Houston run mirrored in Afghanistan DVIDS362298

The Houston Marathon is an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

usually held every January in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently with a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

and a 5 km race. The 2007 race included the first-ever satellite running of the event, run simultaneously in Fallujah,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. The races bring crowds of nearly one half million to view the runners.

History

The first marathon, run on December 30, 1972, featured 113 runners and a crowd of approximately 200 people. The course was a loop of , and runners were served beef stew after the race. The 1979 edition of the competition hosted the national marathon championship race for men and women. Houston was selected for the women's Olympic Trials in 1992 and held the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

women's marathon championship in 1998. The half marathon course hosted the USATF Men's Half Marathon Championship from 2005 to 2008, and also hosted the women's event in 2007 and 2008. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials for both men and women were held the Saturday prior to the Sunday races.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

ran in the Houston Marathon at age 46 in 1993, finishing with the time of 3 hours, 44 minutes, 52 seconds. The 2014 edition included a 5K event run Saturday, January 18th and the marathon and half marathon run on Sunday, January 19th. The 5K event had close to 5,000 runners while the marathon and half marathon had nearly 13,000 runners each. The 2021 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually (and receiving a discount for the race in 2022), or transferring their entry to 2022 or 2023. The virtual marathon was planned for January 2021.

Course

The fast and flat course starts in the downtown area near

Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...

and takes runners past scenic Houston areas and communities—including Houston Heights and Neartown, past

Hermann Park Hermann Park is a urban park in Houston, Texas, situated at the southern end of the Museum District. The park is located immediately north of the Texas Medical Center and Brays Bayou, east of Rice University, and slightly west of the Third ...

and

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

, over to Uptown, and then through Memorial Park and

Allen Parkway Allen Parkway is an arterial road west of Downtown Houston, Texas. It has a distance of approximately 2.3 miles (3.7 km), running from Interstate 45 west to Shepherd Drive, where it becomes Kirby Drive. Originally known as Buffalo Parkway, ...

, finishing at the

George R. Brown Convention Center The George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB), opened on September 26, 1987, is located on the east side of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The center was named for internationally recognized entrepreneur, engineer, civic leader, philan ...

downtown. The course is

certified and is popular with runners seeking to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The race time limit is 6 hours and a limit of 27,000 entries is enforced, divided evenly between the full and half marathons. The course was changed for 2014. Changes included starting on Congress St. downtown, eliminating a section of the course through the Heights, and adding 2 miles along Kirby Dr.

Community impact

The event supports many charities, including CanCare,

Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked, freestanding 973-bed, acute care women's and children's hospital located in Houston, Texas. It is the primary pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is located wit ...

, and The

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1949, is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer in the world. The LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's l ...

Sponsorship

The current corporate sponsor of the marathon is Chevron Corporation.

Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...

sponsors the half marathon and Chevron and Aramco co-sponsor the 5K run.

Winners

Key: : Course record : ^† = Time was a record mark for the state of Texas

Multiple Winners

For the men, , and all won the marathon 3 times. , and won the marathon twice, a performance done by and on the half. For the women, , and all won the marathon 3 times. , , and won the marathon twice, a performance done by on the half. is the only athlete who won both the marathon (2011) and the half-marathon (2013) in Houston.

Marathon

Half marathon

National Records

The current National Records were established during the Houston Marathon: * Men Marathon ** 1995: 2:13:57 * Women Marathon ** 1996: 2:35:02 ** 2007: 3:05:13 ** 2019: 2:43:24 ** 2020: 2:24:50 ** 2022: 2:19:12 * Women 30km ** 2019: 1:55:48 ** 2020: 1:42:53 * Women 25km ** 2018: 1:32:53 ** 2019: 1:37:01 ** 2020: 1:25:48 * Men Half-Marathon ** 2007: 59:43 ** 2019: 1:06:46 ** 2020: 59:42 ** 2022: 1:01:08 ** 2022: 1:01:20 ** 2022: 1:02:08 * Women Half-Marathon ** 2014 1:15:24 ** 2018 1:07:25 ** 2020 1:06:38 ** 2022 1:07:15 ** 2023 1:06:52 * Men 20km ** 2019: 1:03:23 ** 2022: 58:05 ** 2022: 58:05 ** 2022: 59:01 * Women 20km ** 2018 1:03:48 ** 2020 1:03:13 * Women 10miles ** 2018 50:52 * Men 15km ** 2022: 43:21 ** 2022: 43:23 * Men 10km ** 2022: 29:04 * Men 5km ** 2022: 14:41 ** 2022: 14:50

Notes

References

;Lists of winners
Houston Marathon – Open Winners: 1972-2010
Houston Marathon. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
Houston Half Marathon – Race Winners: 2002-2010
Houston Marathon. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.

Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.

External links

Official websiteHouston Marathon-Run The NationFlotrack.com Video Coverage of 2007 Houston Marathon and Ryan Hall's Record
{{IAAF Silver Label Marathons in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1972

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...