Runners safely take over the Coast for the 5th Annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon as course records fall.

December 14, 2020

Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon welcomes runners from 47 states & 6 countries to Coastal Mississippi

BILOXI, MS. – The 5^th Annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon took over Coastal Mississippi this morning as runners from 47 states, Canada, Columbia, Venezuela, Poland, Bolivia, and Mexico competed. The event was held with COVID Mitigation and Safety Protocols.

The marathon (26.2 miles), which started at Hwy 90 & Henderson Point in Pass Christian, was won by Jonathan Mott, of Lakeland, FL in a new course record time of 2:18:03 (beating the prior course record of 2:27:12). On the women’s side Ann Centner of Tallahassee, FL won the race and set a new course record of 2:43:36 in her first time running a marathon (prior course record was 2:53:05).

The half marathon (13.1 miles), which started at Jones Park in Gulfport, also saw course records fall. The race was won by Cameron Bensley of Powder Springs, GA, in a time of 1:12:05, besting the prior course record of 1:14:10. The women’s race saw the course record destroyed with the entire women’s podium beating the prior course record of 1:25:24. The race was won by Makena Morley of Bozeman, MT with a new half marathon course record time of 1:12:15.

The Top 4 women in the Marathon beat the previous course record, while the Top 5 women in the Half best the previous course record.

“We saw an extremely talented field of runners today,” said Mike Wattigny, Marketing & Communications Director. “We are so grateful and humbled to be able to host one of the only major in-person running events this winter. Due to the pandemic, many events have been cancelled and it was obvious as we saw every course record fall. Runners were itching to compete as we welcomed runners from across the country and around the globe who chose to join us.”

The marathon had 606 finishers and the half marathon had 1118 finishers. For a full listing of the results go to: https://www.mississippigulfcoastmarathon.com/Race/Results/99913

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ABOUT MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST MARATHON

Founded in 2015, The Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon, a Coastal Running Fest, was held on December 11-13, 2020, to celebrate the beauty of running along the scenic beaches spanning Pass Christian to Biloxi. Races include a marathon (26.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles), 5K (3.1 miles), and kids marathon race program (1 mile fun run). Due to damages MGM Park suffered during Hurricane Zeta, the race finished outside of the stadium for 2020 on Couevas St.