Houston Marathon
"The Biggest Marathon in Texas and the World"

The Houston Marathon is an all-popular marathon held in Houston, Texas, where it is hailed as the largest sporting event in the city that occurs in just one day. The people of Houston and the whole world over come together for this great event.

And as proof of how this marathon has been warmly embraced in the world, in 2007, it was held in breakthrough fashion. While the event was being held in Texas, another version was held simultaneously in Iraq, and the two events were linked by satellite.

In this article you can read about :

• The Houston marathon couse
• Marathon training for Houston marathon
• What this well-acclaimed Texas marathon "is all about"

The marathon is held in January of every year, and gathers one of the greatest assemblies of athletes ever. The event has also been repeatedly chosen as host to many world-famous road races, including the 1979 USATF Men's and Women's Marathon Championship, the 1992 USATF Women's Olympic Marathon Trials, and the 1998 USATF Women's Marathon Championship.

Recently, it was chosen for the 2005 and 2006 USATF Men's Half Marathon National Championship as well as the 2007 and 2008 USATF Men's and Women's Half Marathon National Championship.

It is also the middle installment in the Marathons of Texas race series, along with other Texan racing events such as Dallas White Rock Marathon and Austin Marathon.

How the Houston Marathon Started

The Houston Marathon dates back to 1972, during which it was held in December, unlike the current January events. The event is organized by the Houston Marathon Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the Houston community.

The original count of runners who turned up for the first ever event was just 113, and the event was watched by 200 people. These numbers are barely a shadow of what the marathons organizers have to deal with in the recent marathons: almost 15,000 participants and an audience of 200,000.

The marathon is sponsored by the Chevron Corporation, but also has various sponsors for its half marathon leg, which is the Aramco, and for its 5k run, which is sponsored by El Paso Corporation.

The marathon also provides support to several different charitable institutions, namely CanCare, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the Texas Children's Hospital. In the latest Houston Marathon held, the event was even able to raise more than a million dollars for charity.

The Houston Marathon Course

The marathon goes through a half marathon race and a 5k run. The race begins at the Minute Maid Park and takes runners for a treat through the Bayou City area, filled with scenic sights.

Runners will also pass along the Hermann Park, the Rice University, the Uptown and Tanglewood areas, and can enjoy the Houston Galleria.

The whole race ends at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The entire race usually allows six hours for runners to finish the entire course. The time limit is calculated based on a runner's pace of 13:45 per mile. The runners will time their runs using digital chips. Chip times are the basis of the winners.

Eligibility to the Houston Marathon and Marathon Training For it

The Houston Marathon is open to all sorts of runners, from beginners to highly experienced ones. It is also open to anybody, runner or not, with an age limit of 12. But if you want to join the marathon, you better register as early as you can.

Registration for both the Chevron Houston Marathon and the Aramco Half Marathon are closed after the number of participants reaches 18,000. In recent years, the limit was reached months before the race. Because of the large number of runners, you want to book your hotels / accomodation and make an hotel reservation early on. Otherwise you risk having trouble finding available rooms.

Also, due to the wide range of runner types who participates in the event, the participants are categorized accordingly. The marathon has an elite division for experienced athletes, but entry in this division is by invitation only. Registered participants get free t-shirts, and participants who are able to finish the marathon will be given special finisher t-shirts, as well as a mug and a medal.

Marathon training for the Houston marathon should be an all-round type schedule. The course is fast but does have its turns and short climbs. Therefore it is wise to aim for a schedule that does include some work on a slight uphill : if you have access to a treadmill around, that would mean about 1-3 degrees incline. You don't have to do this type of work often - but at least every tenth day in the buildup period.

That way you strengthen your specific muscles that will be extra important to have in the last 10k/6 miles of the Houston marathon.