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2007 Mississippi Marathon
Jim George from Jackson was the winner of the 2007 edition of the Mississippi Marathon in 2:52:11. The race was held in the Natchez Trace Parkway at Clinton, MS on Saturday, January 13. Kevin Darsey was the runner-up in 2:56:45. Pine Belt Pacer Leonard Vergunst finished third overall in 2:58:43 and took the Grand Masters title. Yukiko Nishide of Japan took the women’s division in 3:30:01, followed by Clare Sanders (3:45:11) and Madonne Miner (3:45:44).
Other Pacers finishing the marathon were Jerry Keywood, kili Garcia, and Phillip Wedgeworth. Jerry completed the 26.2-miles in 3:32:55 and was third in his age bracket. Kili used the Mississippi Marathon as a training ground for the coming Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans. He finished in 4:44:08 and also placed third in his age group. Being January, Phillip had prepared for the last 4-months to run the race in cold weather conditions. He also read the previous night about a winter storm hitting the South, so he was ready for a supercold run. He was spotted wearing three layers of clothing, a polypropylene long-sleeved shirt, a windbreaker jacket, lined-waterproof mittens, heavy tights, insulated underwear, fleece pant linings, thick absorbent socks, and a wicking hat with a brim if it were snowing or raining. Even that other runners told him the temperature would climb to the 70’s, he decided to start the race with all his winter gear. After 16-miles of a great performance, he finally succumbed to the heat and humidity but managed to finish in 4:21:46.
2005 &
2006 Pine Belt Pacers Grand Prix winner, Keith Barrett,
started the marathon but was disqualified after stopping
in one of the aid and fluid station and staying there in
a hypnotic state (see details in the picture). Since
Keith sat down there and did not move for hours, he got
a DNF and made the organizers to carry him out! Kudos
to the MTC crew for another well organized event.
The Mississippi Marathon 2007 was held on Saturday January 13, starting at the first rest stop on Natchez Trace Parkway, South, Clinton.The temperature and humidity were really comfortably for a long run and the wind refreshed us a few times during the race.There were about 300 runners, many of them from the "50 Marathons in 50 States Club". After the gun went off (yes, it was a gun not a horn), a few fast runners took the lead following the winner, Jim George from Jackson,MS, who finished with a time (2:52:11). Kevin Darsey, from Cordova,TN finished second (2:56:45) and Pine Belt Pacer/GCRC Race Director, Leonard Vergunst, from Ocean Springs,MS, finished third with (2:58:43). Yukiko Nishide flew in from Rye,NY to win the Women’s category in 3:30:01. A few Pine Belt Pacers ran this marathon including the very competitive runner Phillip Wedgeworth, the fastest race director in the area, Leonard Vergunst, and the rookie marathoner, Kily Garcia. The Race was in my opinion the longest 26.2 miles ever…13.1 miles straight one way and then straight back. It had some hills to conquer or struggle, but on the flip side, was the most beautiful place to run enjoying mother nature. Thousands of pine trees cheered you along the course. The grass was greener in some places, I crossed several bridges and saw a couple of snakes, armadillos, squirrels, etc… I tried to run this marathon as training, so when I got there, I was looking for somebody to run a slow pace with. I met a Hattiesburg runner and potential PBP, Melvin Potts, who was about to run his first marathon. We ran together about 10 miles at a 9 minutes pace, and then I told him to go ahead, that I was going to slow down to my training pace. I finished the first half just a couple of minutes below 2 hours. I ran by my self the entire second half and slowed down a little bit to finish in a decent 4:44 time. The last 4 miles were the most difficult, my legs almost cramped up on a hill at about mile 24, but, also, I was happy to be finishing strong. I really enjoyed the race, but it was a different experience. I was trying to train my body about pace /drink / stop and eat during the run. At the end I was happy getting my finisher medal…It was a big surprise on Monday when I found that I had placed third in my age group. I think that all the fast marathoners from 30-34 went to run either in Houston or Mobile!!! No matter what happened, it is good motivation to keep running. The marathon was very well organized; we had aid stations almost every 2 miles, music, fruit and candies at some of them. The volunteers where so nice, I even had the opportunity to choose the flavor of gel I wanted at one of the aid stations. At the finish line they had plenty of beverages, fruit, and guess what?...PIZZA…that was a plus, since I finished about lunch time… No matter what your motivation is to run a marathon, this is one you have to schedule in you calendar next year. ©
Kily and Melvin Potts |
