History of the Race

The Inaugural Mississippi Blues Marathon & Half-Marathon burst into the national running scene in 2008 by attracting more than 1,400 runners, quite a crowd of supporters and receiving excellent reviews not only for its challenging course, but also for its great southern hospitality.

First-place runner Alene Reta of New York City finished the race at 2:25:01. First-place female runner Janet Cherobon of Lawrenceville, GA finished the race with a time of 2:48:37. Jackson-area winners were Mathew Manning of Canton, who finished 9th overall at 2:45:53 and female Heather Butler of Ridgeland at 3:15:29. (Your name can be here next year — give it a try!)

But the race really traces its history back to 1976, when the Mississippi Track Club hosted the first Mississippi Marathon, won by Tom English in a time of 2:38:45. During the early years of this race, the course incorporated portions of Jackson in and around the downtown area as well as the surrounding communities.

Times for the event continued to drop over the next few years with the male and female records for the event both occurring in the early 1980's. In 1982, Rodney Pearson ran a 2:23:44; Ginna Hornberger set the female record with a time of 3:04:02 in 1983, a record that held for 25 years, until Janet Cherobon's 2008 finish of 2:48:37!

As running grew in popularity, the Mississippi Track Club continued to direct the race with their same mix of hospitality, a great cast of supporting volunteers and a venue for one of only three (3) marathons in the state. Over the years, not much changed about the event except for the switch of venues to the historic Natchez Trace. Over time, the race continued to build a strong reputation as a solid, “no-frills” race that offered runners from around the country an opportunity to run a marathon on the beautiful rolling hills of the Trace just outside Jackson. With the exception of a transition year in 1999 when the event moved from a December to January race, the event was held every year from 1976 to 2006.

In early 2007, a group of runners from the Jackson area were eager to take the Mississippi Marathon to the next level. With the support of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, the Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half-Marathon was born. It's now a world-class race, with a focus on the unique music history of the Mississippi Blues.

We hope you will make the trip to Jackson in January to run the 2nd Annual Mississippi Blues Marathon and Half-Marathon. It's a great opportunity to run through some of Jackson's most historic and beautiful neighborhoods, hear some great authentic Mississippi blues, and experience the Southern hospitality that you've always heard about.

A portion of the proceeds from this race will benefit the Mississippi Blues Commission. To learn more about the Commission and the history of the blues, click here.