On January 19, 2025 I ran the Houston Half-Marathon. Temperatures at the start hovered around 31 Fahrenheit (just below 0 in Celsius), although a stiff wind from the north supposedly made it feel like 19 F (or -7 in Celsius). Those of us huddled in our corrals before the start certainly felt the wind. I wore two layers everywhere, plus gloves and a beanie, and still felt my face and arms slowly freezing in the morning air. I’m not sure I ever warmed up.
This was my first half-marathon in seven years, and my first in Houston, although 13 years ago I ran the full marathon in Houston. Back then it was my fastest marathon time, at the somewhat pedestrian result of 3 hours and 40 minutes. Now, many years older, and with a series of niggling injuries that have plagued me the past eight or so years (I ran my most recent pair of half-marathons while still dealing with injuries), I wanted to close the triangle with a half-marathon in Houston. That triangle: a marathon and half-marathon in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. I’ll set aside Dallas for now, although that’s a future goal.
The Houston course is nearly pancake flat. I don’t remember much from the marathon back in 2012, aside from hitting the wall around mile 23 after an underpass and mirrored uphill climb. This year, we started out heading west, then turned south into a neighborhood. The course is sort of out and back, as we run, west, south, north and then east. At mile 8 or so the marathoners turned right, while those of us running the half went straight. Shortly thereafter the half-marathoners made a 270 degree turn around a large roundabout. At this point we fought the wind for 2.5 miles, although thankfully it was not constant. Looking at my splits, this was my slowest section (can I blame the wind?).
Just after mile 11 we headed back east toward downtown, thankfully away from the wind. Through miles 6 and 7 I’d felt fine, even passed quite a few runners. Even so, I tried to hold back; in this event my goal was to not walk, and overall just have fun (ha ha, you say, how is 13.1 miles any fun?). While going into the wind the reverse happened: quite a few runners passed me.
As we reached the towers in downtown, the wind at our backs picked up. I heard people behind me cheering as the tail-wind almost made us fly forward. At this point, I also saw some of the fast marathoner finishers zipping past us in their dedicated lane on the right. Even with half a mile to go, I held back. Stay the course, I told myself. Just get to the finish line. This is not a race, just a fun experience.
At the finish line, I looked at my watch for the first time since the start. Throughout the entire 13.1 miles (or so, as my watch—after the fact—told me that I’d run 13.22 miles) I forced myself not to focus on time, not to check any mile splits. For the past seven or eight years I’d been injured. I was older since I last ran any long distance events. Plus, the past three months had not been great in terms of training, what with the holidays and bad weather where I lived. I expected to finish just around 2 hours, well off my regular 1:43 or so times: instead, I finished in 1:54:06. Although this was my 11th slowest half marathon out of 12 events, I was elated: I had not walked, I was six minutes faster than what I expected. And, I actually finished. A few years ago I quit running, so just finishing this event was, to me at least, a victory.
Could I have run faster? Maybe, maybe not. The Houston course is flat. In fact, aside from the miles 9-11 or so, it was superb. Maybe, in better shape and without various injuries (hip, ankle), I might be able to run a good race and possibly PR. But, that’s all in the past. I’m not really in half-marathon shape at this point. Maybe I could sustain a good pace right now for a 5-miler, at tops, or a 5K if I was ambitious. Still, I felt great through those first miles—the pace was effortless, almost. After that, it was a more a matter of hanging on, not quitting. So, I was happy to finish.
As far as the event itself, I think Houston put on a great one. They can’t control the weather, and the Arctic front hitting that weekend was no fun. I do wish that the signs in the convention center were better, as I walked back and forth to find the entrance to registration. Also, I wish some fast food places were open in downtown on the weekend, as almost all were closed, at least those within walking distance of the hotel. Downtown on the weekend in Houston appears quite dead. Lots of homeless people, though, which is sad. I’m not sure I’ll be back again. I have other goals. The Dallas half-marathon beckons, since I’ve never run there. Also, Houston’s a long way to drive for me, and expensive for just the weekend.
But, if you want a flat course for 13.1 mile — go run the Houston half-marathon. You won’t regret it. I certainly didn’t. I’d love to run it again. I just don’t know if that will happen.
