Since I relied on the comments made by previous runners to determine my next race, it is also fitting that I voice my opinion for my Jan. 18, 2009 Houston Marathon experience.

I have run the 2007 Chicago, 2008 ING Georgia, 2008 Twin Cities, 2009 Music City, and the 2009 St. George and nothing equaled the Chevron Houston Marathon and Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Houston has relatively flat course (with some long but slight inclines on the last miles), ideal weather conditions, split times announced every mile, superb organization, and lots of "extras" you can get in a race that is worth your money.

Runners got a souvenir ChampionChip, two t-shirts, a beer mug, and a flamboyant finisher's medal. There were two kinds of church services prior to the start and a full breakfast indoors with a table to sit at and chair to sit on at the finish line.

The crowded restrooms in the building prior to the race made for a minor problem.

Overall, I highly recommend this marathon for anyone who is serious about setting a PR, or who's serious about running in general.

I have run the Houston Marathon four times, and it is always amazing. This was my tenth marathon and would highly recommend it to all runners.

What do you get when you combine a PR-setting course with topnotch organization and terrific crowd support? The Houston Marathon! These folks know how to do it right and it keeps getting better.

This was my 9th consecutive Houston Marathon, and after going to a few others, Houston has me spoiled. You get a lot for your money at Houston, and the organization gets better each year. I can't say that it gets easier for me to run them each year, but I still return. The fans are always amazing and are everywhere.

And of course, how can I forget the BEER - yes, beer at mile 22, in Memorial Park!! That's my favorite part, other than the finish line.

I was disappointed in my overall time, but I am so proud of our awesome marathon. It gets better every year, and I am spoiled by having the GRB convention center for before/after the race. Great spectators, the best volunteers, and really good tech t's - thanks for the ladies' sizes this year. Maybe instead of the mugs, how about a baseball hat or a visor? My only complaint is that Houston has gotten so huge that I think the race has outgrown the start. Getting out and across the Elysian viaduct is like a cattle drive. Trying not to trip over people slows down most runners by at least 1-2 minutes. There has to be a more efficient way to start the full and half-marathoners so that we can avoid stomping on each other. Maybe out Memorial?

I won't repeat what everyone else has mentioned about this wonderful race. The positives are too numerous to mention. I have run 5 marathons, 2 of which are majors, and Houston is second to none. While surely the training played a large part of my PR, the course, volunteers, and especially the 3:30 pace leader, Peter, had much to do with it too. The guy was like a machine, hitting our splits on the head each mile.

There are a couple of bumps - one on 14, after you go under the bridge, and again on 23-24, when you hit a few rolling hills. These are not large hills, and not very noticeable.

I would run this again in a heartbeat, and Chicago is my hometown.

Some have mentioned the heat. I don't know what the temperature was, but we were kept abreast via the large signage. Maybe high 60's? There was a bit of a breeze and I personally had no problem with weather. I think the two years prior have been cooler, so I wouldn't dismiss this race due to temps.

And yes, the medal and finisher's shirt are terrific!

This was my 10th consecutive Houston Marathon, and I have to say that each and every year, it is the best race around. The organization from start to finish is stellar. A great course, which was flat and featured almost NO hills, lends itself to a fast time for me. This is a big-city marathon, but the attention to detail is something you see in small races. Unlike New York or Chicago, accessibility to various venues in Houston is a snap. I parked less than 1/4-mile from the finish and was able to exit downtown with NO problem. Another plus was the fact that the course was NOT clogged up by the throngs of walkers seen in previous years. Thanks to the marathon organizers for addressing this problem. Also, the fact that in the last few miles the half-marathoners and full marathoners were on separate sides of Allen Parkway made finishing much more enjoyable than other races (i.e. ING Georgia), which have both trying to ply the same roads in the last few miles. The weather, though a touch warm, was tolerable, but though those 40's would have been even better. The fact that Houston fills up MONTHS early speaks volumes about how GOOD the race is. Do yourself a favor and run Houston. You will see just how good a marathon can be.

As always, it was a great experience. It is very well organized, and the volunteers at the water/Gatorade stops were well organized and set up. Very efficient before and after the race as well. Nice breakfast after the race. Concrete almost all of the way, but it's better than running on some of our city's badly potholed streets. Well done! Can't wait for next year.

Maybe I should have run the full marathon due to all the comments about how great it was. I have run numerous full marathons, but for this race, I ran the 1/2 marathon with a friend.

Negatives: The start for the 1/2 marathon was unorganized, with runners in the front wave only able to get to their corral after someone checked their bib color and let them through one runner at a time. You could not come up another street because of the black fences along the front corral. There were also no pace groups on the 1/2 marathon side, so it was difficult to judge where to line up. It was frustrating that within the first 1 1/2 miles I was having to weave around WALKERS already.

Positives: Overall the course was flat as advertised, with plenty of water/Gatorade and great fan support; and those who didn't find the fresh fruit at the end must have had their eyes closed as they weaved through the tables and tables of bananas!! Also, awesome finisher's shirt, and I learned to go there before the food, as apparently in the past, they have run out of the sizes runners wanted.

Just as I finished this one, I was thinking that I would like to do it again. It is as flat of a course as you will ever find for this distance. And there was only a negligible amount of time needed to cross the starting line. Not bad for such a large field. Starting slowly is a good idea, and almost a requirement for room to run comes about when the halfers break off and begin their way back. It's a great race for beginners and veterans alike.