Texas' Largest Independence Day-Themed Races - 2017

Using the number of timed finishers as the metric, here is a list by individual race distances of Fourth of July-themed races in Texas in 2017:

1,187 - Run Wild 5K, Houston, July 4 (514 men / 673 women)
901 - 28th annual Baytown Bud Heat Wave 5M, Baytown, July 4 (436 men / 465 women)
710 - Stars and Stripes 5K, Mission, July 1 (255 men / 455 women)
604 - Inaugural Independence Day 8K, Houston, July 1 (231 men / 373 women)
483 - Liberty By The Lake 5K, The Colony, July 4

456 - San Antonio Road Runners Freedom Day Four Miler, San Antonio, July 4 (204 men / 252 women)
447 - Hotter 'N Firecrackers 5K, Frisco, July 3 (194 men / 253 women)
404 - 11th annual Up And Running Fourth of July 5K, El Paso, July 4 (178 men / 226 women)
400 - Freedom 5K, Sugar Land, July 4 (196 men / 204 women)
349 - Patriot Run 5K, Trophy Club, July 4

336 - Dallas Running Club Independence 5K, Dallas, July 1 (197 men / 139 women) - No 10K
319 - 9th annual Firecracker 5000, Fort Worth, July 4 (141 men / 177 women)
313 - Rowlett Freedom 5K on Main, Rowlett, July 4
286 - Liberty Run 5K, Denton, July 4 (143 men / 143 women)
244 - Cox Running Club 4th 5K, Fort Worth, July 4 (130 men / 114 women)

221 - Corpus Christi Road Runners Four on the Fourth, Corpus Christi, July 4 (100 men / 121 women)
220 - 43rd annual Dow Firecracker 4-Mile Run, Lake Jackson, July 4 (94 men / 126 women)
209 - Popsicle Run 4 Miler, Kyle, July (86 men / 123 women)
184 - Let Freedom Run! 5K, Schertz, July 4 (91 men / 93 women)
163 - Liberty By The Lake 10K, The Colony, July 2

161 - Firecracker 5K, Lago Vista, July 4 (66 men / 95 women)
156 - Lake Granbury Kiwanis Firecracker 5K, Granbury, July 4
153 - WTRC Firecracker Run 3M, Brownfield, July 4
148 - Red, White and Blue 5K, McKinney, July 1 (68 men / 80 women)
122 - Run For Wellness - Heights 5K, Houston, July 2

122 - Shiner Half Moon Holday 5K, Shiner, July 1 (47 men / 75 women)
121 - Independence Run 5K, Deer Park, July 1 (12 men / 32 women)
121 - Greenville Firecracker 5K, Greenville, July 4 (49 men / 72 women)
107 - Popsicle Run 3K, Kyle, July 4 (50 men / 57 women)
107 - 9th annual Old Jo's Firecracker Run 5K, St. Jo, July 4 (50 men / 57 women)

 93 - Firecracker 5K Evening Run, San Marcos, June 29 (42 men / 51 women)
 79 - Memorial Village 4th of July, Houston, July 4 (49 men / 30 women)
 74 - 5th annual Fireman's 2-Mile Walk, Port O'Connor, July 1 (25 men / 49 women)
 67 - 2nd annual Freedom Run 5K, Snyder, July 1 (28 men / 39 women)
 60 - 5th annual Fireman's 4-Mile Race, Port O'Connor, July 1 (22 men / 38 women)

 49 - Independence Run 10K, Deer Park, July 1 (22 men / 27 women)
 47 - Stars and Stripes 5K, Eagle Pass, July 2 (20 men / 27 women)
 46 - Stu's Country Mile 5K, Centerville, July 4 (23 men / 23 women)
 45 - WTRC Firecracker Run 10M, Brownfield, July 4 (18 men / 27 women)
 44 - 43rd annual Dow Firecracker 2-Mile Walk, Lake Jackson, July 4 (12 men / 32 women)

 39 - Inaugural Independence Day Bash 5K, Laredo, July 1 (23 men / 16 women)
 19 - Stu's Country Mile Kids 1K, Centerville, July 4 (23 men / 23 women)
 12 - 2nd annual Freedom Run 10K, Snyder, July 1 (3 men / 9 women)

Polish Pickle Run 5K Official Finishers (2008-2018)

2018 - 660 (573 5K /  87 Clydesdale/Filly) - 69 Kids Race
2017 - 599 (514 5K /  85 Clydesdale/Filly) - 57 Kids Race
2016 - 734 (648 5K /  86 Clydesdale/Filly) - 56 Kids Race
2015 - 664 5K and Clydesdale/Filly
2014 - 662 (554 5K / 108 Clydesdale/Filly) - 42 Kids Race
2013 - 630 (529 5K / 101 Clydesdale/Filly)
2012 - 526 (436 5K /  90 Clydesdale/Filly)
2011 - 398 (329 5K /  69 Clydesdale/Filly)
2010 - 419 5K and Clydesdale/Filly
2009 - 394 5K and Clydesdale/Filly
2008 - 387 5K and Clydesdale/Filly - 36 Kids Race

Sources:  Run Houston Timing; runhoustontiming.net; active.com

Texas Finishers at Western States 100 (2003-2018)

The Western States Endurance Run started to include cities and states of finishers in its results beginning with the 2003 race.  Listed below are the 127 finishers from Texas from 2003 to 2018:

17:26:00 - Paul Terranova, M, 40, Austin, 2014
17:43:17 - Paul Terranova, M, 41, Austin, 2015
17:56:29 - Paul Terranova, M, 39, Austin, 2013
18:29:11 - Paul Terranova, M, 42, Austin, 2016
19:17:15 - Glenn Mackie, M, 50, Highland Village, 2012
20:12:15 - Paul Terranova, M, 38, Austin, 2012
20:19:56 - Nicole Studer, F, 33, Dallas, 2015
20:47:25 - Michael Adams, M, 41, Temple, 2011
21:00:05 - Elizabeth Howard, F, 40, San Antonio, 2012
21:00:52 - Nicole Kalogeropoulos, F, 35, Dallas, 2017

21:20:01 - Scott Eppelman, M, 36, Coppell, 2003
21:20:49 - Shaheen Sattar, F, 30, Dallas, 2014
21:52:27 - Glenn Mackie, M, 42, Highland Village, 2004
22:19:18 - Ford Smith, M, 19, Austin, 2015
22:47:44 - Joe Constantino, M, 41, Missouri City, 2010
23:00:16 - Carlos Ibarra, M, 34, Houston, 2005
23:03:11 - Jeff Ball, M, 28, Cedar Hill, 2017
23:10:56 - Joe Constantino, M, 35, Houston, 2004
23:19:35 - Quent Bearden, M, 38, Lubbock, 2013
23:21:46 - Ted Davison, M, 46, Austin, 2018

23:22:05 - Miguel Montealvo, M, 22, Austin, 2013
23:24:34 - Zachary Miller, M, 27, The Woodlands, 2018
23:25:49 - Eric Zipfel, M, 37, Austin, 2014
23:29:58 - Matt Smith, M, 39, San Antonio, 2018
23:36:55 - Mark Morris, M, 47, Tyler, 2005
23:43:27 - Kyle Rodemacher, M, 43, Austin, 2018
23:44:25 - Jeffrey Miller, M, 44, Corpus Christi, 2018
23:46:06 - David Brown, M, 31, Boerne, 2010
23:53:31 - Martin Guthrie, M, 45, Irving, 2012
23:55:14 - John Hill, M, 48, Pleasant Hill, 2015

23:56:02 - Meredith Terranova, F, 35, Austin, 2010
25:04:04 - Chad Lasater, M, 45, Houston, 2017
25:11:15 - Anna Hailey, F, 38, Gardendale, 2018
25:21:44 - Helen Hull, F, 44, Houston, 2003
25:37:26 - Mike Adams, M, 35, Houston, 2003
25:40:40 - Matt Crownover, M, 36, Garland, 2009
25:42:31 - Lise Plantier, F, 36, Austin, 2016
25:44:24 - Shan Rooney, F, 32, Austin, 2005
25:46:28 - Erik Moortgat, M, 37, College Station, 2005
25:49:58 - Donald Zoch, M, 37, Driftwood, 2014

25:51:42 - Gerardo Moreno, M, 28, Nacogdoches, 2013
25:52:28 - Matthew Searfus, M, 41, Dallas, 2014
26:05:04 - Brian Hill, M, 40, Ft Worth, 2014
26:08:30 - Richard Hensser, M, 53, Dallas, 2017
26:13:03 - Gary Horn, M, 54, Kingwood, 2011
26:22:21 - Linda Hurd, F, 43, Sugar Land, 2005
26:27:34 - Keith Rieger, M, 38, Lubbock, 2006
26:39:25 - Dennis Thompson, M, 55, Tyler, 2003
26:42:16 - Carlos Ibarra, M, 33, Houston, 2004
26:45:27 - David Reasoner, M, 40, Dallas, 2012

26:46:02 - Dan Mcintyre, M, 50, Fort Worth, 2017
26:58:20 - Ryan Beard, M, 35, Austin, 2011
27:01:37 - Mariela Botella, F, 38, Houston, 2004
27:02:18 - Scott Kunz, M, 34, Plano, 2016
27:02:56 - Anabel Pearson, F, 46, Helotes, 2016
27:07:12 - German Collazos, M, 46, Houston, 2004
27:11:21 - Paul Huggins, M, 42, Austin, 2017
27:13:07 - Joe Cooper, M, 38, Austin, 2018
27:13:56 - Linda Hurd, F, 41, Sugar Land, 2003
27:15:18 - Larry Pearson, M, 53, Helotes, 2014

27:20:00 - Dale Keen, M, 52, Milano, 2005
27:20:16 - Daniel Murphy, M, 35, Houston, 2014
27:25:43 - Amanda Alvarado, F, 38, San Antonio, 2014
27:27:32 - Steven Bernhardt, M, 46, Austin, 2011
27:28:41 - Doug Gimenez, M, 52, Austin, 2004
27:37:20 - David Iler, M, 40, Austin, 2017
27:39:17 - Cindy Melder, F, 48, Dallas, 2010
27:42:59 - Barbara Stoll, F, 41, Houston, 2003
27:50:01 - David Brown, M, 37, Boerne, 2016
27:50:12 - Mike Munoz, M, 31, Houston, 2012

27:57:31 - Mark Sobus, M, 42, Kingwood, 2010
27:57:53 - Christopher Barnwell, M, 43, Keller, 2013
27:58:00 - German Collazos, M, 47, Houston, 2005
27:58:04 - German Collazos, M, 48, Houston, 2006
28:03:29 - Juan Galvan, M, 30, Houston, 2003
28:06:44 - Keith Rieger, M, 36, Lubbock, 2004
28:06:56 - Mark Yeaman, M, 46, Dallas, 2015
28:07:13 - David Corley, M, 42, Fort Worth, 2004
28:11:27 - Larry Teeter, M, 44, Houston, 2004
28:14:46 - Larry Pearson, M, 55, Helotes, 2016

28:15:00 - Jay Freeman, M, 58, Farmers Branch, 2005
28:15:57 - Jennifer Evans, F, 42, Friendswood, 2011
28:21:33 - Chad Bailey, M, 40, Grapevine, 2018
28:27:10 - Darren Christiansen, M, 44, Mckinney, 2015
28:29:09 - Neil Smith, M, 42, Dallas, 2013
28:31:00 - Michael R. Riggs, M, 44, Austin, 2004
28:31:37 - Letha Cruthirds, F, 49, Bedford, 2003
28:33:43 - Tim Steele, M, 41, Dallas, 2013
28:36:20 - James Catron, M, 43, Nacogdoches, 2018
28:41:47 - Joshua Witte, M, 40, Flower Mound, 2012

28:45:34 - Billy Satterwhite, M, 31, Austin, 2018
28:47:38 - Nick Polito, M, 43, Dallas, 2012
28:54:26 - Frank Sizemore, M, 41, Houston, 2016
28:56:00 - Lynne Harkey, F, 37, College Station, 2005
28:57:08 - Robert Kemper, M, 31, Corpus Christi, 2012
29:01:12 - Jody Koehler, F, 45, Cedar Park, 2016
29:06:35 - Pat Shannon, M, 60, The Woodlands, 2011
29:09:25 - E. Allen Wrinkle, M, 41, Magnolia, 2006
29:11:48 - Letha Cruthirds, F, 50, Bedford, 2004
29:11:52 - Kyle McQuire, M, 27, Austin, 2012

29:19:41 - Axel Reissnecker, M, 56, Austin, 2010
29:22:21 - Paul Tidmore, M, 47, Carrollton, 2016
29:22:25 - John Powers, M, 48, Magnolia, 2011
29:22:29 - Rick Russell, M, 49, Austin, 2018
29:30:16 - Bill Nictakis, M, 43, Plano, 2003
29:30:18 - Paul Goodwin, M, 30, San Antonio, 2010
29:34:00 - Drew Meyer, M, 59, Fort Worth, 2006
29:34:29 - John Opalko, M, 44, The Woodlands, 2006
29:35:37 - Sam Voltaggio, M, 51, Austin, 2003
29:36:00 - Michael R. Riggs, M, 45, Austin, 2005

29:36:42 - Constance Wannamaker, F, 45, El Paso, 2018
29:38:00 - Henry Hobbs Jr., M, 50, Bastrop, 2005
29:38:42 - Brent Robinson, M, 37, McKinney, 2018
29:39:10 - Timothy Allen, M, 49, Houston, 2018
29:39:42 - Drew Meyer, M, 63, Fort Worth, 2010
29:39:43 - Fred Thompson, M, 61, Keller, 2010
29:41:00 - Leslie Hale, F, 53, Houston, 2005
29:42:28 - Jennifer Kimble, F, 43, Garland, 2014
29:42:37 - Suzannne Stroeer, F, 27, Houston, 2013
29:43:15 - Stephen Hudgens, M, 48, Fort Worth, 2004

29:43:29 - David Coats, M, 49, Houston, 2010
29:46:15 - Berton Keith, M, 55, Austin, 2016
29:50:35 - John Martinek, M, 26, North Richland Hills, 2013
29:52:55 - Steven Macdonald, M, 50, Dallas, 2017
29:53:00 - Kimberly Pilcher, F, 42, Houston, 2005
29:54:47 - Rob Ham, M, 45, Mesquite, 2014
29:57:10 - Marla Hendricks, F, 56, Waco, 2011

Source:  wser.org

Western States is a registered trademark of the Western States Endurance Run Foundation copyright © 2018 Western States Endurance Run Foundation.

Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon - Dallas Official Finishers Numbers

Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon - Dallas

2018 - 6,607 HM (3,754 female / 2,853 male)
2017 - 8,322 HM (4,826 female / 3,496 male)
2016 - 9,559 HM (5,766 female / 3,793 male)
2015 - 8,789 HM (8,502 individual / 287 relay)
2014 - 9,997 HM (9,706 individual / 291 relay)
2013 - 10,709 HM
2012 - 11,336 HM
2011 - 10,959 HM
2010 - 9,250 HM

2018 - 1,654 5K (1,016 female / 638 male)
2017 - 1,973 5K (1,263 female / 710 male)
2016 - 2,009 5K (1,333 female / 676 male)
2015 - 1,379 5K

Sources:  runrocknroll.com (2016-2018), athlinks.com (2010-2015)
Researched on June 14, 2018

Houston Heights 5K All-Time Winners (Complete from 2002-2018)

Men's Overall
1989 - Bob Amato, 15:16
1991 - Jeff Wells, 15:19
1992 - Billy Black, 21, 16:08
2002 - Luis Armenteros, 15:04
2003 - Jose Angel Lara, 15:20
2004 - Luis Armenteros, 16:30
2005 - Rudy Rocha, 15:38
2006 - David Wittman, 16:11
2007 - Anthony Green, 16:22
2008 - Sean Wade, 42, Houston, 15:01
2009 - Sean Wade, 43, Houston, 14:49
2010 - Ryan Smith, 24, 16:28
2011 - Zach Cater-Cyker, 26, Houston, 15:48
2012 - Sean Wade, 46, Houston, 15:20
2013 - Kiya Dandena, 24, Houston, 14:54
2014 - Maximo Mendoza, 25, Pearland, 15:07
2015 - Lane Boyer, 25, Houston, 14:58
2016 - David Smith, 25, Houston, 15:25
2017 - Austin Roth, Houston, 14:59
2018 - Ryan Parrish, Fulshear, 16:10

Men's Masters
1989 - David Chester, 17:10
1991 - Doug Rothenberger, 16:46
1992 - Doug Rothenberger, 17:04
2002 - William Martin, 16:41
2003 - Joe Flores, 15:41
2004 - Joe Flores, 17:34
2005 - Jon Warren, 16:33
2006 - Todd Gilbreath, 17:03
2007 - Joe Flores, 16:36
2008 - Jacob Mazone, 45, Oak Ridge North, 16:44
2009 - Bob Williamson, 40, 16:32
2010 - Bobby Williamson, 41, 16:40
2011 - Andrew Sharenson, 40, Houston, 17:41
2012 - Thomas King, Jr., 43, Houston, 17:34
2013 - Luis Armenteros, 40, Houston, 15:37
2014 - Luis Armenteros, 41, Houston, 16:05
2015 - Sean Wade, 49, Houston, 15:19
2016 - Luis Armenteros, 43, Houston, 15:33
2017 - Gabe Gomez, Houston, 17:48
2018 - Luis Armenteros, Houston, 16:46

Women's Overall
1989 - Debbi Warner, 17:59
1991 - Ann Bond, 18:27
1992 - Bridget Degan, 18:23
2002 - Jackie Rzepecki, 17:28
2003 - Kate Gorry, 17:38
2004 - Katrina Price, 19:52
2005 - Katrina Price, 18:38
2006 - Lisa Tilton-McCarthy, 18:50
2007 - Diana Hirst, 18:48
2008 - Diana Hirst, 33, Houston, 18:24
2009 - Diana Hirst, 34, Houston, 18:14
2010 - Katrina Price, 39, 19:00
2011 - Shannon Miller, 26, 17:37
2012 - Allison Pye, 23, Houston, 16:53
2013 - Lauren Smith, 22, Lake Jackson, 17:59
2014 - Kaytlynn Welsch, 13, Alvin, 18:44
2015 - Lauren Smith, 24, Lake Jackson, 16:57
2016 - Allison Poe, 34, Houston, 18:21 (18:17 chip)
2017 - Lauren Stroud, 26, Lake Jackson, 17:05
2018 - Lennie Waite, Houston, 17:45

Women's Masters
1989 - Georgette Green, 19:34
1991 - Jo May, 19:26
1992 - Barbara Amelio, 20:12
2002 - Sherrie Keim, 18:21
2003 - Sherrie Keim, 18:42
2004 - Heide Mairs, 21:01
2005 - Helen Grant, 19:04
2006 - Heide Mairs, 19:57
2007 - Helen Grant, 19:39
2008 - Sabra Harvey, 59, Houston, 19:40
2009 - Caroline Burum, 43, Houston, 19:12
2010 - Sabra Harvey, 61, Houston, 19:13
2011 - Martha Long, 42, 20:46
2012 - Cindy Taylor, 43, Bellaire, 18:38
2013 - Laura Bennett, 45, Houston, 18:47
2014 - Laura Bennett, 46, Houston, 19:09
2015 - Katrina Stilwell, 44, Houston, 19:09
2016 - Kirsten Stefan, 42, Houston, 19:35
2017 - Sabra Harvey, 68, Houston, 19:50
2018 - Sherry Scott, Houston, 20:45

10K Men's Overall
2017 - Colby Mehmen, Princeton, 32:15
2018 - Jonathan Scheiner, Houston, 38:03

10K Men's Masters
2017 - Richard Peoples, 57, Houston, 41:19
2018 - Andy McEwan, Chertsey, Surrey, ENG, 40:09

10K Women's Overall
2017 - Marissa Cutaia, 27, 45:27 (45:19.3 chip)
2018 - Laura Craig, 41:12

10K Women's Masters
2017 - Stephanie Willis, 43, Houston, 46:12
2018 - Camille Boon, Houston, 45:45

Number of Timed Finishers
2009 - 1,180
2010 - 857
2011 - 1,022
2012 - 921
2013 - 885
2014 - 961
2015 - 817
2016 - 798
2017 - 5K (776), 10K (237)
2018 - 5K (1,007), 10K (294)

Sources:  1989-1992 (Houston Chronicle Archives), 2002-2007 (Runner Triathlete News), 2008-current (Run Wild Sports Timing)

Shut Out In The Registration Line

Have you ever walked up to register for a race with money in hand - ready to part with your discretionary income - and turn around and walk away?

Probably not.  And before tonight, I don't think I had either.

Five years ago, I did a 5K race on a Friday evening in Deussen Park, which is directly next to the southernmost part of Lake Houston.

It was called the Dusk Dash at Deussen.

I believe that a second race was held in 2014 and then it went dormant.

About a month ago, I received an e-mail that they were going to be holding it this year and it was going to be on Friday, June 1 in the same location.

I didn't sign up early because I have to work on Friday and I didn't know how long my work calls would go.

I had it planned out, however, to leave after the last call was over at 4 p.m. and have plenty of time, even with a little traffic, to register and be there for the start of the race at 6 p.m.

After the race, I would return my rental car at IAH for the week, walk to the EcoPark lot and get my car and then drive home.

I pulled into the parking lot at about 5:05 p.m. and started to walk up.

Having done it five years ago, I didn't expect all of the bells and whistles.

In fact, I was fully expecting to pay $35 - primarily as a donation to the Boy Scouts from Troop 474 and girls from Venture Crew Troop 665 - for nothing more than a bib and maybe a T-shirt and to run/race 3.1 miles in 97 degrees.

I saw a start and finish line inflatable and saw that it was from Kim Bachmeier's FTR Race Management in Galveston County.

I didn't see Kim immediately - or at all - so in hindsight they might have just been renting her inflatable.

There was a tent that looked like where packet pickup and registration activities might be going on.

Even though I saw that FTR was "there", I didn't see any timing mats.  Therefore, as I expected, we'd do manual timing.  I've lots of races that way.

As I approached the tent, I saw a sign for "packet pickup" and nothing for registration.

I had e-mailed to confirm that race day was $35 - and not a surprise of $40.  ($40 would be past my 5K price limit.)

So there was a table close to the finish line where two young ladies had papers with them.  I thought that maybe they were just taking names down, etc., but when I approached and asked, they pointed back to the tent that I was.

There were two young ladies and an adult with a child in her left hand.

Two young boys were getting bib numbers to either run the 1-mile race or the 5K.  Couldn't decipher which.

The adult was putting their names in a laptop computer and even asked the second young man what number he wanted.

As they got done with both of them, I asked, "Is there any type of form to fill out?"

I'm not sure if "No" was said, but the adult said, "If you have a phone, you can go there and register or I can ...."

She didn't try to find somebody to hold the young person in her left arm and possibly say, "Can you hold him while I try to get this gentleman registered?"

But by the time she said, "I can ...," it was a turn-off.  I didn't listen to anything else and made a decision to leave.

I had correct change even.  A $20 bill, two $5 bills and five $1 bills.

I saw John Thames with Spring Action Photos and I tried not to engage too much because I really didn't want to go into any details about why I was leaving.

Could I have gone and registered on my phone?  Yes.

It was PayPal setup with a credit card, but I didn't know if I would have had to pay an additional fee.

And then I would have been directed to fill out a Google form, which I'm assuming was setup to share to her computer.

As I drove towards George Bush Intercontinental Airport, I realized that the two young ladies at the table by the finish line were going to do manual timing, which was perfectly cool.

The numbers weren't going to be that big.

And I completely expected like Run The Woodlands 5K to keep my time manually.

And by registering online, there was an asterisk on the Register button which pointed immediately below to their legal release.

Perhaps if the adult had started with that, I might have been more amenable to the idea.

The bottom line was:  I didn't need to run the race - as I'm running the Heights Fun Run 10K in the morning, but I wanted to.

However, I know a lot of other races that - if race day registration is offered - they will figure out how to receive your money every way possible short of bitcoins.