TUPELO - Nearly 4,000 people participated in last month's Mayor's Marathon, but the number could rise as more mileage logs come into City Hall.

"I'm blown away by how successful this has been," said Mayor Jack Reed Jr. on Monday while helping draw participants' names for prizes, including a soccer ball, a disc-golf disc and a free pool party at the North Mississippi Medical Center Wellness Center.

Reed and his Task Force on Health launched the marathon on Halloween and encouraged residents to walk, jog and run the equivalent of a marathon - about 26 miles - during the month of November.

Their original goal was to have 1,000 people join.

Many of the participants came from the public school system, others came from NMMC or the municipal government. Hundreds of others were members of the general public.

Most who turned in their mileage logs completed the marathons, while others racked up several miles but fell short of the goal distance.

Task Force co-chair Hank Boerner said he's proud of all participants, whether they finished the marathon or not. He also said the group will launch another health-related initiative next month called Trim Down Tupelo.

That effort will seek teams of people to lose weight together in a Biggest-Loser-style competition. The team with the most collective loss will win a prize, Boerner said.

The marathon was part of Reed's bid to make Tupelo the healthiest city in the state. His goal is to win the $50,000 Healthy Hometown Award from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.