A low cloud ceiling Sunday morning prevented a second flight in the 15th annual Great Mississippi Balloon Race.

Natchez resident and first-place pilot Stephen Guido isn’t complaining.

&uot;I would have liked to have flown,&uot; Guido said, &uot;mainly because of the people. We try to keep the spectators happy because they’re the ones who support the race.

&uot;But I knew what was going on, too,&uot; he added.

Because he won the Saturday morning flight, the cancelation of the Sunday flight made Guido the first Natchezian to win the two-day event.

Guido, a balloon pilot for five years, had never won an event before.

&uot;Several of the pilots here have flown in events all over the world,&uot; Guido said. &uot;To beat some of those guys feels good.&uot;

Guido doesn’t think this win makes him one of those &uot;world-class pilots,&uot; he said.

&uot;I’m just up there with everybody else,&uot; he said. &uot;But some of the big dogs want me to fly with them at nationals.&uot;

For winning the race, Guido earned a $1,600 prize and the dubious honor of playing the hare in a Sunday afternoon &uot;Hare and Hound&uot; task, in which a lead balloon sets a target at a random location and hunter balloons try to hit that target with bean-bag markers.

&uot;I’ve already won first place,&uot; he said, smiling on his way to the take-off site. &uot;They don’t want me to win this one, too.&uot;

But many of the pilots at the race weren’t quite as competitive. Doc Shannon, a pilot from Meridian, said his Saturday flight was successful, but not because of a high score.

&uot;I took off, landed safely and had a good time,&uot; he said. &uot;That made it a success.&uot;

The competition of events such as this weekend’s race adds a little fun, he said, &uot;but I do it for the joy of flying.&uot;

Dean Durr, a pilot from Waynesboro, said the comradery of balloon-folk brings him to such events.

&uot;You meet a lot of people in these types of events, super people,&uot; he said. &uot;They’ll do anything they can for you. It’s a good group of folks.&uot;