Overview The Keesler Federal Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon is a December race weekend on the Mississippi coast: on Saturday, a 5k and Kids Race take place in downtown Gulfport, drawing more than 2,000 participants. Saturday afternoon brings the Fly Llama Beer Mile inside Keesler Federal Park with more than 200 participants. On Sunday, the marathon starts in Pass Christian, the half runs 13.1 miles of shoreline from Gulfport to Biloxi, finishing at Keesler Federal Park, the Biloxi Shuckers' ballpark. FRESHJUNKIE Racing produces it, and the 2026 edition was the 11th annual event. The race weekend is the largest running event in the state of Mississippi and draws runners from all 50 states. On site Saturday carries the 5K, the kids' race and the Grand Slam Beer Mile, four laps of the field and warning track inside the ballpark with a 12-ounce beer for each lap; teams of four split it, one beer and one lap each. The marathon and half go off Sunday at 7 a.m. on a flat course with a climb up the I-110 Superloop, and the full has a six-hour limit. At the finish a Personal Record Bell hangs at the end of the chute, a Boston-qualifier backdrop waits for the runners who made the time, VIPs watch from the right-field Tiki Hut above the line, and the gumbo tent serves more than 4,000 bowls over the weekend. Family and friends follow runners on the RaceJoy app and send cheers along the course. Audience Most registrations come from Gulfport, Biloxi and Ocean Springs, then from New Orleans and Baton Rouge, a short drive west. Many runners race both days: 500 Double Down medals, for the Saturday 5K plus a Sunday half or full, went out in 2024, and a Beach to Bayou Challenge pairs the weekend with the Louisiana Marathon. Track record The tenth edition in 2025 drew more than 3,200 full and half marathoners and more than 1,600 in the 5K and kids' race. The race's live appearances on WLOX and WXXV were syndicated to an estimated 3.83 million views in 2024, and Lamar billboards ran across Gulfport, Biloxi and Hattiesburg. In 2025 its charity partners were the Run Gulf Coast Foundation, the youth health program Let's Go! Gulf Coast and Ainsley's Angels of America, which brings people with special needs into endurance events. Brand presence In 2026 the race ran as the Keesler Federal Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon. Below the title, partners take named pieces of the weekend: the 5K title, the Beer Mile, the Double Down medal, the VIP Experience, the Race Krewe volunteer program, whose hundreds of volunteers cover more than 29 miles of course, the gumbo tent, the Boston-qualifier backdrop, the PR Bell and mile markers. The pace-car partner supplies the vehicle that leads each race. FRESHJUNKIE's 60 regional running ambassadors can post for partners before race weekend.