The Woodlands Marathon

Ran this for a spring race with moderate weather. about 48 at the start and mid 50s by finish. Stayed at hotel in woodlands - Uber from the airport and no need for car. Walked to expo, dinner, race in the am. Able to walk up to course 20 minutes before, no line for mens bathroom in pavilion. Some hills up to mile 10 but then flattens out. Nice gentle curves. Tree lined the whole way - really just houses and trees but was peaceful and fans along the way were friendly. Water stops every 1.5miles not crowded. Ends 1 block from the start so again easy to get back to hotel without a long walk. No real course entertainment but all else was so smooth would definitely recommend.

Boring course and overpriced event.

I've run this the past two years and enjoyed it both times. 2015 was quite cold, but I don't mind that. 2016 was pretty near ideal. Having run Chicago and Illinois, I'll concede that it's not FLAT, but it is very close to flat. My time was very close to my PR. Expo is good. Post-race is excellent. Not many spectators, but the course itself is quite nice. Only downside (and this, unfortunately, is becoming all too common) is that it's mixed with a half so, if you finish under 3 hours, you will be picking your way through a lot of very slow moving folks near the end. Overall, a very fun race, especially if you want to avoid the crush of the big-city events.