Chevron Houston Marathon 2008

[Boris]

Never been to a marathon so I decided to check this one out. It started at 7:00 a.m. this morning. I got to the DT just before 6:00 a.m. and had time to walk about before the sun came out:

Saw Mayor White with some dignitaries:

[Issa]

I got a photo in myself with the Mayor:

Sun began to creep out:

The runners line up:

And they're off:

I left the podum I snuck onto and began to walk around:

[Boris]

Meet up with the runners around the courthouse buildings:

[Issa]

More walking around:

[Boris]

The Fingers Building:

As I'm not originally from Houston, and don't know the DT area too good, I got lost. Actually, the pathway out and west was blocked because of the marathon. I found myself in the neighborhoods just west of DT and came across this little area:

Finally made it to I-59 South:

Came up upon the runners at the intersection of I-59 and 610 Loop heading north:

On I-10 west drove by the new medical office building at Memorial City:

And finally made it to my exit, with the new BP and other office buildings going up off in the distance of the Energy Corridor.

Adios

..

[KinkaidAlum]

Great photos.

I bet the runners wished there had been a few clouds in the sky. Even though the temps were perfect, that bright sun is a killer when running on pavement!

[Jax]

Awesome photos, Boris - as usual I especially like the motion blur at the starting line.

I'm posting some of my own photos on Flickr. You can see them on my signature image.

Edited January 14, 2008 by Jax

[lockmat]

Yesterday was my first time to go. I thought it was pretty awesome. I set up shop at the 5 mile marker in the Heights. The energy was great. Did anyone here run in it?

Also, there is some pretty impressive information about the race...

"The fastest runners will compete for a prize purse that tops $230,000."

"For the first time ever, the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will feature a wave start this year."

"The Chevron Houston Marathon offers the only closed marathon course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support." - How can you run a marathon w/o closing the course?

And also...did they hault the light rail while the race was going on?

Edited January 14, 2008 by lockmat

[Jax]

And also...did they hault the light rail while the race was going on?

They were doing construction on the light rail so it was closed from 5 am until 2 pm between Wheeler and Downtown. It really was a bad day to schedule construction.

When I arrived at wheeler with a full train load at about 6 am, everybody was really pissed off that they had to get in a bus. And while the metro train was comfortably full with room for most people to sit, the bus was as packed as I've ever seen a bus before. I feel bad for the runners visiting Houston and staying at ZaZa or Reliant area, or those who wanted to explore the museums later in the day.

[lockmat]

Things went well overall, except for the runners' times. I don't understand...

The day's only disappointment resulted from the dismal effort put forth by the two men's marathon "rabbits," who were supposed to push the pace sufficiently to erase Richard Kaitany's 19-year-old Houston record of 2:10:04.

"They assured us they'd perform, and we counted on them to perform," Karpas said of Mesfin Hailu of Ethiopia and Pukstas Mindaugas of Lithuania. "At the end of the day, they did not perform. We're not at all happy about it."

Could you imagine the NFL commissioner telling the media how upset he was b/c the Super Bowl wasn't that entertaining?

The purse this year was $232,000, the same as in 2007.

Is this just for first place or the prize money in total for all runners?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5454277.html

Edited January 15, 2008 by lockmat

[nativehou]

They were doing construction on the light rail so it was closed from 5 am until 2 pm between Wheeler and Downtown. It really was a bad day to schedule construction.

When I arrived at wheeler with a full train load at about 6 am, everybody was really pissed off that they had to get in a bus. And while the metro train was comfortably full with room for most people to sit, the bus was as packed as I've ever seen a bus before. I feel bad for the runners visiting Houston and staying at ZaZa or Reliant area, or those who wanted to explore the museums later in the day.

I can tell you that the marathon folks work closely with Metro to help ensure a smooth race day. Metro is well aware of the course and the race schedule. Perhaps doing rail construction at that time had the least effect, compared to the day before (when people had to pick up their race packet) or during the week.

[marc]

Thanks for the photos. Great job and awesome angles. I also like how you highlighted some historical buildings DT. i am in LA these days, and from other photos of DT, i thought they were demolishing everything over 30 years old to make way for all the new developments. Also, i liked the pix. from I-10. My sister lives out that way, but when i was in Houston briefly for New Years i always seemed to approach Copperfield by way of 290 and didn't get to see all the Energy Corridor cranes! Keep em coming!

m.

[Boris]

Thx for all the comments guys. That's why I post them, for all the positive strokes.

[Zippy]

Thx for all the comments guys. That's why I post them, for all the positive strokes.

Great Pics! The early morning before sunrise and just at sunrise pics look so.. "organic" and soft.. very nice!

Me and the wife ran the 1/2 marathon for the 2nd time.. did the full marathon last year and swore I would never do it again.. the energy was fantastic.. although a little cold before the sun came up.. (around 45F?) with shorts and a lycra shirt..

[houstonmacbro]

My sisters and I walked in it again this year. I am surprised I haven't seen any media coverage of it.

It was a beautiful day to walk, bright, sunny, mild, dry air. It was thousands of people walking and raising money for a good cause.

Has the media just dropped the ball on this one -- or am I looking in the wrong place?

[travelguy_73]

We were there as well, and it was crowded, but hard to tell how this year's attendance stacks up with prior years. IMO, I don't think that AIDS walks get much attention these days. They have been going on for a long time and perhaps media coverage fatigue has set in.

[houstonmacbro]

Yeah, but it is still a very serious illness. Media should have at least done a blip on it.

[WestGrayGuy]

My team raised a little over $5,000. I did see a picture in the Chronicle this morning in the City/State section. I had agreat time and the weather couldn't have been better.

[lockmat]

Do marathon runners really relieve themselves while running?

[Zippy]

Do marathon runners really relieve themselves while running?

like.. during running in their pants? or along the course? There are porta-cans every-so-often.. and there's a line of trees along Houston which get a good watering.. but I don't think i've seen anyone ever wet themselves..