The Mississippi River Marathon is only a few days away.
The eighth annual marathon is set to kick off at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Online registration for the marathon and other marathon events is still open for a short time remaining, closing Thursday.
If the races aren’t already sold out by race day, individuals can register at the race expo at the Leyser Gallery from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, and from 5:15-6 a.m. Saturday, the morning of the race.
Race director John Conner said participation is about on cue from last year and there have been no complaints about that.
“We added a new event this year, which is the half marathon relay so it’s teams of two running the half marathon,” he said.
As of Friday, there were 485 participants and slots are being filled quickly, especially for the Delta Double Down.
For the full marathon, which starts in Lake Village, Arkansas, crosses the halfway point on the Mississippi River Bridge and finishes into Greenville, the registration fee increased from $120 to $130.
The wheelchair marathon registration fee also increased from $120 to $130.
For the half marathon, which starts on the Mississippi River Bridge in Lake Village and crosses over and finishes into Greenville, the registration fee increased from $100 to $110.
Registration fees increased from $60 to $65 for the half marathon relay in which as a team of two, one runner will start on the bridge and run roughly six miles of the half marathon, tag their partner for the other team member to run the other seven miles of the half marathon to the finish line.
Registration fees for the Delta Double Down (Arkansas half and Mississippi half) increased from $130 to $140. The Arkansas Half Marathon will finish on the Mississippi River Bridge and 10 feet beyond that will be the start to the Mississippi Half Marathon.
“A lot of people who run that (Delta Double Down) are half marathoners,” Connor shared, “but they’re actually going to tackle 26.2 miles that day.”
The 5K race registration fee increased from $25 to $35.
Connor said they’ve already signed up the same amount of marathoners they signed up last year in total and beyond for this year.
“If the weather holds, we might get pretty close to a sellout on that one,” he said in refernce to the full marathon.
Mississippi River Marathon chairman of the board of directors Andy Sanders said he definitely wants to encourage citizens throughout the community to welcome the marathoners to town and thank them for coming and participating in Greenville.
“We want to make sure we cheer for them out on the course,” he said.
Sanders said hitting the year eight mark with the marathon is a sign of great community support.
“One of the best marks we get on our reviews is the race is well organized, we have a really good race director…the other is the community support,” Sanders said.
He also pointed out there’s no “easy” way to get the City of Greenville for the race and said it’s a great boost for the community having an excess of 500 participants and the people that travel with them.
“They’re all coming to town and they have to have somewhere to spend the night and somewhere to eat…it’s just a boost to our local retailers and restaurants and thats just what it takes to keep our community going so they can go and tell others about us,” Sanders said.
“Last year, we had runners from 37 different states and mostly all of them had to drive a long way or fly to Memphis, Jackson or Little Rock and then drive here; so they’re making a big effort to get here to see our community and to run the race,” Sanders said.
Reiterating his thankfulness of community support, Sanders said not only in Lake Village is it great, but once the runners get into Greenville and begin making their way downtown to the finish line, the community support is impressive.
“These people have trained four to six months to prepare for this event … running anywhere from 13 to 26 miles is a big milestone in a lot of their lives and we just need our community to be supportive and welcoming and cheer for these folks to help them enjoy this great event,” Sanders said.
For those still interesting in participating, there are some registration policies to keep in mind:
n There will be no refunds or deferments for the 2020 Mississippi River Marathon and Half Marathon;
* Entries are non transferable to another participant;
* Participants must present a photo ID and sign a release-from-liability waiver at check-in;
* Race Management reserves the right to cancel or modify the event due to unfavorable conditions;
* Registration fees are not refundable in the event of cancellation due to “Acts of god;” and
* Any participants under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
To participate in the half marathon, the participant must be at least 12 years of age and at least 16 years of age for the full marathon.
Those interested in participating can visit raceroster.com/events/2020/23522/mississippi-river-marathon to register and learn more about the races.
The Mississippi River Marathon offers the only marathon in the Mississippi Delta and a variety of opportunities that no other race in the world can offer, one being it is a Boston Marathon qualifier.
“Our goal is first, for people across the nation, especially in the Delta communities, to get excited about healthy lifestyles by supporting and participating in our running events. Second, this marathon was created to help all children receive an excellent education by donating funds raised to the Washington County and Southeast Arkansas Community Foundations benefit local non-profits and organizations,” as stated on the marathon’s website, raceroster.com.
Proceeds from the marathon will go to the Washington County Community Foundation (CFWC) and the Southeast Arkansas Community Foundation.
CFWC Executive Director Terri Lane said they are thrilled to have such a strong collaboration with the Mississippi River Marathon and are using the dollars to serve the greatest good right here in their home community.
THE CFWC is so excited that proceeds from this year’s Mississippi River Marathon will benefit the Martha Campbell and Lollie Ray Charitable Endowment Fund, affiliated with the Foundation. Established in 2015 by their children, the Martha Campbell and Lollie Ray Charitable Fund supports work in the field of education in Greenville; a passion that was near and dear to both Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Ray as demonstrated by their strong philanthropy and volunteerism targeted at improving education here in Greenville.
In 2019, grants were awarded from the Martha Campbell and Lollie Ray Charitable Endowment Fund benefiting the great work of the Greenville Renaissance Scholars, Greenville Arts Council and Bologna Performing Arts Center.
