Don Knox's Staging Area

I did the Supreme Challenge (1 mile, 5k on Saturday and the Marathon on Sunday) and the only distance I wanted to put max effort in was the 1 – miler. I did ok in the 1 miler but the weather was not great and I still have not shaken the idea of falling on slick surfaces. That said – all of us had the same conditions so even with perfect conditions – my place standing would have been the same (tied for 4th in AG). The mile and 5k courses were nice. A little hill after 200 meters of flat and then a slight down hill the rest of the way. My Garmin map of the 5k looks like an Easter Island moai.
The marathon was amazing. This was our anniversary trip (35) and it was worth it. We ran over the Ambassador Bridge – this is a major crossing between the USA and Canada and they shut the whole thing down for us – same with the tunnel. You run about 5-6 miles along the waterfront in Windsor ON and then back to the USA through the tunnel – a mile in length underwater (Detroit River). From there – through some of the nicer parts of Detroit. The course after coming up out of the tunnel is fairly flat. Lots of hydration (seemed to be every 3/4 of a mile) and there were two”shot-block” stops on the marathon route – only had to eat two GUs. The finishers’ medals are really very nice. The finish line was a bit confusing and we did not get our Challenge medals because we never saw a sign or tent to pick them up – no worries – the Race Organization is supposed to mail them to us. Do note that if you sign up for any of the challenges – you get a nice rain run jacket (this time and changes each year) but only the shirt for the longest distance. So, if you are after shirts – be forewarned. The communication from the race was excellent lots of updates but not information overload. I took this run slow because I wanted to “sight-see” while running and I was not disappointed. The crowds were great and plentiful.
The best part of the entire trip was that we were very close to Niagara Falls – so we went and stayed on the Canadian side. We also got to complete the HOMES. Lake Huron when we got to Detroit (not so short trip up I-94 with bump and go traffic) and then Lake Erie (Port Glasgow ON) and the Lake Ontario in Hamilton and St Catharine’s. Motor City Casino was nice and that is where we stayed for the marathon weekend and we had a room in Niagara Falls overlooking the Falls. In all – if not for many other races we want to do – this would be a “do again”.

Revel does a great job. I just cannot run downhill and then run rollers at my age. I thought I trained well but the rollers on the Evergreen Parkway wiped me out. The scenery was spectacular. Revel does a great job with their races – this was my third. The SWAG was first rate and the race production was top-notch. Coach Paul really helped me out before the run and I think it would have been worse had I not spoken with him.

The Houston Marathon is a truly wonderful event. Coming out of the COVID lockdowns – I thought they did a great job and the Expo was very nice. The 5k the day before was picture perfect and marathon day was great as well. The course is mostly flat and this was my 4th time running. I twisted my ankle the night before so it was a painful run for me – I was expecting to run it about 30 minutes faster than I did run it. I BQ’d here in 2019 (the ill-fated 2020 Boston entry that never happened). This is a fast course with thousands of spectators along the course (that is what gives the scenery 5 shoes). Ample water stops and volunteers. Houston goes all out for this run and it is appreciated. Will run the weekend series again in 2023 -already signed up!

Not my best but not my worst marathon performance. The support is amazing. The organization is amazing. The crowds are amazing. (yes, three amazings). It is for these reasons that Runners’ World labels this as one to run and I agree. I like hills but this was actually worse than Tulsa in terms of hills. They never ended. Gorilla Hill was actually one of the easier hills – but the best supported – the one right after Gorilla Hill was tougher with more to come. Glad we did it but one and done for me. The reason for the run is evident. Starting at the Memorial is very special. The support from the city, the citizens, the organization and the volunteers is simply amazing (amazing yet again – enough cannot be said for OKC). They flat out know how to block off streets. Safest marathon I have ever run except maybe Berlin.

This was a tale of three runs – it was the best of times, the worst of times. I ran the half in 2018 – great race and effort. That was the first race. The second race was the first 14.7 miles of this run. Anyone that thinks Mt Charleston is an easy qualifier is wrong. Give me Houston any day. The first 13.1 went right to plan. The biggest issue was 8500 feet of elevation. I starved my calfs of oxygen and they let me know it. Especially the left one and I have had issues with it in the past. I was breathing much harder than usual and it showed. After the 4th uphill on the first half of the course (they are short but still uphill), my calfs cramped up. I walked/ran (mostly walked) the last 12ish miles (the third race). I was ready for the hills but I was not ready for the elevation and the snow (only at the top and not on the road)! I was happy with my effort and I really was on course for about a 3:40 (my goal) but it was not to be on this day. The people at REVEL do a fantastic job and I am thrilled that they were able to pull this off. The SWAG was good considering the amount of time between the sign up of the race and the day of the race.

This is a very nice little race. Muenster is a relatively older (Texas) German community in North Texas. They have a few runs up there and they are hilly. This one no exception – the hills go up and down from mile 5 to mile 11. The after party is nice. The Spring version is better attended but the Fall version has the Oktoberfest vibe going for it. If you like good German bier then the Fall race is better than the Spring – if it is American beer you like then the Spring version is better. If you just like beer – both are great. The Fall version has 4 really good German bier taps including Weihanstephaner Premium – one of my favorites. The race itself is well marked and the aid stations are right where you need them. Swag is good and do remember that this is a fund raiser so the money goes to the group it is sponsoring and not in the SWAG but there are plenty of goodies in the bag. A plus is that this is 2020 and it was a real, live RUN!!! Not a “virtual, same as reality,” training run.

This was my 13th weekend of running the Cowtown – started in 1992. This was my third time running the Ultra. This is one of my favorite events and all the positives I have stated before are still positives. On the downside – the Expo was much smaller than last year and this seems to be a trend. The Expo at Houston was also smaller. The only concerning issue was the traffic at Colonial Park. They completely disregarded the police officers and almost hit a few of us leaving church and/or the country club. The worst was a driver in a white Range Rover. It was about 10 cars and they all got stopped about a half a mile down the road. I hope they all got tickets. Another motorist near the detour before 9 mile hill gave an officer a piece of his mind about roads being closed to traffic. Usually the people of Ft Worth are little more neighborly.

This is just a fantastic run. We ran the 5k on Saturday and had a really nice quiet day at the Duck Pond (the Memory Tree) and then dinner at the Silver Fox. This is the first time I have run the marathon on this course (it used to start at the Stockyards) but I have run the Half many times and the Ultra twice so I knew what I was getting into. This was my Plan “C” for a Boston Qualifying time. I have tremendous respect for this course and any runner that can qualify for Boston here. I had run BQ times at Dallas and Houston earlier (December and January) so the pressure was off and after 8 mile hill (Mt Main Street) – I packed it in and just ran to enjoy a really nice day in my running shoes.
As always – the Law Enforcement support was great. The officer that is usually on North Main as you get out of the Stockyards (~mile 7) was not there this year – I missed him! He always had a smile and cheered us on.
The only areas that seemed “sparse” of spectators were the South Main Street segments but the rest stop crews made up for that and it is early Sunday morning. The guitar players on South Main were also very talented and broke up the monotony a bit.
The TCU/Colonial/Forest Park neighborhoods are fantastic. Those unofficial water stations are amazing and this year they were handing out Mardi Gras beads as well. The homes are beautiful and the people are really loud and full of cheer. They make those segments fun.
I know others may not think Cowtown as hilly. It is for me and I have run a few races and everyone has an opinion. If you are trying to qualify for Boston or one of the other Big 6 races and using Cowtown as part of that plan – do your hill training (or use it as a supported training run)! I run hills as often as I can and I felt very good after the run. It is a technical course for me. You have to choose carefully when to push and not push because there is another short but steep hill ahead. 8 mile hill is the easiest of the hills (for me) it just looks daunting as you run on North Main and see the Courthouse in the distance.
I absolutely love this race. The 10k back in 1992 was my first organized run and I love coming back to it. The only race that I have been to that has a better Expo is Berlin. The Expo for Cowtown is on par with the Expo for the Houston Marathon. Given the relative size of the races that is saying something good. The Dallas Marathon Expo was nowhere near as nice as Cowtown (opinions abound).

I would really like to rate this event higher but there are things preventing a higher rating. I would actually rate it lower had I not gotten the VIP package – well worth the money. There are things outside the control of the race director – traffic and construction. The Metromess is a disaster most of the time traffic-wise but it was even worse this year. Downtown has so much construction, road closures, one way streets – almost impossible for someone from out of town to navigate. Worse Expo by far of any large event I have attended. Parking is expensive and while the city needs money – why gouge people for 10 minutes worth of parking after they just endured one hour or more of stop and go traffic downtown for packet pick up. I got the wrong size t-shirt at packet pick up and could not exchange it.

VIP – package – AWESOME!!! SWAG Awesome (even my oversized tshirt)!

Course – difficult is an understatement – and it was long (both the 5k and the marathon courses were long – not a Garmin error) 26.46 – .53 by most finishers. The hill at mile 6 (Beverly in Highland Park) was interesting and expected. Hill at mile 20 (Lakewood Blvd) was a monster hill. The Garmin hill challenge was only the first half of the hill. The worst part was the second half of the hill to the top of the street. I get hills but that one needs to be gone or at least half of it. I did set a PR and more importantly, got a BQ time but I honestly thought I would have run it about 5 to 6 minutes faster. The Lakewood hill took it all out of me. UCan bars are great for people that have tender stomachs but the rest of the world needs something that does not taste like compressed sawdust. My wife swears by UCan but I will swear at UCan. I needed something so I took what the race provided.

Overall, some improvements can be made but I am just one runner and this is the 48th time this event has been held so they may not be too interested in changing much.

Absolutely loved this race. Well organized and gave me something to do while in Vegas for a friend’s wedding. The Bally’s shuttle was excellent. Race was downhill at an easy decline for 10 miles. Mile 10 (Mile 23 for the marathon) is a very slight uphill then flattens out at Mile 11 (Mile 24) and even starts to decline in elevation again but just slightly. Rest stops were plentiful and volunteers were great. Only able to run the half because of the lateness of my registration/vacation plans but I will run the marathon next year as a BQ attempt. If the half is any measure it will not be a problem. Set a PR at the age of 58 and this was my 53rd half marathon. Scenery rating is my preference – it is a desert but beautiful – not all will agree!

I ran this race to see if it really was flat. Having just run Berlin a few months prior – it is not completely flat like Berlin but it’ll do and it is way less crowded than Berlin. The only downside was the finish and post-race area. Extremely crowded and somewhat confusing. All in all it is a “do again” and if I duplicate my 2018 time in 2019 then I BQ for 2020 which is the goal. The finisher’s mug is awesome.

This is a fantastic race. For an event to handle 35k+ participants running the same distance over the same course and most speaking different languages, it is simply amazing. The scenery is unsurpassed. It really is a flat course but it is hard to run a PB or fast if you are not in one of the first two or three corrals. There are just that many people but it was the most fun I have ever had running 26.2 miles (and I have run Disney). Bands, people, music, drums, more people, and just a beautiful city. I especially liked getting all of my finisher’s gear ahead of time saving a ton of time after the run was over. My wife and I started out in different corrals and yet we were able to find each other quickly because of the way the finish line was set up. This is a must do and the lottery system makes it possible for average joe runners like me to run one of the Big 6.

I really enjoyed this race. It was a very well laid out course and had a few rolling hills. Up there to visit my daughter and our grandchildren and wanted something to pass the time before they were up and moving! Nice race production. Decent shirts and medals.