The Frostbite Half-Marathon saw a huge turnout in downtown Starkville on Saturday, with more than 500 runners participating in three different races.
Race director Brad Jones said the event went off without a hitch as event coordinators worked to expand the half-marathon in 2017. While some ran the traditional half-marathon, the event also included 10k and 5k races,
"We wanted to make this more of a Starkville event … it was a great success," he said.
Slater Smith, 25, finished the 5k race in 26 minutes and 29 seconds. After finishing, he said he was pleased with the course and the event.
"This is my first time to ever do the Frostbite, and it's a great course with a nice mix of hills," he said. "I thought people did a great job along the course with the water stop and people in the community were out cheering in their driveways so there was a lot of great and uplifting encouragement."
This year's course began and ended on Main Street and incorporated the Cotton District, the Mississippi State University campus and Starkville's Historic District.
Ardra Morgan, 56, also ran in the 5k and said the event was well planned.
"It's a great course," she said. "It was excellent coverage all the way around, it was well marked and there were very helpful people."
Chick-fil-A Starkville sponsored the event, with a portion of this year's proceeds going to the Starkville Police Department.
Other vendors and businesses braved the frigid temperatures on race day, including Hungry Howie's, who - along with Chick-fil-A - provided food for runners at the finish line on Main Street.
Also in attendance were Nine Twentynine Coffee, Insomnia Cookies, Boardtown Bikes, Advocare and Club 24.