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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 161 to 171]
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j. p. from houston
(1/13/2008)
"very well organized" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Houston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Pasta party should be on Friday. You never want to eat a big meal that close(Saturday night) to the race. Post-race at the convention center needs a sectioned-off area by the bag retrieval to change out of your wet clothes. | |
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A. M. from Houston
(1/13/2008)
"Chicago: Take Notes from Houston!!!!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Houston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran Houston just 3 months after the fiasco in Chicago and just as my initial comments say, Chicago could learn a lot from the Houston Marathon! Even though it was a nice, cool morning (42) at the start, they had water all throughout the course! I did not even have to ask for it! It was already in a cup and I was at the back! The hot post-race food was a welcome sight and I like the fact that you get to go into the convention center after the run. Whoever is the race director for Chicago (I hope it is not the same person in 2007) should talk to the folks in Houston. Yeah... yeah... I know Houston is half the size as Chicago... but a lot can be learned! | |
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Jeff Wang from Humble, Texas
(1/13/2008)
"Another Success for the 2008 Houston Marathon" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Houston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 2008 is yet another success for Houston Marathon. With an almost perfect weather, much improved corral system, as well as tremendously well organized staff, it definitely is one if the best Houston Marathons I have participated in. With the weather projected to be in low 40's, I was disappointed that it actually felt 50's at the starting line. With the early and rather bright sun, I was concerned about the race condition. As it turned out, there were gentle breezes throughout the race and cooling the runners. At the end, I was thankful of a great weather again this year. As for the race, there were plenty of water and Gatorade stations. There were also a ton of port-a-potties, so many there no one in the first 1/3 had to wait throughout the course. Again, the hot food at the end is greatly appreciated by all, including scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns and the usual cookies and bagels. And we still love the finisher's shirt and glass mug in addition to the medal. As for the road, there are still some cracks and potholes due to the asphalt and the heat. There was nice scenery along the way. Crowd were small for first 1/3 but got really loud at the end. Expos was also very nice and large in size. All in all, I echo my sentiment about this race; it is gray, with good weather, good course, and most importantly, good people working behind the scene to make it all happen smoothly. There is a reason I run the Houston Marathon and San Francisco Marathon every year. | |
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P. I. from Houston, Texas
(7/31/2007)
"The course, organization and spectators were great" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon so I did not know what to expect or not expect. I enjoyed every aspect of it. I learned a lot too. I did not know that it could be a very tough, demanding race with so much toll on my physical ability. I had wrapped my toes with extra socks and plastic sheet only to feel too hot with 8 miles behind me that I stopped to remove them. It was difficult and painful to bend down and remove my shoes to remove the plastic around my feet. I was shaking while I tried to bend down. A spectator asked if I needed assistance, but I declined. After I finished I also removed my long-sleeved t-shirt that I had got from a 10K race I ran years earlier to make me less warm. When I returned to running, I found it difficult to continue. I, however, managed to convince myself to continue. After another four miles (by the half-way), I could not continue running so I decided to walk a bit. Then after walking for some minutes I tried to start running again only to discover that I could not, as both my calves were hurting in a muscle pull - the type I never had before. After walking for awhile, I tried to run again, and again, but my legs would not let me. So I decided it's no use trying to run again. I decided to walk the rest of the way and had to hope that I could finish the walk before the course was closed. I made it with about 15 minutes before the course closure. I clocked a time of 5 hours, 46 minutes and 31 seconds for the race. The sides of my knee joint hurt for some days after that but otherwise I did not have any problem going to work two days after, as I observed the holiday Monday after the race. Now, as I made progress along the course after I stopped running, I discovered that I could run the final 100 or so yards to the finish. It seemed to me that as long as I drank Gatorade given to runners on the course, my muscle problems seemed to diminish. Now I make sure I have Gatorade in my training kit. I take it during and after training. I think I lost so many nutrients that my calf muscles were having problems during the race. I thought I trained hard for the race, but during the race, the fact that I could not just continue running throughout the race seems to suggest to me that I did not train hard enough. I still find it difficult to run all the way with such a distance. I hope I will be able to run throughout the next marathon for which I have already registered. I am training harder now with my first marathon behind me. Oh, I tried to make sure I was prepared for the 2007 marathon by running a 26-mile course 13 days before the 2007 marathon. Perhaps this was why I did poorly during the race as I was having too much demand on my body within so short a time. In a pre-marathon information I got before the 2007 Houston Marathon, it was stated that one should not run two marathons with fewer than two weeks between them. I ran the 26-mile course because I thought I needed to have run a marathon before embarking on one to be sure that I would be able to finish. However, I did not know that I should not run one so close to another. I hope to do better in the 2008 Houston Marathon. | |
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Michael Fishel from Houston, Texas
(7/9/2007)
"One of the most memorable moments of my life" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Initially I was going to run the full marathon but halfway through training I injured my calves. I was able to switch from full to half without any problems. I am from Houston and while I've heard that the full course is beautiful (especially on the back end), the half marathon goes through parts I had never been to before. While the areas are not what you would call high-end, the atmosphere was amazing. The fans were great and always cheered you on. I got an absolute rush in the beginning (which ultimately cost me towards the end) and had a great time. I definitely plan on running the full marathon next year. I highly recommend it. | |
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Lina Gage from Colorado
(5/17/2007)
"Well organized for a big race" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I don't know what everyone else was talking about when they complained about the organization or post-race party or volunteers.... I had a blast!!! This was my fifth marathon and I think runners should appreciate how hard it is to put such a big race together. I think everything they did from before the race - like putting the potties inside the convention center so that runners didn't have to wait in line in the cold - was very thoughtful. The 10-15-minute masssage before the race was a treat. And then the crowd that called out my name at least 2 dozen times helped kept me going and finishing strong. Then the post-race food was basically a big breakfast buffet, so I don't understand what other runners are whining about over nothing when there were so many great things to be grateful for - all the efforts that these people put together. So if you ask me, I'll say it is a 5-star race and you will not be disappointed. :) | |
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S. L. from Houston, TX
(4/19/2007)
"My Favorite!!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Houston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I love this course. Despite a slow start, it is fast and FLAT, the fans are great, and the organization is fantastic. I think this is a great course on which to PR or qualify for Boston. | |
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M. R. from Nashville, Tennessee
(4/19/2007)
"One really bad mistake" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The half marathon race was fun, but they made a huge mistake. The 15K sign and 10-mile marker were backwards, so you saw the 10-mile sign, ran for another 6-7 minutes, and then saw the 15K sign. This was a tough one to take mentally because I thought I was at the 10.5-mile mark when I realized I was not even to the 9.5-mile mark. The course was fairly flat, which was nice. I also enjoyed the ability to stay inside before and after the race. The start was very unorganized. A wave start needs to be used next year. There were two "corrals" for runners based on your predicted finishing time, but they just dumped you out to the same place, so it did not matter anyway. My first two miles were at 11:30 pace because everyone was so crowded. | |
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C. P. from Louisiana
(4/8/2007)
"Fast course, but slow running" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Almost 20,000 runners in the full and half marathon. Advertised as a fast course with an opportunity for a PB. The course IS flat but it was the slowest run I've ever had just due to its organization. I did 11-minute miles for the first 4-5 miles, even walking at early points due to the massive crowd, and was shoulder-to-shoulder for the first 13 miles or so before it even began to thin. Separate starting locations for full and half, but they started at the same time and then merged within about half a mile, which log-jammed us all. They need to consider starting the half marathon 30 minutes or an hour later and staggering groups of marathon runners every few minutes. The post-race food is pretty dull, just typical breakfast food. Spent a long time on the course out in a dreary industrial section that made it really hard to stay psyched. I won't be running it again. | |
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A. H. from St Paul, Minnesota
(3/13/2007)
"great local race - oops not from there" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Houston Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The good: Course spectators were great. Would have been better if they would have included my name on my bib like they did for most of the others. Great food, great guest, and the end is great for the slow people. Good food - plenty of good goodies. Enough freeway bridges so the course isn't flat. If I ever forget the following, I will be back: My wife and I flew in through Dallas and had a problem with travel the day before the race. Race officials could have cared less. Did get chips that morning, although "unpleasant" would be all too kind in describing the race officials and volunteers. They changed the name for my wife. Sorry, Norma, for the poor time. (I ran under your name.) |
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