This was my first marathon, so I didn't really have anything to compare it against. That said, I'll list the many things I liked and the few things I didn't.

Pros:
- Excellent expo with massive amounts of free stuff.
- Good finisher's shirt.
- All the fans on the course were awesome. The only other race I've run that comes close to this amount of fan support is the Buffalo, NY Turkey Trot (about 13,000 runners when I last ran it in 2011).
- No significant gaps in fan support. One little section along the I-59 feeder road at about mile 15 where there weren't too many people, but even though it was in the upper 40's and raining, people were out just about everywhere else.
- I liked how the Gatorade and water stops were spread out.

Cons: Not many, but...
- Start/Corrals. As it was my first time, even though I ran a 3:32, they had me in the open corral. No complaints there, I didn't have a previous time to give them, but I purposefully lined up at the front of the open corral about 25 minutes prior to race start. At race start, there were still people crossing in front of me to line up, and not all of them made it into the corral behind me, and were therefore allowed to line up in front of both me and the rope marking the supposed front of the corral. Did NOT appreciate this at all, as most of them were either walkers or extremely slow. Improvement suggestions: Only allow people to enter the corral through the back, the way I did, at the appropriate time to get where I wanted to be.

I will start this review by saying this course for me was a very nice mixture of neighborhoods which went from very poor at mile one to really nice areas around mile 18. Crowd Support was awesome for the first 9 miles until the 1/2 marathon turnaround when the crowds thinned out and was sparse during the second half. The heavy rain and wind along with cold weather probably kept a lot people away but they really picked me up to get me through to the end. The course surface wasn't as nice to me as I was nursing a sore left Achilles tendon which was aggravated with the miles and miles of concrete on the course.

Course had some nice rolling hills and is not completely flat but it is not hilly. I was still able to get with 20 seconds of a PR (3:44) even with all the elements.

The pre-race shirt was white 100% cotton T-shirt which is ok but the finishers shirt was a lot better. The Medal was big and really nice along with a nice mug!

The lines for the post-race food were super long and I didnt feel well (feet were screaming) and I didn't want to get the breakfast food they were serving. I did get an ice cream sandwich which was really good.

The volunteers were awesome at all the aid stations!

I stayed at the Residence Inn which was totally awesome. I was allowed to use my Marriott reward points and stayed for free this weekend. Big thumbs up to them! They also had a very nice pasta dinner with NY Style cheesecake and ice cream for $13.95 which was a lot better than any restaurant downtown.

Some suggestions for runners of future Houston Marathons:

Stay at the Residence Inn on Dallas Street which was a 10 minute walk (6 blocks) to the start. It is nice to walk out and go straight to the start and finish and walk up to the room.

While staying downtown at night, make sure that you have someone with you. It is really dark and eerie downtown at night if there isn't something like an NBA game is going on.

Have a car to get out the Burbs if you want to see a movie or something.

In summary, as I am near the beginning of the 50 State project, I am glad I ran this one for the Texas Marathon. Despite the weather which was totally out of the RD's hands, the course is a good course if you pace yourself and train for the concrete and the smaller inclines.

This is my 12th Houston Marathon. Every year, we Houstonians brag how wonderful the weather and running condition Houston Marathon is, and we take pride in participating it. So much for that this year. Not that the weather was horrible (and could have been a whole lot worse with heavy rain all day), but the scattered shower and mid 40's temp make this year's race a bit more challenging.

As always, I am an enthusiastic supporter of Houston Marathon, not just because it is a great course but also world class organization. The road condition, aside from being wet and a bit slippery, is fairly good. Then again, stepping on a wet pothole at mile 1 results in wet sox for next 25 miles-a joyful experience. The organization, from registration to expos to post race events are great.

Expos is well organized, with good flow and many sponsors. I love the Corral system this year, which actually list the minute per mile speed for runners to line up. The fencing system at the start are actually present to get through. Lots of portapotty and fluid station, not mentioning the Guu station and Beer station at mile 21. Huge American flag held by 2 fire trucks at mile 24 is inspiring, but i wish there are more flags along the way. Also love the huge medal this year, as well as FREE finisher's tech shirt and finisher mug. Warm food with egg/sausage/biscuit with gravy and lots of ice cream helps rejuvenate for the drive home. Plus I got my result in 20 minutes, with breakdown per 5K.

There is a reason Houston Marathon sells out every year. Let's hope for less rainy condition next year, but, Hey, it's better to be wet and cold instead of Hot. See you next year.

Seeing the Olympic trials was GREAT. Way to go MEB!!!
I did a double the weekend before and STILL almost PR'ed. So, great course.
We lucked out with cool weather.
The course was VERY well organized, even with the 1/2 marathon people starting with us it went incredibly well.
Stayed at the Club Quarters which is a GREAT location and super nice people.

This was my 9th marathon (8th state), and first Houston Marathon. My previous marathons have varied in size (450 to 22,000 finishers), distance travelled, amenities, etc. I am slightly biased because I grew up nearby, watching both the mens and womens olympic trials was thrilling, and my finish time is a new PR! Personal bias aside, I travelled to this marathon with runners who are not from Texas, and overall this event provided us with memorable experiences. In order to be as brief as possible, I have provided PROS and (few) CONS below:

PROS

- EXPO had plenty of vendors, and yet not so many that you walked around forever on your feet
- EXPO staff were very helpful (I forgot my confirmation email for retrieving my race bib)
- Race hotels right by the start/finish
- Use of the George R Brown Convention Center before the race
- Signs EVERYWHERE inside the convention center telling you where to find everything (gear check, post-race food, exit to start line, reunion area, etc.)
- Porta potties were located along the starting corrals (NICE, never know when you might need them at the last minute!)
- Tons of crowd support along the way
- Water/Gatorade stations were well organized, and the volunteers were enthusiastic to support the runners
- The course was easy to follow
- Not exactly flat in the last few miles along Allen Parkway, but I'd still call it a PR course when 'the stars align' (weather, training, health, etc.). Besides, the last few miles can be difficult even if you are running on a flat or downhill surface.
- Finish line was separated for half and full marathoners
- My husband was able to track my progress on the Houston Marathon smartphone app! He could literally track my signal along a map of the race course and know what kind of pace I was running.
- Video cameras were setup at the 10K mark and at the finish line. You can view yourself actually running in videos on Brightroom's website.
- Comprehensive stats on your race... your pace through each quarter of the race, how many people you pass vs. pass you in the last few miles, where you stand with the average finisher, etc.
- I liked the finisher technical shirt and glass mug at the end
- The medal looks nice, and the ribbon has a nice design of the city skyline and the title sponsor

CONS

- Getting to the correct starting line was a little confusing outside. I mistakenly walked to the front of the half marathon starting area and had to hustle over to the marathon start line before the race.
- The beginning of the race can be crowded with the full and half marathon runners on the same course (although I felt like I had more room here than I did running in the Boston Marathon)
- The food was okay. I wasn't exactly in the mood for breakfast foods after the race (eggs, sausage, biscuits, yogurt). But there were plenty of bananas, some packaged items, chocolate milk, bottled water, sodas

You can find something to improve in any race you run. That being said, Houston organizes a top notch race!

Great Organization. Large well represented expo and great guests, Joan Benoit and Bill Rodgers. The Olympic Trials were huge addition and well staged. the city and marathon hotels really supported the race. I walked alone in the downtown about a mile to my hotel on both Friday and Saturday at night. It was safe and there were security police on bikes.
The course was well supported with ample fluids and first aid and porta cans. The race started with a climb in 1st 1/2 mile and there were plenty of bridges and ramps but was generally flat. Pacers were available and good. There were many porta cans within the corral areas, more than near bag drop. Course has shaded areas and can be windy.

Pros: Well organized aid stations. More races should have the energy drink and water separated by 75 yards. Allows a runner to get both, which is really nice if you get the flavored drink in your eyes.

Having the finish area exit to an indoor area was excellent. First race I have not frozen to death afterwords. Signage was very large allowing the runners to know where they were going. Excellent!

Before the race people were complaining about UnderArmor being a sponsor for a running event, but the finisher tshirt is awesome. Not a big fan of the design, but the shirt is an excellent running shirt and will probably buy more UnderArmor because of it. Nice!!

Cons: The 3 hour pacer needs a talking to. Everyone in my area was a 2:40-2:50 marathoner and he barges through with his group and positions himself right behind the start. Really?? 3:00 will win it. Really jammed up the course at the beginning.

Bad roads throughout the course made you have to look where you were going the entire time. Was a complaint for the olympic trials runners also.

I missed seeing George Bush, my fault.

Overall - The race was organized well but was not a favorite when comparing against other races.

A+ race with the exception of horrible crowd and corral management.

Pros-
Weather is good
Mostly Flat course
Volunteers and Water station are top notch
Great Crowd support
Easy to get to Expo & start & finishline
Great post-race food

Con-
Houston - You need better management of your corrals. They are awlful!!!!

This course is extremely crowded and the mix all levels in one corral which is frustrating and dangerous. Made for a very frustrating first 9-10 miles running behind people who overestimated their fitness or just placed themselves way too far up.
This really took away a lot of joy of running a marathon. Not sure why a marathon of this size places no value on corral management.

I ran Houston because of all of the positive reviews I had read about it on this site and others. It definitely did not disappoint! I thought everything was very well organized from start to finish. I don't really have a negative thing to say about it. Thanks Houston for a great event!

I'm so glad I did this race. The many little things the organizers do well make it a terrific experience. Great Expo. The bib pick up was easy, the portalets outside the conv center on the way to the start were laid out nicely - NO lines, having portalets before the timing strips INSIDE the corral is a stroke of genius... water and gatorade stations well staffed and plentiful. I would have appreciated GU at some point, but spectators were out in large numbers offering all kinds of goodies. The course can be called flat. It did have a lot of concrete, and some considerable camber and potholes, but nothing unmanageable. Fan support was fantastic, and local hotels were stellar. I LOVE the finishers shirt, it's top notch- as are the medal and glass mug. The finish and post run area was well laid out and easy to get through. From what my friends say, even the online tracking was excellent. All in all, I just dont see too many improvements to be made. (the GU, the GU...something, anything.?) But THANK YOU Houston! I enjoyed it immensely and recommend this one highly. A+