Mike Mateja's Staging Area

This is a smaller event held over the course of 3 days, Friday night through Sunday morning. The race organizers do a great job. Parking is close to the start/finish area. The post race food is great….fresh pulled pork, hamburgers, and hot dogs. The course is a municipal trail made out of crushed granite which is great on the knees. For the 1/4 marathon you do 1 loop, the 1/2 marathon does 2, and the full marathon does 4 loops. You do share the trail with outgoing and incoming runners so it can get a little tight at times. This is a small race, but very successful at what it does.

Always nice to run the hometown event. The expo had the usual vendors and seemed to be a little larger than the past year or two. The event is always 1st class, and the race production is always smooth. The George R Brown events center is able to accommodate both pre and post race activities with plenty of room to spare. The spectator’s numbers were significantly less this year due to the 40 degree temps which most Houstonians aren’t used to.
Volunteers are great as always. Water stops are well stocked. I have the same 3 concerns that I’ve had in previous years: 1) Tee shirts are ALWAYS too small. Everyone was commenting on this and I wish the marathon leadership would listen to these concerns. 2) Porta potties are ALWAYS lacking on the course. Even being in the rear of the pack, each porta-potty stop was at least a 5 minute wait. 3) After finishing, there is a traffic jam between the finish line and the George R Brown. Probably no easy fix for this, but it should be reviewed. I’ve run H-Town 6 times now and will again in 2025.

We spent the night at the Homewood suites directly between the Convention center and the starting corrals. We’ve had good experiences here the past 3 years.

High quality event. Flew in from Houston to get my Maryland race in the bag. BWI maybe 20 minutes away. Could easily Uber/Mass transit into the Baltimore area. Packet PU, race event, and race hotels are all within the same area. Stayed at the Hampton Inn at Camden Yards and it was perfect.

The only negative is the late 1/2 marathon start time, 9:45am. I’m sure there’s a logistical reason for this, but for me personally this is way too late.

The Expo was of normal size for the number of participants. Participant shirt was an under armor, high quality long sleeve shirt. The shirts for sale were even better (as always), but it seems like they only had size Medium.

The crowd support along the way was superb, even on a cool misty morning. Volunteers and water stops were well supported.
For a race of this magnitude, it would have been nice for organizers to post where GU and snacks might be on the route. This would have helped in my mental planning.
Will I be coming back from HTown for this event, probably not. If I lived in the area I would definitely be a repeat.

Outstanding race. Great organization and support. Really like the new route for 2024. The only negative on the new route is that front pack marathoners appeared to struggle to break through some of the half marathoners on the recreation path.

What a 1st class event! The production, the volunteers, the course, everything was awesome. I’ve come to expect that from VR events. This year I was able to volunteer for the base camp setup. Got to know some of the VR personnel and the pride they take in their obligations.

The morning event went off without a hitch. On time. Parking was a breeze. Communication was solid. On course support was perfect. I’m looking forward to Joshua Tree in November knowing that it will be a 1st class event also.

Awesome run as usual. There are some detail reviews this year so I won’t repeat what has already been said. This is a 1st class, city wide event. Everyone is super friendly.

There was a significant hiccup this year when it came to the Sunday morning bag-drop. Prior to the bag-drop cut-off time, the “contractors” handling this responsibility ran out of labeling tags, and thus shut down the bag drop. I thought there might be a riot from a few hundred people. Eventually this was sorted out and the organizers must be well aware of this situation by now.

I’ll do OKC again anytime!

What a great event. Straight line winds wreaked havoc on the campus just 18 hours prior to the event. By start time, the course was cleared and ready for the runners. Great route, although I would prefer to do the sunny/exposed trail going outbound when it’s cold, and the shaded road on the return when it’s warm. Anyways, great volunteers and race production. Would travel from Houston again to participate. It’s also very nice to see that everything isn’t shut down for those runners who use their full 4 hours.

Always a top notch event. 32k announced participation, although the actual numbers would indicate something closer to 25k for the full and the 1/2. Volunteers and crowds are awesome. Course is flat as a pancake. Support is everywhere. The only downside is that they ran out of men’s xl and xxl finisher shirts when I went to pick mine up. Hopefully this will be remedied soon. Being from Houston, this is an annual event.

Beautiful cool day for the 2022 event. The event includes an over and back of the Fred Hartman bridge crossing the Houston Ship Channel. This is a well-managed, smaller event. The post-race party at the LaPorte town square is quaint and well supported. The course amenities included well-staffed water and Gatorade stations every 2 miles. Completed this course a couple of times and it never disappoints. A packet pickup in Houston is a bonus.

What an incredible event. This is my second Revel race event and it is always a first class production. The scenery is incredible, blessed with shade the vast majority of the morning. The course levels out the last 3 to 4 miles, but there was plenty in the tank.

Nice run, well organized. Early start with buses staged for dropoff at the University of Utah stadium. Quality post-race party with transportation back to the stadium.

Fine event in the Denver area. Well run production and communication. Pack PU at Mile high stadium was neat. The 1/2 marathon took you through the zoo for a mile (most animals were sleeping due to the heat), a fire station, downtown, and back to City Park. I thought the crowd support would be stronger, but maybe they petered out by the time I got there. The major issue for this event is the parking. Neither of the sponsor hotels offered transportation to the park. So, a 430 wake up was in order. Would I do this event again? Probably not due to the many other “beauty filled” half marathons in the area, especially the Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins just 2 weeks prior. However, I’m glad I participated.

Held in downtown Asheville this year. We signed up for the Biltmore location, but kept our registration. We flew in from Houston.
The Good: 1) Started on time 2) PPU well organized 3) Shuttles operated efficiently 4) Power gels widely available on course

The Bad: 1)Out of water at the 5-6 mile stop–major no no for any event–they resorted to serving cola 2) Limited traffic control for 1st 2 miles out of downtown–were running against moving cars 1/2 a mile into the race 3) 10 porta potties at start for 1,500 people 3) Brooks shirts were fitted–should have been noted at time of registration–did not have my size at finish line at end of race 4) Post race food consisted of water, granola, bars, and 1 beer (the line of which was 10 minutes long all afternoon). Unless held at the Biltmore I can’t imagine this run as a destination event again. 5) 72 degrees when we finished….but no one has control of that variable.

Well run, city supported event. Scenery is just the Houston streets. Largely attended event. Parking can be difficult. The expo is always amazing, and the
volunteers are 1nd to none. Swag is minimal, and the finisher’s shirts are always disappointing, varying by size year to year. With that being said, I’ll continue to participate seeing that it’s in my own backyard.

Great event. Well orchestrated. The starting area near the National Cemetary is breathtaking, watching the sun come up over San Diego. The hill going into the last few miles is no joke. Warmer with humidity than expected.