Hi! I will be visiting Biloxi/Gulfport

[Melissa]

Hello, My name is Melissa and I will be vacationing in your area in a couple of weeks. We are staying at the Legacy Villas in Gulfport (on Beach Blvd. but that may not be giving much additional info as it appears most everything is on Beach Blvd.). This will be my first visit to Gulf Coast, MS. so I am unfamiliar with the area. I was hoping to run at least three times while I'm there...vacation can be hard in that respect, LOL. Where are some good places to run (both on the beach and off)? Do you do any regular club runs that would be open to guests?

On a completely unrelated note, how is the seafood situation? Are the catches recovering from the spill and if so, what seafood retail market would you recommend?

Thank you so much,

Melissa from Oklahoma

[tribob]

Welcom to the coast. Of course the beach is a great place to run. However the shade on 2nd street is a welcome respite from the glaring sun. All of our runs are open to the puplic. we are a come one come all club walker/runners, Old and young. fat= skinny. We don't care. the only thing we ask is if you sign up as a walker that you walk the entire race. If you sign up as a runner you can walk as much as you wont to. We have had walkers sign up and place in the runner age division. When you get here you can call one of the club officers for more info. Lots of folks like to the challange the bridges on each end of the coast. bc
Oh as far as the seafood, we haven't skipped a beat. It's all good. If you plan to take some home. Just go to one of the harbors. Biloxi, Gulfport, Pass Christian. all good. One note the industry might be affected by the influx of fresh water due to the flooding of the Mississippi River.

[Fred]

Melissa, welcome to the Coast. There's a nice running concrete path all along Beach Blvd which is right in front of the Legacy. Some of the path is under renovation but it's still runable. It's not shady but it's breezey. It's about 26 miles long and the Legacy is at about the half way point. Some of us run every Monday and Thursday at 5:30 PM in that area and you're welcome to join. Sunday Morning, well before I care to get out of bed, Bob Clark and his bunch run about 10 miles and other than Bob, they're a nice bunch and would welcome you. Actually, Bob is very nice and is also very entertaining. Re seafood, advise if you were wanting names of good restaurants or if you're looking to buy and cook it yourself.

[Melissa]

Thank you both! It sounds like 2nd Street and the running path on Beach Blvd. will be great. I am not yet sure what our schedule will be, exactly. If I can join you all, Fred, can I just message you through this site?

--Mel

[tribob]

Fred I've been called a lot of things. You are the first to ever call me entertaining. Now that I have thought it over I remember thinking some people think the village idiot is intertaining.
Oh you can send a privite message to a person on the forum by clicking on thier name. Look up at the header under Gulf Coast running club. It will tell you if you have a P.M. Click on it. I will send ypou one.

[ajfarragut]

Melissa, welcome to the area! My husband and I also run with Bob's group on Sunday mornings. It's at 6am in Gulfport, so you have to be up early. The loop is 7.8 miles, and there's a variety of paces that come out. There's also a group Sunday morning in Ocean Springs, and a Thursday evening group in Long Beach. There's little groups that get together all throughout the coast during the week, so it shouldn't be a problem finding someone to run with. If you're in town for a race, come on out! If you want specifics for any of the runs, just ask! -Jessica

[Melissa]

Thanks! Bob's run sounds great but we won't be there on Sunday morning (Sunday 6/5 (late afternoon--Saturday 6/11). I have looked at your race photos and it looks like you guys have some lovely courses. I may have to schedule a return trip! Some girlfriends and I are planning on entering the IronGirl in New Orleans. We're runners who are OK cyclists and kinda-sorta swim, LOL, so we thought it would be a good first time out tri.

[Special Ed]

Just on the chance you haven't already discovered all you need, Melissa, I'll throw in my 2 cents. There is a restroom/water stop along the beach sidewalk about a mile west of the Legacy condos. It's suddenly been extra hot and humid around here and if you are running from the Legacy, that's one of the few water options nearby.

I may be doing a little cycle/run workout along that stretch on Tuesday(6-7-11) around 6:30 pm; My run part would be ~2 or 3 miles. I'll be moving at 8:45 - 10:00 min miles, running.

Ed ewheel@bellsouth.net

PS-- Don't swim in the beach water--kinda yucky.

[Beekeeper]

Okay Melissa...here is my two cents also. I'm sometimes part of the Thursday evening, 6:15 running group. We limit our run to 3.1 miles and our margaritas to 2. Yes, we run for margaritas, Mexican food, and lively conversation. It's a casual fun run and starts at the Long Beach Harbor on Beach Blvd. This sounds silly but that's in Long Beach, west of Gulfport. We park at Juan Tequila's across the street from the harbor. Oh, did I mention they have karaoke? We are usually on our way home by 7:30/8:00. Some people might run faster and farther.

Shoot me an email at alice.huffman@gmail.com if you have any questions. Happy running and enjoy the beautiful Gulf Coast.