C.T. Carley took the challenge and began planning the Frostbite Half Marathon for the following January. With the underwriting and support of the Boardtown Roadrunners the race was a success with 108 entrants and 91 finishers (81 males and 10 females). The winner was Jack Mahurin in a time of 1:14:03.

The race grew in popularity as Carley continued as race director with up to 200 entrants. Winning times went down:

1984	Jack Mahurin - 1:14:03	Jerri Bennett - 1:36:27
1985	Pete Clark - 1:11:42	Kathy Box - 1:28:35
1986	Jeff Keady - 1:11:31	Jennie Worthen - 1:28:04
1987	Cullan Crothers - 1:11:10	Pam Bowen - 1:26:59

In the fall of 1987 a tragic accident claimed the lives of several Chi Omega members on a walk in Oxford. Because of this the Mississippi Highway Patrol recommended that the Frostbite not be held on a Mississippi street or road. No suitable route could be found so the race for January 1988 was cancelled (however, several die-hards ran the course anyway on the last Sat. in January).

The race continued to grow in popularity with usually from 170 to 200 entrants. The course record was set in 1990 by John Charleton in 1:09:20 only to be broken in 1994 by Mark Warner in 1:08:44. The female open record was set in 1996 by Laurie Mauldin in 1:22:09.

In 1993 Carley turned the race directorship over to Rick Coghlan. The popularity of the race continued through Rick's capable leadership. Several aspects of the race contributed to its popularity. One was that the runners were taken by bus from Starkville Fire Station No. 3 to a point, 13.1 miles away, north of Pheba on Miss. Highway 389. From this distant point all had to run back to the fire station. Another popular feature was the very difficult hill at around mile 11, often called "Heartbreak Hill". The awards ceremony and party afterward were also quite popular with runners and their families.

The race has drawn runners from all over the mid-south. For a time a group of runners in the Jackson area would charter a bus and bring a large group. Coghlan introduced a handicapped category and team categories which further increased participation and popularity.

The Frostbite continued to grow and the Columbus Running Club took over the sponsorship of the race in 1997 as the Boardtown Roadrunners organization had disbanded. Coghlan continued as Race Director.

Due to family illness Rick Coghlan had to give up the race directorship and no one stepped in to fill his capable shoes. As a result there was no Frostbite in 2000. A long history from 1984 to 1999 would have been broken except for a few faithful runners who informally ran the race again on the first Saturday of February. It was during this informal run that it was suggested that Cindy Orick be asked to consider taking on the race. Thankfully the Wellness Connection at the Oktibbeha County Hospital has assumed the sponsorship of the race and it will continue under the direction of Cindy Orick in 2001.