Great opportunity to run a marathon on New Year's Day. Sign up early due to low number of entries (about 300) and high demand. Out and back course (4 times) is different than the big marathons but scenery is nice along wooded trails (sidewalks) and lakes. Be careful on the wooden bridges and meeting oncoming runners/walkers. Actually the interaction with the other participants was a good distraction during the marathon. The bonus is the big and beautiful finisher metal. BIG for TEXAS! Thanks Paula and Steve Boone RDs.

I came all the way from Iceland to run this marathon for the second time. Everything about this race is fantastic. You just feel at home and one of the family when you´re there. Thank you for a well organized race, the HUGE fabulous medal and the warm welcome. I´m sure that I will come again :D

You haven't run until you've done a race put on by Paula and Steve Boone. Whether this is your first marathon or 100th, they make it special. Flat course, great aid stations and incredible organization. If you like big medals, well, you've come to the right race. Can't say enough good things about this race and all of the others that these wonderful folks put on. They genuinely care about your race experience and make everyone feel special - from the folks who finish first to the folks who take much longer. Wow!

This is my first time running this race. I live in a neighboring community and run on sidewalk trails similar to this course. This trail is tranquil and scenic as others have noted. But I was not expecting so many acute angle turns and especially the about faces at the start/finish and the far turn around. With almost 650 runners (6 mins to 19 mins/mi paces) on the same 3.25 stretch of narrow sidewalk, passing and oncoming traffic was a little dicey until the majority of the halfers finished. Also there are several neighborhood street crossings that had t be negotiated. All in all although you ran through the woods and parks and along lakes, it took quite a bit of attention to run and not stumble, turn an ankle or contact an oncoming runner.

One thing that I found strange is that on this narrow sidewalk where one could not comfortably run side by side with a friend, one participant ran pushing a double wide stroller (with 2 post toddler aged kids in it). It literally took up the entire sidewalk and didn't seem like it should have been permitted.

The organizers are truly great people and did a great job from packet pickup to medal distribution. The volunteers are friendly and the aid stations were well attended to.

There were all sorts of runners there and it was a blast to be in the park for the post race socializing. I can see why this race sells out every year.

Texas Marathon
Kingwood, TX
Sunday, January 1, 2012
8:00 AM

Texas Marathon is the brainchild of Steve & Paula Boone, the founders of the 50 States Marathon Club. The two of them have run more than 800 marathons. 2012 Houston Marathon would be Steve's marathon #500! The 13th edition of Texas Marathon showed that they certainly know how to organize a marathon run. If you decide to run it, sign up early as it sells out quickly.

Packet pick-up was on Saturday afternoon/evening. Each runner received a long-sleeved cotton T-shirt, a duffle bag, & a laptop computer bag.

Race day temperature ranged from low 60s to high 70s. It was sunny. Wind was not a factor. The marathon started at 8:00 am; the half marathon at 8:15 am. We ran the same flat 6.55-mile out-&-back route, which included a loop, on concrete greenbelt trails 4 times (half marathoners ran it twice). Although it was scenic, running the same route 4 times can be monotonic. There were water/sports drink stations at approximately every 1.5 miles. There were snack items at the end of each leg of the run. As expected, there was no crowd support, but race volunteers were cheerful & due to out-&-back nature of the course, runners were cheering each other.

Each finisher received a nice & heavy (weighing nearly 3 pounds) medal & a pink pig! There were plenty of recovery food items & drinks in a picnic-type atmosphere.

There were 221 (131 male, 90 female) marathon finishers in the average time of 5:07:11. The winning times were 3:10:59 (overall male) & 3:13:23 (overall female). There were 345 half marathon finishers, & the winning times were 1:18:43 (overall male) & 1:34:50 (overall female).

What a great way to start the New Year ! Thank you for such a great race. I can't think of anything I would change.

This is just a nice simple marathon made for the runner...not for the RD. It is all about you, the runner.

Let me start with the medal. The biggest most impressive display of something...it weighs a ton, well maybe only 3+ pounds. Size...extremely large. Color...extremely bright. The shape...TEXAS baby! Everything is bigger in Texas, and this is no exception.

This is a nice low key event. The race organizers put in unbelievable effort to make this a personal fun event for you. You get a personal sign posted on a tree. You are given your finish position when you finish...no waiting for results to be posted. You get a nice long sleeve shirt. You get an amazing medal. You get hot food. You get amazing volunteers.

This was my first marathon. I don't think I could have made a better choice. It was well organized and the volunteers were all so wonderful and friendly. The weather was a little warmer than I would have liked but it certainly could have been worse!! It was a little intimidating sharing the trails with the faster runners during the first loop or two of the course. I tried my best to clear out of their way and actually enjoyed stepping off of the pavement every once in a while. I did enjoy being able to cheer everyone on. It was pretty neat to have our names on the bibs so we could encourage one another. Each participant has a personalized sign on the course. I found mine on the second loop and it was so much fun to read all of the messages. They really go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome and special. I would love to make this event a New Year's tradition.

Had a great time. From the start dedications, running through the woods and finally enjoying the finish line pizza. Thanks to RDs Paula and Steve Boone.

My only concern was one runner who was pushing a double sized (two child) baby jogger on the out and back course. The course was only three people wide. If a runner going in the opposite direction from the stroller had fallen into the stroller while trying to pass other runners then the children would have been squished and the runner hurt.

Kingwood is my fifth marathon and this one is the best. Although you run on concrete pavement, you are surrounded by dense woods, you run along serene lakes; the neighbors come out to help and cheer you on. Perfect small town marathon; perfect organization . Everything flows perfectly , naturally, and beautifully and Paula and Steve work hard for the love of the sport. I want to come back to run here again.