This was my second Houston Marathon (well, second marathon in general). The organization of the race was excellent from the packet pick-up at the expo, to the crowd support and the plentiful water/Gatorade stations at every 1.5 miles. The weather was perfect (although I wouldn't have minded maybe 5 degrees cooler in the sun towards the end). I have a short and easy name, so hearing the crowd constantly cheer me on, especially between mile 20 through the end, helped tremendously.

A couple of things that were missing were the Shot Block station at mile 20 and the fact that the official pictures at the end are taken before you receive your finisher's medal. I ran 26.2 miles, so it would've been nice to proudly show off my medal in my picture.

Other than that, it was a perfect race. I'll definitely be back next year!

This was my 8th marathon overall but my first time to run Houston. I was very impressed. There are too many good things to say about Houston, but I'll try to list a few:

. Very well organized. Everything went off like clockwork.

. Having the expo, pre-start waiting area, and finishers' area inside the convention center seemed like a bonus.

. Flat, fast course. If there was a hill anywhere I didn't notice it. You go over a couple of overpasses (the biggest one in mile 15) and down and up a couple of underpasses (which are unfortunately very late in the race), but they are really no big deal.

. Multiple water/Gatorade stations.

. Volunteers o-plenty, fighting each other to see who could be the most helpful.

. Nice crowd support. I don't really care about that sort of thing personally, but I was impressed by the crowd size for what I would call a medium-sized race.

. Big, honking, silver, dinner-plate-sized medal.

. Very nice post-race food spread, with an actual sit-down, food court area.

Really, the only negative I can come up with for this marathon is that far too much of it seems to be run on concrete. My feet took a pounding.

If the weather cooperates, I think is the perfect PR course. I will definitely run it again.

Nice course, but on mostly cement streets, so be prepared. Plenty of water and Gatorade. Lot of fans, but not near the number others have said. Pick a short nickname for your bib. Having a name on the bib is cool; the fan reaction to nicknames was great. A great finish area, but there was no fresh fruit at the finish for, at this event, a slow-moving slug. Having fried food for breakfast is a good idea most of the time, but not for me. I will do it again, but not soon. Make sure your hotel has a hot tub or equivalent.

The Houston Marathon is continually evolving and becoming more efficient and "runner minded." I intend to sign up early for next year!!

The course was enjoyable. My only complaint would be that the hydration tables were too short. Twice I couldn't merge quickly enough to get a cup of water/Gatorade. I had to plan my attack for getting the cups. But that is my only negative experience.

The race was well organized as always.

I was disappointed that they did not have the pasta party this year. It makes the weekend so easy... it was kind of a disappointment not to have it.

The water stops need to have Gatorade AFTER the water. Some stops had one or two tables and they were the first tables. It was easy to miss.

I thought this race used to hand out Clif Shots at mile 20. I missed that too.

Still, a great race! The new park made for a nice, new element to the start/finish area.

I live in Houston, so I am partly biased, but it was my first marathon, and I keep going back for more because it is a well run, great race, year after year.

Pros:
Houston is very spread out, so you don't really run through downtown, but you get to experience all of the great and interesting neighborhoods here. Read up on all of the neighborhoods in your program.
Spectators are great. It is a community affair, and everyone comes out to celebrate. There are bands, chicken costumes (always after the 10K mark), and beer (although at mile 21, I never partake).
Relatively flat, minus one huge hill at mile 14 and a few rolling underpasses beginning at mile 23 and ending around 25.
Organization is amazing. Chevron is always prepared, with great programs, goodies, 1 tech shirt, 1 cotton, a decent medal (I like the logo though), and a mug! Shirts get better every year, and are the best I've received.
The expo is well organized as well, and you can taste many samples and get great deals on shoes and other merchandise.
It is great to be able to wait inside prior to the race and not be crowded, and it's nice that you end in the same spot.

Cons:
Although it is relatively cool in Houston, the weather can be tricky and tends to be on the hotter and clear sky-side.
Houston (within the last 2 years) started having people start in waves, but unfortunately, you can't easily get from one wave to the next.
Bibs were HUGE this year - annoying.
VERY crowded for the first 3-4 miles.

GREAT RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All in all, a great marathon for the entry fee.

This is my eleventh Houston, and I plan to come back again soon.

The official results were a bit delayed (not sure why), and the finisher's line to the post-race food was an airport flashback. The marathon course: Great crowds, liquids, weather, and two course records, all in one day.

I ran Houston in '06 and '07, and after skipping it for a year, ran it again in 2009. In the previous years I always complained because you could not get into the starting corrals due to the horrid gate set up. This year I was in for a very pleasant surprise; the corral system could not have been easier to get into. In previous years, there had been a reasonable number of port-a-cans, but this year they had them everywhere. I had to make stop at one 10 minutes before the gun, and was worried I'd miss the start, but thanks to the massive numbers, it only took 2 minutes to get through the line. The course could not have been more clearly marked, and the finish area was very well labeled. The multi-wave start really helped limit the congestion at the beginning of the race.

The course itself is very fast. There are a few minor hills and one big over pass, but for the most part, it is very flat. You start off running through a not-so-great neighborhood, but by mile 3, the scenery really picks up and you run through some neat areas of town and have pleasant views. There are always tons of spectators for this race, which makes it easier to keep moving.

My only complaint is that the beer stop ran out. I guess I need to move faster next year!

In my book, Houston is now a must-do race. For your race fee, you get top-notch organization, a fast and spectator-lined course, and at the end they provide food, water, a big, colorful, shiny metal, a beer mug, and an UnderArmour finisher shirt. How does it get much better than that?

Didn't know what to expect from a large marathon since this was only my second run, but from here on the bar is set pretty high. Every race I run in the future will be compared to Houston. The fans were incredible, the organization was flawless, and every detail seemed to be addressed. The post-race environment was well controlled and supportive, allowing runners to stretch, hydrate and relax without the crowds bearing down on them. Can't wait till next year.