This was another Back to Back set of races. The Mississippi Blues marathon in Jackson Ms on Saturday, and Mobile First Light Marathon in Mobile Al on Sunday. These two were actually linked together, and offered discount for doing both races, as well as a commemorative plaque for completing both.
I really enjoyed the Mississippi Blues race in Jackson. It was Elvis's birthday and he was the theme. "Without the Blues, there would be no King of Rock and Roll" They had great swag as well. There was an engraved harmonica, a CD of Mississippi Blues Music, and a pair of plastic Elvis sunglasses with fake sideburns (too Cool). At packet pickup, there was an elderly black man, who was sitting and playing the harmonica. He did have a guy backing him up with a guitar, but that was it, no singing, nothing but mainly the harmonica and a little of the guitar. He was fabulous, I sat and listened to him for about an hour. Definitely a great example of American culture. Also included was a pass for the Blues pub crawl for the night after the race. There were about 10 bars with blues bands playing in them. Each runner was given a wristband for free entrance into the bars, as well as frre rides on a bus that continuously made the loop, dropping people off at the bars, or back at their hotels. I'm sure it would have been a blast, but I was running Mobile the next day and couldn't stay.
The First Light in Mobile was special for me in that my sister ran it with me. It was her first half marathon. I say she ran it with me, actually she ran it ahead of me. She took no mercy on me at all, and finished it about 40 minutes before me. The finisher's medals were unique in that they were made of wood. The race benefited a home for mentally challenged people, and the medals were painted and decorated by the residents of the home. Likewise, the plague I received for doing the two race challenge was made by a woman who resided there. On the back of the plague was a picture and brief story about her. It put a human face on the reason for the run, and was a nice touch.
There really is something to the saying that 90% of being active is mental. I talked to a man in Jackson on Saturday. He was doing both races as well. He told me that while Jackson was indeed a hilly course, the next day had fewer hills but they were much bigger. While running Jackson, I was trying to do well and pushed hard up the hills. After the race, my legs were very sore and stiff. They were still very much that way the next morning. When we got to the race in Mobile, we had to go upstairs in the hotel to packet pickup. I had trouble climbing the stairs. I was thinking about the bigger hills coming up, and wondering if I was going to be able to finish. Once we got in, one of the race volunteers was explaining about the course map to a couple of women. He was saying, the full course was hilly, but the half was flat. I asked him, "What was that you said"? He told me, the half was very flat, and even pointed out a street and said that there was a speed bump there, which was the biggest hill on the half course. Suddenly, I felt so much better. After he told me that, my legs immediately improved, and I went on to have a good run.
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