For both the young and the young at heart, runners at the Mississippi River Marathon & Half Marathon showcased their endurance and determination on a drizzly Saturday morning in the Delta.
Twelve-year-old Asher Rice from Vicksburg ran in his first half marathon Saturday in a time of 1 hour and 51 minutes. He not only accomplished a great time, but he also beat his father, Blake, by 10 seconds.
“This was my first half marathon,” young Asher said. “I did not stop at all. It is exciting to travel so far to run in the race. I wanted to show my dad that I was faster.”
The race was bitter sweet for Asher’s dad.
“I am really proud of him, but I was a little mad that I couldn’t catch him,” Blake said.
Meanwhile, Annye Smalligan of Huntsville is 62 years old, and she has been coming to the race for a number of years. It is always a highlight of her year.
“This is the race where I qualified to run in the Boston Marathon a few years ago,” Smalligan said. “I liked the weather today, and the support on the course was great.”
The Mississippi River Marathon starts each year in Lake Village. Runners cross the Mississippi River Bridge and finish in downtown Greenville. It is the only marathon in the Mississippi Delta. The marathon was created to help children receive an excellent education by donating funds raised to the Washington County and Southeast Arkansas Community Foundations to benefit local non-profits and organizations.
This year’s race was won by Russell Simkins of Madison who finished the 26.2 mile race in 2 hours and 37 minutes. The victory was especially sweet for Simkins who had run the race five times and finished second twice.
“I have been wanting to win this race,” he said. “The race director (John Conner) is unbelievable. He puts on a great race. I love the course and that it is a point to point course.
“For the first 11 miles of the race, there was a guy who was about 50 yards in front of me. I finally caught up to him and he had to stop and make a pit stop after 13 miles. Then I took the lead for good and ran my own race.”
For complete results from the race go to www.msrivermarathon.com.
Two of Simkins biggest fans were his parents, Sam and Festus, who cheered him on as he crossed the finish line wearing bright yellow hats with the words TEAM RUSSELL emblazoned on them.
“We are so proud of Russell,” said his mother. “This is something that he was born to do.”
Not only could runners test their endurance in the marathon and half marathon, but it also gave racers like Holly Wade and Jamie Murrell a chance to compete as a relay team. After Murrell ran her portion of the relay, she came to the finish line to cheer on Wade as she finished.
“This was so much fun. I love running with Holly,” Murrell said.
Murrell coaches cross country at Washington School. Runners on her team, along with runners on the Greenville High cross country team, volunteered at water stations on the highway.
Like Murrell, Greenville resident Ashley Hairston was also at the finish line cheering someone on. Hairston, a Mississippi State fan, rang a cowbell as her husband Austin crossed the line. Austin ran in a relay with Blake Gordon.
“This is a great event that Greenville has. It is wonderful to see all the people from all over participate in this,” Ashley said.
For marathon board of directors members Lauren Ott, Terri Lane, Olivia Fratesi and Sharon Freeman the race was a tribute to the hospitality of the Delta.
Below are comments from the four directors.
“This year’s marathon is amazing. We have had an increase in numbers. Our weather is perfect and the runners who come love seeing the bridge. They love the hospitality as well. We are just lucky that they love to come back to our race.” —— Terri Lane
“It just gets better every year. It is so fun to meet people from all over the country. That is what is so fun about it. When the runners get here, the hospitality is awesome. We love meeting all the people, taking their pictures and getting their stories. The race gets better every year. I met people from North Carolina to California at this year’s race. We could not do the race without the volunteers. This includes all the volunteers at the water stations and all the people helping with the food. We couldn’t do it without them." —— Sharon Freeman
“I am a runner, and I have run this race before. If people have questions about the race, I have done it so I can help them with where they need to go and what they need to do. For health reasons, this race helps to get people from our region healthier as well.” —— Lauren Ott
“I first volunteered at this race because my husband started out helping and he kind of roped me into it. Now, I think I enjoy it more than him. This race does so much for our community." ——Olivia Fratesi
