Frostbite Half-Marathon set to run rain or shine

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The Frostbite Half-Marathon kicks off Saturday morning.

Weather in the middle of January for Starkville can be somewhat hard to predict.

It has been a rainy winter season so far and the temperatures has been up and down.

One thing is for sure, there's always a Frostbite.

The 27th Frostbite Half Marathon will take place today and race officials expect the event to be run no matter the conditions.

"Rain, shine, sleet or snow and that's why we call it the Frostbite," said Eddie Myles of the Wellness Connection. "The weather for me being that it is the Frostbite, I want it to be a little bit colder and think we have a forecast of 63 degrees."

Myles said the participants do a good job of being ready for anything.

"These are true racers that come out to participate and they are always prepared for whatever," Myles said. "We have the rain gear and the warm stuff. People are elated about the race and it's really a good course."

The runners are transported by bus from Starkville to Pheba, where the race begins at approximately 12:30 p.m. They run the 13-mile course back to Starkville down Highway 389 with the finish line being in front of the Wellness Connection Center.

Myles has noticed a significant growth in the number of runners for the Frostbite and the response has been good again this year.

It's a tradition that Myles and the Wellness Connection take seriously.

"We've been increasing our registration each year," Myles said. "We've got almost 300 signed up on-line and this is not counting the people that have walked in to register in the gym. I'm thinking it will be between 350 and 400 when race time starts. Last year, we had over 400."