With the calendar flipped to 2015, Mississippi’s running schedule is about to kick back into gear — and Vicksburg’s first road race of the year will help get it going.

The year’s first big race, the Mississippi Blues Marathon was Saturday in Jackson. That’s followed this Saturday by the Chill in the Hills, a 10-kilometer run and 5-kilometer race walk through downtown Vicksburg.

The one-two punch marks the end of a six-week winter hiatus for major running events in the state and the start of a four-month stretch in which a 5- or 10-K run takes place nearly every weekend in Mississippi.

For its seventh edition, Chill in the Hills organizers are introducing a two-person relay race in addition to the normal 10K. There will also be a team competition and the traditional children’s 1-mile fun run along with the main event.

In the relay, one person will run 5 kilometers before their partner takes over at the halfway point.

“Because our course comes back by the start-finish line, that allowed us to do the relay. I hope this attracts people who want to run a shorter distance. We don’t have any 5K runs in Vicksburg,” race director Walter Frazier said. “We wanted to create a variety of events and something fun. Same thing with the teams. The people who compete on teams can compete for individual trophies as well, so they have something else to go for.”

The Chill in the Hills is the smallest of Vicksburg’s three road races. A total of 231 people completed the 10K run, 5K walk and 1-mile fun run last year, and in its biggest years the numbers have been around 300 participants. About 70 people signed up during the pre-registration period.

“We always get the largest portion of our registration in the last week, and then Friday or Saturday night before the race is strong,” Frazier said, adding of the early turnout, “This isn’t unusual. If anything, it’s better than normal.”

The Blues Marathon typically siphons off some of the area’s more elite runners, who spend the following week recovering from the marathon. Cold weather can also hurt attendance. Frazier, though, said that as the race enters its seventh year it seems to have weathered those issues and found a nice niche on the calendar.

“It’s kind of a New Year’s resolution race,” Frazier said with a laugh. “It’s a chance for people to get walking or running again. The walk is a 5K and it’s a moderate race.”

Runners and walkers will have a lot to compete for besides personal glory. Winners in several large divisions and each age group will receive a handcrafted chili bowl. They’re also eligible to compete for the Vicksburg Slam title.

The Vicksburg Slam awards cash prizes to the runners and walkers with the top cumulative times in each of the city’s three races — the Over the River Run in October, Chill in the Hills, and the Run Thru History in March. All competitors must purchase a Slam membership and compete in all three races to be eligible. Slam memberships can be bought right up until the start of the Chill in the Hills on Jan. 17.

Online registration for the race itself closes today, but runners and walkers can still sign up in person at Guaranty Bank on Cherry Street — in whose parking lot the race will begin and end — or Grace Christian Counseling Center.

The race will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, with raceday registration open at 7.