizona wilderness! IF you are doing the Marathon just get your packet on race day because the expo / pick up the day before is a nightmare. Very few full Marathoners this year and plenty of time and very few people picking up on race day. I was dropped off so the point to point style race worked well for me. Indoor and porta potties at the start but get there early and get your business done because it will get hectic close to race time. 2024 Buckeye Marathon was an absolute blast and they know how to party. This is a race not to be missed with it’s easy rolling net downhill course and wonderful race support with more porta potties on course than a world major. 😮🤣 Free pics and a wonderful after party for the win. Put this one on your list feaux show. I've never done Mesa but this is a great small race find World Major Certified for points and easy to get an Age Group placing.

OMG!! I was already a big fan of fresh junkies racing events. However, this one took me by a total surprise.

This is an absolutely pancake, flat point to point race and if you like smaller, friendly events with beautiful ocean views, the entire race, this race is for you.

I highly suggest staying in Biloxi as that will be your base camp for the entire weekend if you choose to do the 5K and half or full marathon. It is also the best location for getting on the shuttles to go out to the start line as there is no shuttle back to Pass Christian. Once completing either the Margaritaville 5K, or they have a full marathon, you will be greeted with more goodies than you can possibly imagine and they are all wonderful from the jambalaya to the adult refreshments. Everything is thought of.

Once again, this course is absolutely pancake flat like no other race I’ve ever experienced including Chicago and I did absolutely love looking at the ocean for 98% of the race. The one drawback this year was the roundabout climb up the on-ramp, although it was not the elevation itself as I was kind of looking forward to that after the flat run to get off of those muscles a little bit, it was a 20 mile an hour head wind we had to run straight north into That took pretty much all the last remaining gas out of the tank, but nonetheless could not recommend this race anymore than I have already exclaimed, as I absolutely love this racing company for their over the top production, and after the race celebration and reunion area that is super family friendly and totally runner oriented.

Get to the shuttles early and find a parking place either on the street close by the stadium or under the nearby overpass parking lot. We were not super clear on where to park, but this worked out great for us and many other of the participants.

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 by 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 with the small expo that they produce but it 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 stayed there in case of bad weather, as they have plenty of buses for a one-way trip for every race participant, and that blew 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 an absolute thrill and being up on the Jumbotron coming across the finish line was a very special touch. After race, food and drink were 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 the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon enough to friends and foes alike would be an absolutely great first marathon or 50-state addition.

A great example of Midwest Hospitality. While parking downtown is a bit challenging the Expo far exceeded my expectations. This is a really wonderfully produced event from start to finish and many other races show up to the expo to try and garner some of the love generated by this event.

This is always a tricky time of year in the Midwest so you never know what weather you're going to get. Williams is a wonderful sponsor to have giving away those much coveted throw-away gloves just in case. We had rain threatening until about an hour before race time but it cleared up and ended up being a perfect day for racing.

This year's course was an improvement over previous years and while it does have a bit of a training opportunity later in the race than desired it is a very runnable course for those who don't mind some grade changes. All of the Aid Stations were more than well equipped and Oh Lordy if you want more of a party experience than a PR this might just be the Race for you. The libations were plentiful and frequent so if you are a mid or back of the packer enjoy!

Overall a very good Marathon experience that I would re-run just to enjoy the party on foot with some friends who are bent a bit more that way. If you want a Challenge you can couple this with The Oklahoma City Marathon for some extra swag and it is an equally meaningful race to enjoy if OK is an easy destination for you.