I ran my fourth Houston Marathon and once again it was a great experience. The organization is GREAT...., the volunteers are the GREATEST..., the spectators are the GREATEST. This year weather was down right ugly at the start, but then it got better (except for the head winds down the Memorial stretch). I'll keep coming back for more.

This was my 2nd time to run the Houston Marathon. The weather wasn't the greatest, but there's no predicting Texas winter weather.

Pros:
- Very organized expo
- Very organized post race/finish
- Nice, flat course (with the exception of a few on-ramps that were a climb)
- ample parking. I arrived at the start with 30 minutes to spare and I was able to park in a lot right next to the start line. I was able to sit in my warm car right up until 15 minutes before the gun.
- Great fans!

Cons:
- very congested the first 9 miles with the half marathoners.
- lines to the port-a-potties in the first 9 miles cut into the race course, making it even more congested.
- water distribution was very unsanitary, as they were trying to 'go green'. Water was stored in open trash cans lined with trash bags, with volunteers dipping pitchers into the trash cans to get water.

Overall a good race and I would recommend this for anyone's first time.

Returning for my 13th Houston I was NOT disappointed. The weather did cooperate with a heavy shower at the start but nice and cool for the rest. excellent organization with all the stations stocked and ready. Flat course and a variation of neighborhoods make this a fast course. The crowd support is excellent and is especially strong down the finish. I look forward to this every year and have already started the countdown to the 2014 edition. Do yourself a favor and run this race. WELL DONE HOUSTON!!!

Overall, a well organized race.
Pros: 1.Pickup easy and expo had lots of bargains. 2.Two shirts included choice of ladies sizes (sweet!), though not big fan of cap sleeves (minor). 3. Very nice course after half split 4. Inside for waiting and post race! 5. Amazing volunteers out in the wind/rain. Many thanks! 6. Great stations- gatorade always first, water next. Oranges and pretzels on course-great! 7. Plentiful food after-loved the ice cream despite cold. Pizza next time? 8 Plenty of parking. I stayed near Hobby-easy drive in and much cheaper than downtown and had car.
9. Nice city to visit-saw Space Ctr. and loved Texas Bar-b-q

Cons: Course MUCH too crowded before half split-thank goodness many stayed home. 2.Hard to find pace signs in open corral. 3. Need more porta potties on course-lines completely across course made runners have to go on sidewalk. 4. Expensive photos.
Overall, good job, Houston!

Just an FYI: Newspaper had me from Arkansas! Nooo... AK is Alaska

I travelled all the way from the Yukon to run this race. The weather was awful. But the organizers, volunteers and the crowds more than made up for it, making for one of my most enjoyable races ever!. This is a big race with a lot of runners, but it is so well organized it feels like a small one. The volunteers are especially warm and supportive and it brings a wonderful personal touch to the event. The swag, the hot meal following the race, and the pre-race, race and post-race organization makes this one of the best ever. The course is fast and varied. The final half mile is epic with the crowds lining the way. No other running event has crowd support like this one!

This is my seventh time. The best part of this race is the organization and the venue for the finish. The volunteers were wonderful, considering the gale this year.

This was my first time to run Houston. I can not say enough good things about it. It rained lightly for the first half (not bad). The temperature was perfect. It was wonderfully organized. There were plenty of water stops. With the cold, misty weather, there were a lot of spectators. I stayed at a friend's house about 10 miles away and the traffic getting to the race was minimal. The corral organization with pace markers was great. I will definitely be running Houston again.

This is a well organized city race - and I write this even though the first 9 miles were a congested mess until the half marathoners broke off and we marathoners were left on our own. Until that happened, the crowds lining up for the porta potties along the course made the pathway left for the runners trying to get through very narrow indeed. The weather was, shall we say, damp (driving rain, low 40s at the start, flooding in low lying areas, heavy tail winds and head winds the remainder of the day) but that didn't stop the enthusiastic crowd support and the volunteers at the well stocked aid stations (oranges, candy, water and carb drink).

The course a huge, flat loop and is almost entirely on concrete (my legs felt a bit more beat up than usual, nothing too severe), and some of the scenery is plug ugly - underpasses, overpasses, highway access roads, etc - but this can be a benefit when you're trying to buckle down and not gape at pretty views. The finish amenities were great - hot breakfast, more excellent organization, a nice tech finishers shirt. Well done, despite the rough conditions. Yay Houston!

This was my first marathon, so I wasn't sure what to expect apart from the stories from my aunts, who have run Houston a few times. Frankly, being from Minnesota, I was just looking forward to warmer temps in January. But 40 degrees sopping wet is cold anywhere, so I want to say that this race was amazing not only for the strong runners scorching the distance in spite of the weather, but also for the awesome spectators who stood out in huge numbers, cheering like only Texans can. The Gatorade/water stops were well-spaced and staffed by hard-working volunteers. The beer stop somewhere around mile 21was an unexpected pick-me-up! Finally, in the chute, the great spectators and enthusiastic MC got me all teared up after that distance. I'd definitely run this race again, even with a garbage bag keeping me dry. Thanks, Houston!

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.