RUNable Race Review: Legal Beagle

RACE STATS:

• DATE OF RACE: March 9th, 2019
• DISTANCE(s): 5K
• REVIEWED: 5K
• LOCATION: Jackson, MS
• DIFFICULTY: Level 1.5
• CAUSE: The Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project
• RUNscore: 3.3 STARS

A Running Glance

Things I loved

• Awesome local cause
• Super low price
• Pet-friendly event
• T-shirt designed by Marshall Ramsey
• Fast & mostly flat course

Less than loved

• Run-of-the-mill medals & trophies*

*Run-of-the-mill?! See what I did there? I love a good running pun. Or a bad one. *shrugs*

RUNable Review:

Price

A great local 5k road race that supports a great local cause: The Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, which helps provide pro-bono work for underprivileged residents. At only $20, (or $15 each for a team of 5) it’s one of the more affordable races in our area.

T-shirt/Swag

I love the t-shirt designed by Marshall Ramsey, local political cartoonists, and running enthusiast. It features an adorable pup in running shoes, zipping along a backdrop of Jackson landmark buildings. As always, it’s white and long-sleeved. I’d love to see this logo on a tech shirt or a NOT white option.

Expo/Finish Line

There was no expo associated with this hometown race, but the post-race spread included cookies! (See candid photo example above of me caught red-handed–or should I say “cookie-handed!”) There was also soda, Gatorade, water, and last but certainly not least, bagels and spreads courtesy of Beagle Bagel Café. (#CarbsAreLife)

Medal/Awards

The medals all featured white ribbons with a generic “age group winner” inscription on the back and the Legal Beagle logo featured on the front. Trophies are given to certain categories, masters, grandmasters, etc., and they also award team trophies to the top three in the run and walk categories. According to the official race results, I placed 4^th in my age group. SO CLOSE!

Volunteers

There weren’t many volunteers, but everything ran smoothly. Packets were organized inside large envelopes and sat alphabetized and ready to be retrieved by registrants on race morning.

Course Scenery

The course is USATF certified and took participants through several residential streets of Northeast Jackson. The race starts on Old Canton Road near the LeFleur Station Post Office and finishes alongside the I-55 Kroger in Jacksonian Plaza.

Course Difficulty: LEVEL 1.5

Aside from dodging the occasional pothole (Welcome to Jackson!) this course scores on the easy end of the RUNable spectrum. With only a few turns and a few slight inclines, I’d describe this course as “fast and mostly flat!” Definitely “PR-FRIENDLY!”

Aid Stations

Our local Fleet Feet store was generous enough to provide volunteers for the one water stop set up around the halfway point. It’s so nice to see this big-chain store give back at the local level. Thanks, Fleet Feet!! There were several friendly FF fellas (and local running celebrities!) offering cups of water and an encouraging word.

Parking/Access

The Regions bank and neighboring Kroger were both available for parking, but with nearly 300 runners and walkers in attendance, parking was a little scarce. Unless you got there super-duper early. Like me. 😉

Race Management

The Jackson Young Lawyers are just a wonderful group of professionals. I think they do a fine job organizing this event annually to raise money for their cause and give back to their community. These guys and gals literally host this event out of the kindness of their very big hearts, so thank you JYL, from the bottom of mine. See y’all next year.