Bob Mann: 2022 Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon

Sun Dec 11, 2022

On Sun Dec 11 2022, I ran the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon in Biloxi MS. This marked my 5th marathon in the calendar year. For most 50 Staters, 5 in a year is a low number. But I had only done it once before, and that was all the way back in 2009. I just don't pile them on as fast as most people in the club. But it had been nearly 4 months since my last one, so I was ready to go again.

That last one in South Dakota had not been fun. I've never liked running in the warm weather, but as I've gotten olden, I've realized just how much I dislike it. Especially these long distances. December marathons, however, should be fairly cool in just about any part of the U.S. So I was looking forward to this one.

Normally I go away for two nights for a marathon. I'll travel the day before the race and return home the day after. This time I stayed for three nights. No reason more important than because I could. I had plenty of vacation time to burn, and there was a 5k race in Biloxi the day before as part of Race Weekend. So I signed up for the 5k and flew in a day earlier. Similarly, there was a 5k the day before my marathon in Gulf Shores AL back in January that I was signed up for. But weather delays got me stuck in Atlanta overnight and I missed that 5k. For this trip to Mississippi, my flight plan was basically the same as it was for that race. I flew into Pensacola FL with a layover in Atlanta each way. Thankfully there were no delays this time, and I made it to Pensacola just fine. I rented a car and drove to Biloxi. In January, the drive to Gulf Shores took a little over an hour. This drive was about two hours. Still not a big deal. So that's two trips to Pensacola for my in 2022. Despite living in Florida for a couple of years in my younger days, I don't believe I'd ever been in Pensacola before. Now twice in one year.

I believe I've done a 5k race as a pre-marathon warmup run twice before. At least I can only remember two times off the top of my head. The first was my first marathon in Alabama back in 2008. The other was in Fargo ND in 2017. As is so happens, I felt good in both of those races, as those recaps indicate. In both of those cases, I took the 5k race quite slowly, which of course is a logical thing to do on the day before a marathon. But for some reason, I didn't heed that advice this time. I intended to. But I ended up running it a lot faster than I had planned. I don't know why. I just felt good, so I went with it. My final time in the 5k was 23:45. I wasn't going full speed, so I know I could have gone at least a little bit faster. I had run five previous 5ks in 2022, and two of them were slower than this when I was going full speed. Not by much, but still... Granted, those two slower ones were in the Summer when it was much warmer. And as I said earlier, I've come to really dislike running in the warm weather. So I guess there really is something to it. I can run faster in December without even trying than I can in June or July. I also managed to come in 3rd place in my Age Group, which I think is amazing considering I wasn't going at full speed. It's the second time this year that I've come in 3rd in my Age Group in a 5k. Unfortunately, both of those races only gave prizes to the top 2 in each AG, so no awards for me. Oh well.

The marathon on Sunday was point-to-point, from West to East along the gulf coast. It was about as close to a straight line as I've ever done in a marathon. The first 24 miles were right along US90, which hugged the coast, except for a small portion in downtown Gulfport MS. The race began at 7:00am, and we had to get bussed out to the start line out in Pass Christian MS, which was not too far from the Louisiana border. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, which is a little earlier than I appreciate, but it was necessary for this race.

The temps were cool but comfortable on race morning. And it was cloudy, which I never complain about. Some rain showers were predicted for later in the day. That could potentially be annoying, but it didn't appear like it would be too bad, so I wasn't overly worried.

Once the race began, I got off to a quick first mile. I covered that mile in 9:00, which is probably faster than I should be going in a Full Marathon. That was my fastest mile of the day, and I immediately began slowing down, little by little, mile after mile. Honestly, there's not much to say about the first half of the race. It was run along US90 next to the beach, that's about all there was to it. It was nice scenery, but not as nice as it could have been because it was so overcast. I completed the first half of the race in about 2:07, which is right in line with what I normally do in the first half of a marathon over the last number of years. But unlike that last race in South Dakota, I felt like I still had a lot in the tank. I was still feeling quite strong halfway through.

Eventually, it started to mist. I knew there would be some rain during the day, but the forecast had predicted it for later. The mist turned into drizzle, and then eventually into real rain. Apparently those forecasts were a bit off, because that rain became quite steady and constant throughout the second half of the race. So it wasn't the most pleasant running conditions. But honestly, I much prefer rain to heat. I was still feeling pretty good.

As always, I took some walks breaks now and then. But I was able to keep them rather infrequent. No more than once a mile, all the way through about Mile 24. When I was running, I certainly wasn't going very fast. But I was quite pleased that I was actually able to run as much as I was. I was well ahead of the pace that I had done in that last race in South Dakota.

At the Mile 24, as we returned towards downtown Biloxi, the course finally veered off from US90. Apparently the distance from the western point in Pass Christian to MGM Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers AA farm team and site for the finish line, wasn't quite far enough to stick in a Full Marathon course just along the coast. So they had to add in a little bit. Well, what they chose to add was an out-and-back, turning north from the coast, up along the beginning of Interstate 190. Obviously the interstate was closed to traffic. But still, we were running on the interstate! I'm fairly certain I've never done this before. The entrance ramp was a large curve, and since it was designed for large vehicles travelling fast, it was cambered quite a bit. Meaning, it was sloped to one side. While that's great for large fast vehicles, it's not so great for humans on foot. Especially when it's raining heavily and the surface is very slick. Once around the curve, it wasn't so bad. But it was still a less-than-scenic mile out-and-back up the highway.

MGM Park was right by the exit ramp once we returned south back to US90. The big screen showed the runners as the entered the stadium, and our names were announced over the PA as we ran along the outfield warning track to the finish line. I finished in a time of 4:37, which is not speedy by any means. But it's on par with my better races these days. Most importantly, I finished fairly strong, feeling a heck of a lot better than I did last time.

Post-race beers were provided by Fly Llama Brewing, which was located across the street from the park. Plenty of beer and food was available, which was nice. Unfortunately it was still raining pretty hard, which pushed the runners to huddle under whatever spaces of shelter we could find.

Weather notwithstanding, I found it to be a fun and enjoyable race. I could have done without the interstate part, and I'm sure they could find some other way to tack 2 miles onto the course somehow. But overall I have few complaints. I liked the race, and I'm happy with my results.

As of this writing, I have no idea what my next marathon will be. After doing 5 of them in 2022, I figure maybe I'm due for a little break. But I'm sure I'll plan something sooner or later.

And now the photos. Click any image to enlarge.