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☰
Houston Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Houston Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 4.6
Number of comments: 365 [displaying comments 261 to 271]
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Sergey Korjenevski from Rochester, NY
(1/18/2005)
"highly recommend this one to anyone" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Weather was excellent to make this marathon the perfect one. 50F, sunny and dry doesn't sound exactly like Houston, but it was on January 16, 2005. The course is flat with a few exceptions crossing over highways and tracks. But that really doesn't matter. Nicely designed, so you run away from downtown and than back. The way I like it. A lot of nice views for those who actually looking around while enjoying running. Organization was perfect. No single delay at any point. Good expo. Nice anthem singer, start on time, two F-16 hanging around - lot of fun, immediate results, food, water, sport drinks, medal, mug, t-shirt before and nice sweat shirt after, which was a biggy for me because I needed something warm and dry after I finished... Running crowd was not as big as in Chicago or NY for that matter. And I prefer to run in smaller crowd. About 6000 is still acceptable. However, the spectator's support is as huge as in Chicago or NY. RnR bands, Elvis like every mile or so, encouragement with every step, so I was able to finish even with a torn muscle in my left shin. I kept running because they told me I can do it ;-) Saying no more, it was perfect. Thank you, Houston! | |
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O. P. from New York, New York
(1/18/2005)
"Super-fast course makes this a great marathon" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I came to Houston for the first time to visit relatives and to run the marathon. I knew that the course was supposed to be flat and fast - that was about the extent of my expectations. Having completed the race and reflected, I can safely say that the Houston Marathon exceeded my expectations. The course is not incredibly gorgeous - you spend a lot of time on ramps to freeways, on anonymous-looking roads, and other nondescript paths. However, what it lacks in beauty is made up for in a terrifically easy course. (Admittedly, you run through a few pretty suburban-type residential areas that are very Norman Rockwell.) Fellow runners who ran the course in previous years kept speaking of 'the hill.' I was getting nervous as we approached the turn towards 'the hill,' but am happy to say that the hill is nothing more than an overpass and a pretty un-hilly one at that. The rest of the course flies by, with ample crowd support along the way. There were times in the early miles when the supply of water and Gatorade couldn't keep up with the demand, but it wasn't a huge issue and seemed taken care of by the midway point of the race. Loved the belly dancers, the many Elvises, even the strangely plentiful heavy metal bands. Great idea to put names on the bibs - even runners lacking a t-shirt with their names written on it got to be part of the crowd's cheering section. Weather was cold, but great for running - sun was shining the whole time. Words of wisdom: though the sun shines, most of the race is in the shade - so think twice before shedding that long-sleeve shirt or gloves if the weather is supposed to remain in the 40s. Expo and general race organization was quite excellent - my husband loved getting the email updates on his Blackberry while he navigated the race to watch me. Shirt and sweatshirt are very nice, as are the finisher medal and the glass mug. Another great feature is that Houston is a super cheap city. I stayed at the Four Seasons, which was right at the start of the race, for a race rate of $130 - other hotels were even cheaper. And no two-night minimum was required. Restaurants were plentiful and also inexpensive. Overall, runners looking for a fast, cool marathon during the winter months should seriously consider Houston. | |
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g. h. from Washington DC
(1/18/2005)
"Great marathon" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great urban marathon. Superb organization and facilities. The roads are all closed to traffic and you go through some interesting neighborhoods on the west side of downtown. There are one or two inclines but any urban marathon is going to have a few over/underpasses. The roads were all closed to traffic but the surface is pretty hard; not a problem for me during the race but my quads are pretty sore afterwards. Weather was great although you always take your chances with that. The view was spectacular running alongside the Bayou coming back into downtown for the last few miles of the race. Pace and elapsed times were called out each mile, water stops every 1.5 miles on both sides of the road with Gatorade first followed by water. The expo in the convention center was good. The finish line facilities were also in the convention center and there was even hot food. During the race, family and friends could have split times emailed to their phones and follow along on the website. Check out the race results: some super graphics showing how you finished against other runners. Houston has such a selection of restaurants that I probably didn?t carbo-load properly and ran out of energy at mile 21. I had a great time anyway. Thoroughly recommend this one. | |
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Andrew Brown from Houston,tx
(1/18/2005)
"My first marathon.... With more to come" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I loved every minute of it. I am so grateful for the encouragement from the people. You guys made me proud to be a Houstonian. | |
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E. W. from Virginia
(1/18/2005)
"good flat course" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a well organized race on a flat course. Allowing runners in the convention center before the race was great, with the sub-40 degree temps. There were lots of freebees and a variety of food. Only two minor suggestions: they needed someone at the front of the convention center after the race to direct traffic - lots of us were wandering around wondering where to go. Also, the food was interesting. Eggs, sausage and fried hashbrowns with coffee. No fruit. These are really minor though. Overall the race was very well organized and the volunteers were fantastic. Never had a problem with water stops. The crowds weren't huge but were enthusiastic. | |
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Tom Miklik from Kokomo, Indiana
(1/18/2005)
"Fun, Cold, Well Organized" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Perfect marathon weather; well supported with mile splits, which help you achieve your goals. Fun marathon, fun people, well organized. | |
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d. b. from New Orleans, LA
(1/18/2005)
"Good but not as great as they said" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I live in the South, so it was a cold day for me - - but perfect weather for some - - start in the 30's finish at 44 degrees. I never broke a sweat. It is a well organized race with a good expo and support of the city. The main problem is that for the first 9 miles it is congested. My neck hurts from all the looking around to try to pass people. Normally, in these mid-size races the road opens up by at least the 3-mile mark and you can go into auto-pilot. Not so here... I was running an 8:15 to 8:20 pace and it was not until the half-marathoners turned off at Mile 9 that the road opened up. Also, kudos to the organizers for including a running etiquette sheet with bold reminders in the packet, even if it wasn't followed by many. | |
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W. R. from Houston, Texas
(1/18/2005)
"Greatest Marathon in the World" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Houston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Once again, a great marathon. This was my second time to run it, and I loved it. Highly recommended for new marathon runners because of the great crowd and Gatorade and water. | |
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M. S. from Minneapolis, Minnesota
(1/17/2005)
"Well organized flat course" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a good race. Shawn Colvin sang the national anthem, then two fighter jets did a flyby. Very nice. They use the whole convention center at the start for warm-up purposes. Then after the finish, you go right back into it for medals and refreshments. The course is good, but typical of many big-city marathons. Not always the most scenic right outside of the downtown area. On the plus side, it is very flat with plenty of aid stations, all of which had porta-potties. If you're looking for a fast winter marathon with perfect weather, this is it. | |
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B. D. from Houston, TX
(1/17/2005)
"Good choice for winter marathon" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Houston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Conditions were near perfect for the HP Houston Marathon on Sunday Jan 16. The start temperature was around 40F and it never got much warmer than 55F or so. There was very little wind, pretty good spectator support and several enthusiastic Elvis impersonators along the way. Not to forget the belly dancers between mile 19 and 20! The Houston Marathon course is as flat as a pancake, the only minor drawback being that most of it is concrete, which takes a heavy toll on the legs. Even so, I managed to slice a big 15 minutes off my most recent marathon time and to finally get back to a sub-4 hour time, for the first time in 12 years. I put in a few more miles per week (than I did last year); and added some strength workouts (hills and Fartlek sessions) as well as weekly speed sessions at Memorial High School track. A slowish start and a conservative first half (running with a 4-hr pace group) paid off handsomely as I had something left in the tank by Mile 18 plus. I might add that in several previous marathons, I had committed many of the 'cardinal sins' such as starting WAY too fast, experimenting with new tactics & foods on the day of the run, not tapering properly, etc, etc. So being able to run a well-paced race doesn't make me a smart marathon runner, just an experienced one! I really felt strong over the last 7 miles, pushing the pace to 8:20 and passing dozens of people in the process. So much more fun to be a passer than a passee. To be honest, I did not have much left by the end, except a big grin. I glanced at my heart-rate monitor as I crossed the finish line in just over 3:49 and it was at 175. I think my maximum is 180 so just as well they had a defribillator or two ready... Would I recommend the Houston Marathon for anybody else? Well yes, and maybe. Yes for some of the reasons mentioned above. It is also very well organized and has one of the best expos of any that I have seen. The air-conditioned George R. Brown Convention Center is a superb facility where runners can take shelter from the elements prior to the start and receive ample sustenance - including a hot breakfast - at the end. The t-shirt designs have lately been lousy, and the medals so-so, but the finisher's beer mugs are worth having. The 'maybe' part of my recommendation has to do with the weather. The last three years have all been near perfect but sooner or later this marathon will have an unusually warm start, with the minimum around 60F and the max. well into the 70's. If you can handle that, combined with high humidity, then by all means make plans for Houston next year. I doubt that you will regret it. |
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