LGRAW's Bold In The Cold 15K Race Report

Race in Texas city or town #126
Race in North American city or town #285
Race #2 new to me in 2017 (Goal is 50)
Race #3 to finish in 2017
Race #5 to be in attendance for in 2017 (3 finish, 1 announce, 1 media)

I think it has been well established that I like to race somewhere new.

I thought about running Rob Goyen's Horseshoe Trail Run in Hitchcock at Jack Brooks Park (which would have been a new city), but I needed to get out of town.  (And it turned out that with some recent rains that runners were having fun in the mud -- ah, not my type of fun!)

Plus I figured out that I could see three new Texas college basketball gymnasiums or arenas this weekend.

So off to the Dallas Metroplex it was.

I saw Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College - now known as Randall University and is out of Moore, Oklahoma - take on Dallas Christian College in Farmers Branch in NCCAA women's college basketball action last evening.

Randall University took the win 68-61 in a hard fought battle.

The female national anthem singer was one of the best I have ever heard.  Incredible.

Prayer before the game and after.  What was so incredibly neat about the latter is that in a gymnasium that was getting ready for the men's game, you couldn't have heard a pin drop.

I actually pulled the trigger on this race late.

I signed up for tomorrow's Miracle Match 10K in Waco for $43.20 on December 31, 2016, but got in the Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers (LGRAW)'s Bold In The Cold 15K for $38.00 even on January 10,2017.

The race was held at Oak Creek Park in Grapevine, which turns out to be a race in my 126th Texas city or town.

Pre-race communications established that race day packet pickup was between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and that parking might be a little tight -- and it was.  The last few cars looked as if they were going to get parked in Lake Grapevine!

The thing about LGRAW is that it is a top-notch Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) club that has some appearances of an older, legacy club, that is, back in the 1970s and 1980s.

The race starts were simple - not big productions like some are.

The 5K was all chip finish.  No timing mat at the start.

The 15K had a timing mat at the start, but no big announcements -- and they fired an actual starter's pistol.  Awesome.

The course went two miles out to the east and came back towards the start.  Roads without traffic in the Park as well as trails made up the course.

We passed by the finish at about mile 4.3 or so (estimate) and normally that's a demoralizer for me, but the weather was pretty good.

The car temperature read 50 degrees and I actually went against karma by wearing the race technical shirt that I had just received at packet pickup because it was long-sleeved and all I brought was my Park City Marathon, short sleeve race shirt.

At one point, I seriously thought about stopping to take it off, but was glad that I didn't because I didn't recall the temperature ever feeling like it picked up at all.

There was a negligible to slight breeze, but nothing that really stands out.

When we headed to the west, we ran off to the north for a little loop to add some distance and then did an out and back that brought us back to the finish.

The USATF certified course had a total climb of 395 feet and total elevation change of 789 feet.  I relate it to Huntsville State Park, but without the tree roots.

Mostly changing with some flat spots, but the course kept you working.

I probably ran more hills than I have in awhile, certainly because of the cool temperatures, but still walked a little.

With it being cooler, I was able to continue to work on a faster foot turnover where I could and I think it paid off for a 1:36:14 finish -- good for a 10:19 pace.

This would be a 2:15:21 half marathon if I could hold it -- and that is exactly in the range I want to be going forward (even though I'm getting older.)

Saw and talked to Your Sporting Image's Karen Thibodeaux and then saw RRCA At-Large Director Kelly "K2" Richards at the mile 3 mark and then again just past the mile 9 mark.

Kelly is and has been a great contributor to the RRCA for a long time.

I would certainly recommend this race for anybody.

If you're reading this, you're likely to have not run many 15Ks, if at all.  So it would be an automatic PR, but it is a good test of a road course with some small to mid-range rollers that you can keep churning through.

Somebody could come with you that wasn't as active and do the 5K.  LGRAW is a very friendly club that is welcoming to adults and children of all abilities -- and many were out there enjoying the morning.

As a finisher's item, in addition to the long-sleeved, technical shirt that they gave out for registering, LGRAW gave out a head band with ear covers.

Additionally, the mile markers seemed to be spot on and in some places, there the miles had half mile markers too.

I certainly look at races with an event producer's eye - and there's nothing really that I could even think of to complain about.  :-)

Offset - 19.73
Mile 1 - 9:55.01
Mile 2 - 10:16.93
Mile 3 - 10:05.99
Mile 4 - 10:18.43
Mile 5 - 10:31.32
Mile 6 - 10:28.19
Mile 7 - 10:24.93
Mile 8 - 10:26.80
Mile 9 - 10:22.50
Last .3 - 3:24.06

Total - 1:36:14.16 (10:19 pace)

16 Joined The 20 Chevron Houston Marathon Club

This past Sunday, 16 runners completed their 20th Chevron Houston Marathon.

An additional 47 finished their 21st to 24th Chevron Houston Marathon.

The fastest male of this group of 63 was Houston's John Yoder, who co-led Sunday's 3:20 pace group in a "make it under" time of 3:19:44.

The fastest female was the fastest of them all, Barbara Stoll, also from Houston who stopped the clock in 3:17:33.

All 63 runners are listed below with their gender, age and finishing time:

24 - Anthony Mireles, M, 62, 4:50:39
24 - Darryl Anderson, M, 52, 5:56:50
24 - Eddie Espinosa, M, 54, 4:29:30
24 - Irene Binash, F, 59, 5:04:00
24 - Jeff Nash, M, 55, 4:14:27
24 - Kathryn White, F, 49, 4:45:31
24 - Matthew Padon, M, 48, 3:23:18
24 - Michael Holcomb, M, 62, 5:51:27
24 - Roger Souders, M, 58, 3:49:36
24 - Thomas Steets, M, 65, 5:46:00

23 - Billy Mathias, M, 50, 4:41:19
23 - Dalton Pulsipher, M, 39, 4:25:17
23 - Doug Earle, M, 64, 4:53:37
23 - Elva Lafuente, F, 51, 3:45:20
23 - Grant Hodges, M, 60, 5:41:46
23 - Jim Buchwalter, M, 59, 4:48:10
23 - John Yoder, M, 45, 3:19:44
23 - Marc Phillips, M, 68, 5:27:40
23 - Philip Ballmann, M, 57, 4:38:56
23 - Ronnie W Watkins, M, 61, 5:01:09
23 - Steve Hasson, M, 50, 4:31:56
23 - Suzy Seeley, F, 57, 3:39:50

22 - Carole Uttecht, F, 61, 4:10:28
22 - Dale Lee, M, 61, 4:17:23
22 - Edward Montana, M, 45, 4:51:12
22 - Fred Hall, M, 60, 5:42:55
22 - Gary Marsh, M, 63, 5:31:31
22 - Mark Nash, M, 57, 5:15:16
22 - Milburn Breazeale, M, 67, 5:18:58
22 - Robert Dunn, M, 50, 4:58:04
22 - Robert Simon, M, 53, 5:09:19

21 - Benjamin Mayer, M, 49, 5:13:40
21 - Brad Moore, M, 48, 4:57:20
21 - Carl Richard, M, 59, 5:55:11
21 - David Martinez, M, 50, 4:26:34
21 - Elaine Bobigian, F, 66, 5:19:49
21 - Estella Tam, F, 60, 5:47:23
21 - Harry Sokolow, M, 60, 5:28:13
21 - J Carlos Medrano, M, 67, 3:58:46
21 - John Henneman, M, 61, 5:14:10
21 - Jonathan Tydlacka, M, 36, 3:36:31
21 - Marty Applebaum, M, 54, 4:37:07
21 - Michael Luna, M, 56, 5:26:07
21 - Michael Root, M, 53, 3:43:15
21 - Nicolas Meza, M, 65, 5:25:52
21 - Timothy Nielsen, M, 50, 3:39:33
21 - Victor Aguirre, M, 65, 4:44:23

20 - Alberto Mendoza, M, 49, 3:42:15
20 - Barbara Stoll, F, 55, 3:17:33
20 - Chris McWatt-Green, M, 66, 5:22:33
20 - Claire Greenberg, F, 54, 4:27:39
20 - Dale Kelley, M, 55, 5:07:28
20 - David Torres, M, 55, 3:53:29
20 - Deb Clifford, F, 56, 5:31:37
20 - Gloria Mahoney, F, 66, 5:04:10
20 - Holly Stewart, F, 46, 3:25:56
20 - Jacqueline O Brien-Nolen, F, 51, 3:57:15
20 - Kathleen Kress Hanson, F, 56, 5:17:04
20 - Keith Booth, M, 63, 4:59:25
20 - Leslie Medley Russell, F, 50, 4:17:26
20 - Marlene Hicks, F, 51, 4:36:52
20 - Matthew Denio, M, 60, 5:27:42
20 - Robert Fanning, M, 55, 4:45:48

Sources:  chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com

10 Runners 80 And Over Finish 2017 Aramco Houston Half Marathon

Before Sunday, there were 35 times where a runner age 80 or greater finished the Aramco Houston Half Marathon as an official finisher (under four hours chip time).

The most finishers in a single year came last year when six - five men and one woman - crossed the finish line just outside the George R. Brown Convention Center.

On Sunday, January 15, 2017, a record 10 runners did so.

Their times - and their current age, hometown and the number of Chevron Houston Marathons and/or Aramco Houston Half Marathons they finished - are as follows:

2:28:15 - Jim Braden, 81, The Woodlands (20 marathons / 4 half marathons)
2:38:28 - Don Henderson, 81, Galveston (1 marathon / 4 half marathons)
3:02:06 - Ray Boytim, 84, Spring (35 marathons / 2 half marathons)
3:02:19 - Kay Duplichan, 80, Rockport (8 marathons / 8 half marathons)
3:06:09 - Lee Miksch, 80, Cypress (26 marathons / 4 half marathons)
3:08:42 - Phillip Smith, 81, Houston (25 marathon / 9 half marathons)
3:28:47 - Marsha Smith, 81, Houston (4 half marathons)
3:35:56 - Jim Healy, 83, Houston (27 marathons / 5 half marathons)
3:35:58 - Nathaniel Collins, 80, Houston (10 marathons / 16 half marathons)
3:51:30 - Hans Mayer, 81, Houston (8 marathons / 13 half marathons)

Braden's 2:28:15 is the second fastest behind Luciano Garcia's 2:27:03 five years ago in 2012 as an 81-year-old out of Victoria.

The top 10 men's all-time Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes at 80 and over are as follows:

2:27:03 - Luciano Garcia, 81, Victoria, 2012
2:28:15 - Jim Braden, 81, The Woodlands, 2017
2:32:32 - Dan Allensworth, 81, Galveston, 2011
2:32:55 - Luciano Garcia, 80, Victoria, 2011
2:38:28 - Don Henderson, 81, Galveston, 2017
2:39:07 - Pete Alberts, 81, Houston, 2016
2:45:20 - Luciano Garcia, 82, Victoria, 2013
2:47:14 - Harold Gillespie, 82, Houston, 2005
2:47:28 - Fred Peirce, 82, Spring, 2011
2:48:04 - Fred Peirce, 81, Spring, 2010

The top 10 women's all-time Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes at 80 and over are as follows:

2:59:46 - Marsha Smith, 80, Houston, 2016
3:02:19 - Kay Duplichan, 80, Rockport, 2017
3:09:18 - Shirley Gilliland, 80, Temple, 2011
3:10:49 - Shirley Gilliland, 81, Temple, 2012
3:22:31 - Marcie McCaskill, 81, Webster, 2006
3:25:01 - Marcie McCaskill, 80, Webster, 2005
3:28:47 - Marsha Smith, 81, Houston, 2017
3:40:58 - Addie Kephart, 80, Atascocita, 2009
3:46:13 - Wren Bump, 82, Webster, 2007
3:54:59 - Addie Kephart, 83, Atascocita, 2012

Nathaniel "Skippy" Collins is the only runner to complete every single Aramco Houston Half Marathon that's ever been produced (2002-2017) - and may still be the only athlete to be a legacy marathon and half marathon runner.

The total number of Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes for runners 80 and over year-by-year are listed here:

2004 - 1 (Male)
2005 - 3 (2 Men / 1 Woman)
2006 - 2 (1 Man / 1 Woman)
2007 - 2 (1 Man / 1 Woman)
2009 - 3 (2 Men / 1 Woman)
2010 - 2 (Male)
2011 - 4 (3 Men / 1 Woman)
2012 - 5 (3 Men / 2 Women)
2013 - 2 (Male)
2014 - 2 (Male)
2015 - 3 (Male)
2016 - 6 (5 Men / 1 Women)
2017 - 10 (8 Men / 2 Women)

The cumulative number of Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes at age 80 and over are listed here:

5 - Bernard Blumenthal, Pasadena (2010, 2012-2015; 85)
3 - Harold J Gillespie, Houston (2004-2006; 83)
3 - Jim Healy, Houston (2014-2015, 2017; 83)
3 - Luciano Garcia, Victoria (2011-2013; 82)
2 - Addie Kephart, Atascocita (2009, 2012; 83)
2 - Edward Burns, East Gwillimbury, OH (2015-2016; 82)
2 - Fred Peirce, Spring (2010-2011; 82)
2 - Hans Mayer, Houston (2016-2017; 81)
2 - Marcie McCaskill, Webster (2005-2006; 81)
2 - Marsha Smith, Houston (2016-2017; 81)
2 - Phillip Smith, Houston (2016-2017; 81)
2 - Ray Boytim, Spring (2016-2017; 84)
2 - Shirley Gilliland, Temple (2011-2012; 81)
2 - Wendell Londeen, Huntsville (2007, 2009; 82)
1 - Dan Allensworth, Galveston (2011; 81)
1 - Don Henderson, Galveston (2017; 81)
1 - George Bashen, Montgomery (2005; 80)
1 - Jim Braden, The Woodlands (2017; 81)
1 - Kay Duplichan, Rockport (2017; 80)
1 - Lee Miksch (2017; 80)
1 - Nathaniel Collins, Houston (2017; 80)
1 - Pete Alberts, Houston (2016; 81)
1 - Richard Soller, N. Bend, OH (2012; 84)
1 - Wren Bump, Webster (2007; 82)
1 - Zeno Boehmer, Nacogdoches (2009; 80)

Sources:  chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com

55 Now Have 25 Chevron Houston Marathon Finishes or More

While results, as of Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 12 noon are still unofficial, the following 51 men and four women finished their 25th or greater Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday.

Their gender, age and finishing time is listed below.

43 - Jack Lippincott, M, 70, 5:36:24

40 - Rick McMahan, M, 63, 5:17:41

37 - Arlen Isham, M, 72, 5:55:27

36 - Charlie Viers, M, 75, 5:56:13

35 - Stephen McNeil, M, 59, 4:44:24
35 - Boris Balic, M, 80, 5:59:13

34 - Roger Boak, M, 68, 3:57:19
34 - Robert Eury, M, 68, 4:35:35
34 - Maria Camacho, F, 61, 5:14:04

33 - Tony Allison, M, 61, 4:43:33
33 - Rudolph Rendon, M, 69, 4:42:55
33 - Manuel Gonzalez, M, 71, 4:59:09

32 - Will Hrachovy, M, 68, 5:12:36
32 - Susan Rouse, F, 58, 4:27:14
32 - John McClung, M, 56, 5:16:03
32 - Jesse Smalls, M, 70, 5:12:43

31 - Robert McDowell, M, 66, 5:57:17
31 - Larry McPhillips, M, 65, 5:28:31
31 - J P Reed, M, 60, 5:02:44
31 - Don Padilla, M, 67, 5:57:07
31 - Charles Moore, M, 62, 4:42:07
31 - Brian Jenison, M, 57, 5:32:58

30 - Steve Boone, M, 67, 5:59:40
30 - Richard Evans, M, 60, 5:17:49
30 - James Tuscany, M, 63, 5:28:08
30 - Gene Wilson, M, 63, 4:55:21

29 - Robert Hoekman, M, 75, 3:57:50
29 - Michael Johnston, M, 60, 4:48:30
29 - James Simmons, M, 66, 5:46:21
29 - Charles Scheibe, M, 62, 5:46:19

28 - Paul Cooley, M, 66, 5:06:05
28 - Fred Steves, M, 75, 4:43:09

27 - William Schneider, M, 64, 4:39:00
27 - Robert Hughes, M, 67, 5:29:09
27 - Rich Fredrich, M, 59, 4:16:11
27 - Randall Keith, M, 58, 4:03:40
27 - Lupe Gomez, M, 63, 4:25:39
27 - Leslie Hale, F, 64, 5:37:12
27 - John McKenna, M, 60, 4:44:58
27 - Joe Pierce, M, 60, 4:24:34
27 - James Thurmond, M, 70, 5:23:45

26 - Terry Green, M, 62, 5:39:07
26 - Ralph Rohena, M, 64, 4:29:01
26 - Michael Danke, M, 48, 5:51:35
26 - John Colico, M, 57, 5:50:07
26 - Jesus Pequeno, M, 49, 4:45:08
26 - Gunnar Sanden, M, 76, 4:23:03
26 - Carlos Reyes, M, 53, 5:10:12
26 - Bob Kirkpatrick, M, 55, 5:53:46

25 - Larry Lindeen, M, 76, 5:06:05
25 - Kenneth Ruane, M, 75, 5:30:01
25 - Jim Carlson, M, 69, 5:36:52
25 - Harry Pang, M, 67, 5:55:24
25 - Glenn Heumann, M, 62, 5:16:17
25 - Evelina Stenroos, F, 63, 5:03:47

Sources:  chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com

The Chevron Houston Marathon From The Men's Marathon Press Truck

I guess I could be like mostly everybody else in print journalism with a press pass and stay in the George R. Brown Convention Center and watch the telecast inside.

And I would have if it was going to rain in the first two hours earlier this morning.

Because of space and the fact that it is a monthly magazine, my story in Texas Runner and Triathlete is basically a synopsis of the day.

I try to finish it before I leave the George R. Brown, which I've done successfully now this year and last, so I'm not inclined to see what others have done (even though I heard the same commentary as they have from the winners and top Americans).

By the way, it is really hard to get much substance out of the Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes.  However, I learned that there is really a style to asking them questions - sitting a row behind Race Results Weekly's David Monti (who knows everybody).

And that is to ask the question slowly.

When you get your copy of the magazine, there'll likely be some news and notes that you haven't seen before - my specialty - and maybe a few quotes from Becky Wade and Jordan Hasay that weren't included in other stories.

I don't write as often as guys like Monti or the Houston Chronicle's Dale Robertson (who seems to try and continually drive home the story line of the dominance of the Ethiopian athletes), so I'm certain their stories have a bit more creativity than mine.

I try to pick up some different themes and then thread them all together.

So like I did a year ago - and like Waverly did for many years while I was running the marathon (as she would take notes and get quotes for me to write the marathon story for Texas Runner and Triathlete), I was on the men's marathon press truck.

Kind of like in a basketball game where you look for lead changes and swings, following a marathon from the press truck is a similar process.

You're watching for when the pack thins and who's left standing when it does.

Getting to the press truck, with the new start line and corral setup, was a challenge in that I was expecting an individual from the HMC team to be going there too - and when they didn't, I navigated myself there and onto the truck.

Was there in plenty of time though and had a chance to trade a great series of texts with a friend before they started their half marathon.

Different this year was the fact that this year's referee was not Sugar Land's Joy Smith.  The 55-year-old, who was fourth overall in the 1998 Houston Marathon (in 2:41:42), was running her first Aramco Houston Half Marathon since 2007 and finished second in her age group in 1:38:37.

The Chevron Houston Marathon really does a great job in its timeline to start the race, as well as many other facets, of course.  There are a lot of things that are done at The Woodlands Marathon because of a relationship between the Houston Marathon Committee's Operations Manager Carly Caulfield and The Woodlands Marathon race director Willie Fowlkes.

I got tasked with turning the clock on at the top of the press truck.  So, even though we were far enough ahead of the start line that I couldn't clearly see the clock, I was listening for when the gun went off.  (I also maintained the time on my personal watch so I could maintain splits.)

So you ask:  What goes on on the press truck?

The biggest function is to make sure that the time is captured at each kilometer and mile marker.

Mile splits are fed back to the Press Center for communication to media members that are there.  This role last year and this year was performed by a pair of Rice Owls men's track and field athletes.

The ham radio operator on the truck was also sharing this information.  (I'm sure there was a level of backup and redundancy in place.)

There was also a gentleman - last year the individual was from the Chicago Marathon team - that was feeding each kilometer split and the total time into a computer which updated a display on the back of the truck which showed the runners their pace per mile and kilometer.

Bob Alexander was the individual that was heading up the positioning of the truck with the car behind us, which was filming the athletes directly behind them, and working with Bayou City Road Runner and local attorney Tom Radosevich.

All the while, the truck had to navigate some of the wheelchair athletes as well as both visually and mobility-impaired athletes, plus we would have to move from one lane to another as the athletes desired to run the tangents through a bend in the road.

After we made the split where we lost the half marathoners, in front of the truck was a quartet of officers on motorcycles.

So it was a continuous synchronization between the challenges in front of Radosevich and staying close enough to be able to visually see when the athletes passed each split point.

I'm sure course certifier Logan Burgess was the one responsible for putting the kilometer and mile markings on the road in bright green paint as part of his course certification work.  They were very beneficial when the truck got a little farther out on some passings of the teardrop flags marking the kilometers and miles.

Beyond that, it was just plain fun while working.

We were able to see the lead pack grow to seven runners by mile 8.  Bib #7 dropped off to seventh as we passed the half way mark at 1:05:013.

By mile 14, the pacer had dropped off and there was a group of five.

At the 30 kilometer mark, the field dwindled to four and two minutes and 17 seconds into mile 24 on Allen Parkway, it fell to three.

There Dominic Ondoro used those 4:49 and 4:50 splits, a couple of the fastest of the day, to pull away for the win.

I told Chevron Houston Marathon race director Brant Kotch in the media center in the GRB at about 11 or so a.m. that I thought the crowd was as good as its ever been.

There were so many people that I knew that I saw out on the course.

Eyecan Alliance's David Adame and Catapault's Alison Fowler very early on.

Next up was Snowdrop Ultra 55 race director and University of Houston Alumni Association race director Patty Godfrey.

Saw Volte's Juan Flores near mile 12.  Other Brother's Peter Manry and Gerry Simpson were near mile 13.  Hempstead's Becky Nesbitt at around mile 17.

Snowdrop's Trish Kline was in the Galleria area just before passing Becky by.

Volte Endurance Training's Bill Dwyer, and probably my best friend besides my daughter, I saw around mile 7 I'm guessing and then again right around mile 23 near Andy Stewart's Finish Line Sports aid station.  Mary Carter I know I saw with Bill twice and Mayra Caamano the second time.

When Bill saw me the last time, I think I hollered that I was the "Mayor of Pressville" on the truck.  :-)

Before that though, the most incredible sight all day was seeing near mile 21 Coach Al Lawrence sitting in a chair along Memorial Drive and he stood up after I hollered at him to cheer on the lead marathoners that were behind us.

I wonder how many people ran by Coach Al today and had no idea or clue who he was.

I'm sure there were others that I missed.  If so, I apologize.

So we're coming down the main stretch of road that heads right to the finish line, but there's a turnout near Main Street.

I got off the truck there and ran to the GRB, getting a short run in for the day.

Great experience.  Glad I was able to be a part of it once again.

The Louisiana Marathon Finishers Numbers

Marathon
2012 - 637 finishers (242 women / 395 men / 25 relay)
2013 - 935 finishers (405 women / 530 men)
2014 - 1,476 finishers (708 women / 768 men)
2015 - 1,361 finishers (638 women / 723 men)
2016 - 1,141 finishers (550 women / 588 men)

Half Marathon
2012 - 1,203 finishers (724 women / 479 men)
2013 - 1,804 finishers (1,077 women / 727 men)
2014 - 2,528 finishers (1,529 women / 999 men)
2015 - 2,853 finishers (1,723 women / 1,129 men)
2016 - 2,749 finishers (1,644 women / 1,099 men)

5K
2012 - 331 finishers (225 women / 105 men)
2013 - 527 finishers (316 women / 211 men)
2014 - 1,054 finishers (627 women / 427 men)
2015 - 1,400 finishers (863 women / 536 men)
2016 - 1,921 finishers (1,204 women / 717 men)

Quarter Marathon
2015 - 398 finishers (249 women / 149 men)
2016 - 543 finishers (363 women / 179 men)

Kids Marathon
2015 - 641 finishers (288 girls / 352 boys)
2016 - 850 finishers (430 girls / 418 boys)

Sources:  thelouisianamarathon.com, onlineraceresults.com

2016: Racing Year In Review

It was a fun, different year.

Racing got better throughout the year, which is a good thing I guess.

66 races, including nine of the $1 entry or free variety.

I didn't count the Labor Day 5K with the Seven Hills Running Club since it was a $2 entry for non-members, which may change for 2017.  The non-member part, that is.

38 new cities or towns to run in.  13 of them came in the Lone Star State and a whopping 25 throughout the rest of the United States.  (Waverly actually ran in 9 of them with me.)

That pushes my totals to 125 Texas cities and towns to have run a race in and another 159 North American cities or towns.  Maybe I'll get to 300 in 2017.  We'll see.

I also ran my first marathon in nearly two years.  Again, not sure how many more of those you might see.  And that was only because I didn't really want to run a half for $90.

So, $5 more for an extra 13.1?  Sure.

I enjoy it all.  My natural inclination towards numbers and stats have opened up over the last 14 years the opportunity to write about and race announce the sport(s).

I finished a race this year in 19 states and pushed - through finishes in Ohio, Maryland, Nevada, Kentucky, Michigan and Vermont - my half marathon state total to 45.

This leaves only Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii and California.  I actually registered for a race in California, in conjunction with acquiring a cheap fare, but getting to announce the UIL Region III Preview meet with the Sam Houston State University team took precedence.

Best Race (Performance):  59:51 10K at Lake Jackson Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving morning.  Beautiful, sunny, clear, crisp and cold day to race and I did well - for me.  It was my first 10K under an hour in approximately four years.  And I beat Waverly to the finish line after a bunch of races this year of her kicking my butt!

Runner-up Best Race (Performance):  Actually, not the 2:15:26 Revel Mount Charleston Half Marathon in Las Vegas in early May, but rather the 2:16:17 Harlingen Half Marathon on Sunday, November 13, 2016.  It came a day after a solid, 10-mile race from San Diego to Alice.  Both courses were flat, and it was cold or downhill like Revel Mount Charleston was.

Most Fun Race:  Definitely had to be the 32nd annual Moonlight Chase 4-Miler in Eldridge, Iowa on Saturday evening, July 9.  Less than 24 hours before the start of the race, Waverly and I were still at George Bush Interncontinental Airport waiting on a delayed flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP, for you airline mavens).  We made it to our hotel just across the border in Wisconsin at about 3-something on Saturday morning.

Guess what?  We had a 5K in New Richmond at 8 a.m.  Waverly typically hits her stride at the start of mile two and I was about 10 seconds behind her when she motored to a minute and 19 second victory.

We still had the drive to southeastern Iowa to make after venturing to find a tiny dot on the map that was Waverly, Wisconsin.

Pretty big crowd (913 finishers) for a race where you're running in streets that are fairly dark, but such a festive, spirited Fourth of July-like atmosphere.  Waverly got out ahead of me, but she could hear me lurking as I loudly engaged with the crowds that we were racing through.  Less than 400 meters from the finish, I almost caught her, but made the mistake of letting her know that I was coming for her.  She's got a pretty good kick - for folks with our type of (non) speed - and I almost caught her, finishing two seconds behind her.  So close, but great fun.

Coldest Race:  Union Hospital Run For Home Half Marathon in New Philadelphia, Ohio on Saturday, April 10.  The temperature was 30-33 degrees, the wind chill from 23-25 and some flurries late in the race.

Best Finish:  Same race as above.  Finishing on the track in Woody Hayes Stadium (named for the legendary Ohio State football coach) in a Penn State jersey, ranked up there (in earlier years) with finishing on the fields at Notre Dame and Illinois in Penn State gear and double high fiving Franco Harris crossing the 50-yard line inside of Beaver Stadium.

DNS:  Two.  Mississippi Blues Half Marathon in January and Ventura Half Marathon in California in September.

DNF:  One.  The North Face Race to the Top of Vermont in Stowe.  While a tough, tough race (turned hike, like the Leadville Heavy Half), I simply ran out of time before I had to leave Stowe to get back to Boston's Logan Airport and catch a flight.  It is a 4.3-mile, 2,564 vertical feet hill climb.

Toughest Course (and knowing it before hand):  Blue Ridge Mountain Half Marathon in Roanoke, Virginia - a race that bills itself as America's Toughest Road Half Marathon.  Held in late April, it has 1,897 of elevation gain.

Toughest Course (and not):  Bourbon Derby Half Marathon in Paris, Kentucky on the second Saturday in June.  The heat factor this year made the 1,147 feet of elevation gain while running through and near a number of different horse farms feel even more difficult.

Interesting Course, Part 1:  Through the Universal Studios lot during the Run To Remember Los Angeles 10K in late January.  (No, I didn't stop and take pictures.)

Interesting Courses, Part 2:  Starting off the Mardi Gras Parade on Sunday afternoon, February 7, in Lake Charles, Louisiana - all the way down to the entrance to McNeese State University and doing the same up and down the middle of FM 1960 during the Shamrock 'N Run 5k here in Houston.

Airport Runways, On and Off:  We got to run basically the entire race on the runways of Angelina County Airport in Diboll, Texas during the Run The Runway 5K in early October, while we ran on maybe a small part of a taxiway at the Airport in Longview during the Longview Running Club's Up and Away 5K in mid-to-late July.

Lots of Fun, Part 1:  Waverly and I did five races in eight days during summer vacation.  Two 5K's in Wisconsin, a four-miler in Iowa and a pair of 5K's in Minnesota.

Lots of Fun, Part 2:  Four races during the Thanksgiving weekend.  A 5K on Wednesday evening in Lafayette, Louisiana, a 10K in Lake Jackson on Thanksgiving morning, a half marathon on Friday morning in Dallas and a 5K in Round Rock late Sunday afternoon.

Lots of Fun, Part 3:  Three races over Memorial Day Weekend, all in Pennsylvania.  The Tri-Burg Special:  5K in Fryburg, 10K in Philipsburg and 3.8-Miler on Memorial Day in Boalsburg.

And with the exception of the first two weekends of 2016, I was either running a race, announcing it or was in attendance of one for the remaining 50.

Got any new hobbies I should try instead?

Women's Quarter Marathon Finishers, Age-Group Bests and Top 20 Times

The Women's Quarter Marathon in Katy is produced by iRun Productions and is timed by RunFAR Racing Services.

Finishers
2017 (Jan. 7) - 424 (1:14:16 average)
2016 (Jan. 9) - 486 (1:15:21 average)

Overall
2017 - 45:29, Amie Smith, 39, Austin
2016 - 45:20, Gabriela Gadeva, 29

Overall - Second Place
2017 - 47:16, Lauren Valentino, 38, Houston

Overall - Third Place
2017 - 47:31, Sarah Kelley, 27, Katy

Masters
2017 - 49:58, Karrie Bellard, 52, The Woodlands
2016 - 48:43, Suzy Seeley, 56, Houston

Masters - Second Place
2017 - 50:07, Gita Kulkarni, 40, Houston

Masters - Third Place
2017 - 51:22, C. Stephenson-Lake, 42, Cypress

Top 20 All-Time Times
45:20 - Gabriela Gadeva, 29, 2016
45:29 - Amie Smith, 39, Austin, 2017
45:52 - Natalie Harvey, 29, 2016
46:59 - Avery Lewis, 28, 2016
47:16 - Lauren Valentino, 38, Houston, 2017
47:31 - Sarah Kelley, 27, Katy, 2017
48:43 - Valeria Garcia, 26, 2016
48:43 - Suzy Seeley, 56, 2016
48:44 - Charlotte Harris, 44, 2016
48:45 - Camille Boon, 38, Houston, 2017
48:54 - Merry Armentrout, 35, 2016
49:04 - Nora Gentry, 25, 2016
49:14 - Catherine Christie, 15, 2016
49:21 - Gita Kulkarni, 39, 2016
49:58 - Karrie Bellard, 52, The Woodlands, 2017
49:58 - Monica Castellanos, 37, Pearland, 2017
50:03 - Danielle Cooper, 31, 2016
50:05 - Kristin Trahan, 35, Katy, 2017
50:07 - Gita Kulkarni, 40, Houston, 2017
50:18 - Leslie Medley Russell, 49, 2016

Top 20 All-Time Masters Times
48:43 - Suzy Seeley, 56, 2016
48:44 - Charlotte Harris, 44, 2016
49:58 - Karrie Bellard, 52, The Woodlands, 2017
50:07 - Gita Kulkarni, 40, Houston, 2017
50:18 - Leslie Medley Russell, 49, 2016
50:40 - Carolyn Turner, 42, 2016
51:22 - C. Stephenson-Lake, 42, Cypress, 2017
51:24 - Jennifer Laine, 44, Pearland, 2017
51:49 - Rhonda Emerson, 58, 2016
51:58 - Jenny Lu, 44, 2016
53:02 - C. Stephenson-Lake, 41, Cypress, 2016
53:30 - Emma Jeter, 42, 2016
53:31 - Marina Van Den Adel, 41, 2016
53:50 - Rhonda Emerson, 59, Pearland, 2017
54:37 - Kelly Cavazos, 43, 2016
55:28 - Elva Castro, 46, 2016
55:29 - Kelli Ann, 41, Katy, 2017
56:14 - Magali Exbrayat, 41, Houston, 2017
56:22 - Yao Peng, 40, 2016
56:25 - Candace Dartez, 49, 2016

Legacy Runners (84)
Deb Adams, 59, Houston
Kelsey Adams, 27, Houston
Shauna Alexander, 63, Katy
Monique Allman, 35, Houston
Brandy Alrashed, 36, Katy
Katherine Alvarez, 36, Katy
Claudia Arguelles, 27, Houston
Ginna Balestrini, 42, Katy
Jennifer Bernard, 54, Katy
Connie Bormans, 43, Katy
Karen Braddock, 45, Katy
Candace Brawner, 33, Katy
Sarah Bromley, 38, Houston
Waynette Brunkhorst, 60, Richmond
Jacqueline Bryant, 40, Katy
Cathy Buchanan, 66, Missouri City
Megan Burke, 28, Katy
Carrie Calkins, 42, Katy
Elaine Campbell, 41, Katy
Robin Cartwright, 31, Richmond
Emily Chik, 28, Sugar Land
Moni Collins, 40, katy
Victoria Dao, 29, Houston
Candace Dartez, 50, Katy
Kirsten Davenport, 46, Humble
Jessica Dobbs, 29, Houston
Sara Dobbs, 54, Houston
Barbara Earhart, 60, Katy
Sheila Echols-Smesny, 39, Pearland
Rhonda Emerson, 59, Pearland
Magali Exbrayat, 41, Houston
Joann Fadeley, 60, Katy
Jaclyn Felts, 31, Hockley
Katia Filina, 34, Cypress
Debbie France, 42, Katy
Valerie Francis, 50, Humble
Lynn Furman, 69, Katy
Olevia Garcia, 48, Richmond
Elisa Gavia, 34, Stafford
Caitlin Hall, 24, Katy
Amanda Harris, 36, Richmond
Tina Harvey, 55, Houston
Ursula Hemingway, 41, Katy
Cynthia Hill, 43, Katy
Dona Hinton, 57, Houston
Nancy Holcomb, 71, Houston
Deborah Holcombe, 58, Katy
Brenda Holden, 38, Katy
Renata Holland, 31, Houston
Kim Johnston, 55, Richmond
Gita Kulkarni, 40, Houston
Kim Lawson, 45, Katy
Summer Leal, 36, Houston
Erica Lehotzky, 31, Houston
Sharon Mata, 49, Katy
Mattie Mathews, 56, Houston
Jo May, 68, Houston
Christie Mayer, 37, Victoria
Rita McKenzie, 50, Houston
Stephanie Montalvan, 20, Stafford
Nancy Nunnery, 59, Richmond
Karla Oakley, 60, Katy
Loan Obrien, 42, Baytown
Darienne Owings, 43, Houston
Mary Perko, 57, Katy
Lorena Ponce, 35, Richmond
Jessie Rollow, 32, Katy
Latiffany Sauls, 46, Missouri City
Amy Schmitt, 41, Katy
Jennifer Serrano, 31, Houston
Angela Siebe, 48
Helen Smith, 58, Richmond
C. Stephenson-Lake, 42, Cypress
Amy Taylor, 40, Houston
Johanna Virguez, 38, Katy
Ally Walker, 36, Katy
Lillian Wanjagi, 44, Fulshear
Lindsey Webb, 30, Katy
Lena Wigger, 15, Houston
Alli Williams, 23, The Woodlands
Andrea Witte, 47, Katy
Leslie Woodward, 55, Katy
Wei Yuan, 37, Katy
Joanne Zhou, 43, Katy

14 and Under
2017 - 1:01:56, Hallee Sobin, 12, Fulshear
2016 - 55:55, Lena Wigger, 14, Houston

15-19
2017 - 54:18, Lena Wigger, 15, Houston
2016 - 49:14, Catherine Christie, 15

20-24
2017 - 53:33, Stephanie Montalvan, 20, Stafford
2016 - 50:20, Leslie Cislo, 24

25-29
2017 - 56:24, Jessica Harrison, 28, Cypress
2016 - 45:52, Natalie Harvey, 29

30-34
2017 - 51:16, Nastassja Hagan, 31, Katy
2016 - 50:03, Danielle Cooper

35-39
2017 - 48:54, Merry Armentrout, 35
2016 - 48:45, Camille Boon, 38, Houston

40-44
2017 - 51:24, Jennifer Laine, 44, Pearland
2016 - 48:44, Charlotte Harris, 44

45-49
2017 - 59:10, Suzanne Jackson, 48, Fulshear
2016 - 50:18, Leslie Medley Russell, 48

50-54
2017 - 1:00:03, Linda Neely-Shelmire, 51
2016 - 56:41, Elaine Franks, 50, Katy

55-59
2017 - 53:50, Rhonda Emerson, 59, Pearland
2016 - 51:49, Rhonda Emerson, 58, Pearland

60-64
2017 - 59:01, Patricia Bender, 61
2016 - 58:24, Joann Fadeley, 60, Katy

65-69
2017 - 1:03:18, Ginger Hopper, 68, Katy
2016 - 1:01:10, Jo May, 67

70-74
2016 - 1:36:03, Nancy Holcomb, 70

70 and Over
2017 - 1:05:18, Kathy McWilliams, 72, The Woodlands

75 and Over
2016 - 1:32:47, Nancy Dillow, 75

Source:  mychiptime.com

21 Marathoners Ready To Finish 20th Chevron Houston Marathon

The number of marathoners who have completed 20 or more Chevron Houston Marathons currently stands at 239 according to houstonresults.com, the race's website which houses all of its marathon and half marathon results since their race's inception.

Twenty-one (21) more are currently registered to join the race's 20 Marathon Club with a finish at the 45th running of the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday, January 15, 2017.

While one of the most consistent and highest performing male masters runners in the greater Houston area, Richard Peoples, is on the list, the list is dominated by women who are familiar to many in Houston's running scene.

Kingwood's Jacqueline O Brien Nolen has finished 16 Chevron Houston Marathons since 2000, including her CHM personal best of 3:25:29 in 2015, which was good enough for seventh in her age group two years ago.

Nolen typically tunes up for the Chevron Houston Marathon by running the Metal Sawing Technology Texas Marathon in her hometown every New Year's Day.  With her finish on Sunday, it was her 17th in the event's 18-year history as Texas' sixth oldest marathon.  She's also won the Texas Marathon six times.

Longtime Al Lawrence Running Club member and HARRA Board member Annie Hadow has posted 16 sub-4 marathons at Houston out of her 19 since 1993.

Like Hadow, Leslie Medley Russell has 15 sub 4-marathons.

Houston's Claire Greenberg has 19 consecutive CHM finishes to her credit.

Kingwood's Gloria Mahoney's 19 finishes would be streaking, except for not racing in 2014.

League City's Deb Clifford and Houston's Belinda Reyes and Kathleen Kress Hanson round out the greater Houston area's representation of 10 women that are poised to enter the 20 Chevron Houston Marathon Club two Sundays from now.

The complete list, including gender, race day age and hometown are listed below:

20 - Annie Hadow, F, 52, Houston
20 - Belinda Reyes, F, 53, Houston
20 - Bill Thorne, M, 70, Houston
20 - Chris McWatt-Green, M, 66, Houston
20 - Claire Greenberg, F, 54, Houston
20 - Dale Kelley, M, 55, Houston
20 - David Torres, M, 55, Houston
20 - Deb Clifford, F, 56, League City
20 - Gloria Mahoney, F, 66, Kingwood
20 - Holly Stewart, F, 46, San Antonio
20 - Jacqueline O Brien-Nolen, F, 51, Kingwood
20 - Kathleen Kress Hanson, F, 56, Houston
20 - Keith Booth, M, 63, Austin
20 - Leslie Medley Russell, F, 50, Houston
20 - Marlene Hicks, F, 51, Georgetown
20 - Matthew Denio, M, 60, Cypress
20 - Phillip Wo, M, 60, Sugar Land
20 - Richard Peoples, M, 57, Houston
20 - Robert Fanning, M, 55, Cypress
20 - Robert Furman, M, 70, Katy
20 - Rudy Serrato, M, 59, Houston

Sources:  Chevron Houston Marathon, chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com and marathonguide.com

Youngest Legacy Marathoners Ready for Another Chevron Houston Marathon

At the close of the 2016 Chevron Houston Marathon, 27 runners under the age of 37 had covered the marathon distance on the streets of Houston 10 times or more.

The youngest of those was 26-year-old Raymond Tam from Fresno, an unincorporated community in Fort Bend County.

Tam ran the first of his 11 Chevron Houston Marathons in 2006 at the age of 16.

On Sunday, January 15, 2017, at the 45th running of Texas' second oldest marathon, he'll be one of 19 of those 27 runners that will be looking to pad their Legacy Runner finishers total.

Rosenberg's Jonathan Tydlacka, who will be 36 on race day, will be going for his 21st Chevron Houston Marathon finish.

Only two of those 19 are females -- Belton's Elaine Ver Halen and Cypress' Rebecca Martinez.

Ver Halen, 33, will be aiming for her 14th Chevron Houston Marathon while Martinez, 12, is going for her 12th.

Two other females with 10 or more finishes -- Katy's Katherine Hallaway and Houston's Meredith Macnaughton -- are registered for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

Below is a complete list of the 19 Legacy marathoners under the age of 38 who are signed up - courtesy of the race's confirmation search feature - to run this year's Chevron Houston Marathon (with their gender, race day age and hometown):

21 - Jonathan Tydlacka, M, 36, Rosenberg
18 - Brett Davis, M, 33, Fredericksburg
17 - Robert Hahn, M, 35, Houston
15 - Benjamin Proko, M, 35, Cypress
14 - Chris St Jean, M, 34, Seabrook
14 - Elaine Ver Halen, F, 33, Belton
13 - Andre Phillips, M, 36, Indianapolis, IN
13 - Andy Gardner, M, 36, The Woodlands
13 - Cesar Pena, M, 37, Houston
13 - Claudio Rodriguez, M, 37, Houston
13 - Joe Schwieterman, M, 31, Houston
13 - Timothy Feges, M, 30, Sugar Land
12 - Alfredo Marcial, M, 37, Houston
12 - Mark Perry, M, 37, Aransas Pass
12 - Raul Munoz, M, 37, Baytown
12 - Raymond Tam, M, 27, Fresno
12 - Rebecca Martinez, F, 37, Cypress
11 - Brad Hunt, M, 35, Houston
11 - Kurt Ramsauer, M, 36, Houston

Sources:  Chevron Houston Marathon, chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com and marathonguide.com

Four Runners Slated to Finish 30th Chevron Houston Marathon

When Gene Wilson, James Tuscany, Richard Evans and Steve Boone cross the finish line of this month's 45th annual Chevron Houston Marathon, they will do so knowing that they'll never have to pay the run the race ever again.

It is a perk that they'll earn when the quartet will join 33 other runners who have already finished 30 or more Chevron Houston Marathons.

Twenty-six of those 33 Legacy marathoners, according to the confirmation search feature on the Chevron Houston Marathon website, will join the aforementioned four on the marathon course on Sunday, January 15, 2017.

One runner, Houston's Rich McMahan, is slated to join fellow Houstonian and inaugural Houston Marathon Hall of Fame inductee Jack Lippincott to finish 40 or more Chevron Houston Marathons.

Lippincott has finished 42 Houston Marathons, dating back to 1976.

Another four -- Ray Boytim, Louis Waddell, Richard Rekieta and Paul Roche - are registered to run the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

The complete list of 30 marathoners who will have 30 or more Chevron Houston Marathon finishes when they complete the race in less than two weeks are listed below with their gender, race day age and hometown:

43 - Jack Lippincott, M, 70, Houston+
40 - Rick McMahan, M, 63, Houston
37 - Arlen Isham, M, 72, Katy
36 - Charlie Viers, M, 75, Natchitoches, LA
36 - Lonnie Brauner, M, 70, The Woodlands
36 - Wayne Rutledge, M, 59, San Leon
35 - Boris Balic, M, 80, Houston
35 - Stephen McNeil, M, 59, San Antonio
34 - Maria Camacho, F, 61, Houston+
34 - Robert Eury, M, 68, Houston
34 - Roger Boak, M, 68, Houston
33 - Daniel Jason, M, 70, Houston
33 - Manuel Gonzalez, M, 71, La Porte
33 - Rudolph Rendon, M, 69, Austin
33 - Rudy Alvarez, M, 62, Houston
33 - Tony Allison, M, 61, The Woodlands
32 - Jesse Smalls, M, 70, Katy
32 - John McClung, M, 56, Houston
32 - Susan Rouse, F, 58, The Woodlands
32 - Will Hrachovy, M, 68, Houston
31 - Brian Jenison, M, 57, Houston
31 - Charles Moore, M, 62, Houston
31 - Don Padilla, M, 67, Deer Park
31 - J P Reed, M, 60, Houston
31 - Larry McPhillips, M, 65, Port Arthur
31 - Robert McDowell, M, 66, Houston
30 - Gene Wilson, M, 63, Houston
30 - James Tuscany, M, 63, Hilo, HI
30 - Richard Evans, M, 60, Beaumont
30 - Steve Boone, M, 67, Humble

+  Unable to confirmation via the confirmation search; however, the male and female with the most Chevron Houston Marathon finishes are considered local elites, whose entries are not listed in the confirmation search.

Sources:  Chevron Houston Marathon, chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com and marathonguide.com

Corpus Christi American Bank Half Marathon Finishers Numbers

Half Marathon
2016 (12/31) - 298 (113 men / 185 women)
2016 (1/2) - 221 (91 men / 130 women)
2015 (1/3) - 154 (67 men / 83 women / 4 unknown)
2014 (1/4) - 144 (77 men / 67 women)
2012 (12/8) - 148 (68 men / 80 women)
2011 (12/10) - 149 (80 men / 69 women)
2010 (12/11) - 137 (76 men / 61 women)
2009 (12/19) - 127 (70 men / 57 women)
2008 (12/20) - 116 (67 men / 49 women)
2006 (12/16) - 122 (66 men / 56 women)
2005 (12/10) - 64 (35 men / 29 women)

HM Athena/Clydesdale
2016 (12/31) - 12 (9 men / 4 women)
2016 (1/2) - 14 (8 men / 6 women)

HM 2-Person Relay
2016 (12/31) - 41 relay teams
2016 (1/2) - 36 relay teams
2015 (1/3) - 44 relay teams
2014 (1/4) - 24 relay teams
2012 (12/8) - 45 relay teams
2011 (12/10) - 46 relay teams
2010 (12/11) - 40 relay teams
2009 (12/19) - 38 relay teams
2008 (12/20) - 18 relay teams
2007 (12/15) - 27 relay teams
2006 (12/16) - 19 relay teams
2005 (12/10) - 19 relay teams

5K
2016 (12/31) - 136 (49 men / 87 women)
2016 (1/2) - 65 (22 men / 43 women)
2015 (1/3) - 77 (27 men / 40 women / 10 unknown)

Do Not Race List

28th Corpus Christi Half Marathon powered by American Bank, Corpus Christi, TX

The Corpus Christi Road Runners made a Cyber Monday offer on the event's Facebook page.  After carefully investigating that there was no race day registration or packet pickup, I made the following comment on the post (which the administrator of the page liked):  "Great offer. Have run it before. Would think about coming down from far north Houston, but without race day registration or packet pickup (would have to leave by at least noon on Friday to make it for 4 p.m. end of PPU) ... I'll pass."

Just checked today, December 27, as one of their posts was in my news feed, and they are now offering race day packet pickup.

If you've been putting on a race for 27 years, you can figure out - a month out - if you can offer race day packet pickup or not and stick to it.

Minden Run For St. Jude Half Marathon, 10K and 5K, Minden, LA

I ran this half marathon in 2015 and the timer recommended me to announce it earlier this year (2016).  When I agreed to do it, I offered that I would charge them my 10K rate as opposed to my regular half marathon rate.  When I was done and getting ready to leave for the day, I spoke with the race director and told her that I would submit my invoice that evening.  She said, "That's great as I want to be able to get our check out to St. Jude Medical Center right away."  I did and I was never paid for my services.

Texas Half Marathon - 5-Plus Year Veterans (2009-2016)

8 years
Lillie Fontenot
Omer Womack
Paul Cain

7 years
Derek Nolen
Faye Caldwell
Linda Law
Mark Coleman
Paula Parshall
Sara Pressel

6 years
Ben Knippel
Bonnie Beirne
Brianna Nolen
Eunice Mahoney
Gary Pressel
Katheryn Nolen
Kevin Rarey
Monica Montoya
Peter Raybourn
Rose Linseisen
Ruth Johnston
Walt Yarrow

5 years
Addie Kephart
Carolyn Wyborney
Dwain Rollerson
Jessica Baxter
Karen Stanford
Katherine Droll
Keith Cotropia
Lisa Earehart
Lisa Yarrow
Mark Mann
Randall Smith
Steve Potlock
Terrell Smith
Trent Nolen
Varun Gupta

Texas Marathon - 5-Plus Year Veterans (2000-2016)

17 years
Steve Boone

16 years
Gerry Simpson
Jacqueline O'Brien-Nolen

14 years
Rene Villalobos

13 years
Mike Huff (plus two half marathons)
Richard Jares
Robert Lott, Jr.

12 years
Fred Ward

11 years
Bill Moeller
Chuck Struckness
German Collazos
Karen Berglund
Ron Berglund
Terry Sawma

10 years
Angela Tortorice
Christal Albrecht
Jim Reeve
Suresh Shah
Thomas Moberly
Yen Nguyen
Yong Collins

9 years
Bridget Moeller (plus one half marathon)
Carlos Reyes
Danielle Skelton
John Hyak
Peter Bennett
Ray Boytim (plus two half marathons)
Suzy Seeley (plus three half marathons)

8 years
Chris Duggan
Edward Campos
Harris Argo
Paula Sokolich
Susie Eisenberg
Vincent Kowalski

7 years
Aiko Hanyu
Brian Jenison
Claude Hicks, Jr.
Donald Hickombottom (plus one half marathon)
Grant Hodges
Guy Rozas
Joseph Wasicka
Ken Johnson (plus two half marathons)
Ken Merenda (plus one half marathon)
Laurence Macon
Margot Campos
Robert Hill
Victor Bhatt

6 years
Charles Taylor
Clyde Shank
Don Womble (plus one half marathon)
Evan Groutage
Frances Wasicka
Hudon White
Joe Barry
Michael Digennaro
Morgan Lusby
Robert Furman
Sergio Leonardi
Tina King
Wayne King
Willem Maas

5 years
Carol Earles
Christopher Culpepper
Clark Courtright
Donna Crocker
Donna Palmer
Gary Van Kuiken
Henry Bittle
Ila Owers
Jacob Gautreaux
James Baudhuin
Jay Teinert
Jim Simpson
Jones Ramsey
Karen Castro
Kathy Hodges
Kelly Shank
Kimberlie Budzik
Maggie Mount
Mark Crichton
Mark Thurber (plus two half marathons)
Miroslaw Malinowski
Nhithi Nguyen
Patrick Foley
Penny Derkowski
Rahul Reddy
Richard Carroll
Stefanie Bernosky (plus one half marathon)
Stephen Jones
Steve Lind
Tom Detore

Eight Greater Houston Half Marathons Increase Prices By January 9

Between now and Monday, January 8, 2017, eight (8) greater Houston area half marathon races - that will be held between January 29 and April 23 - will have some form of price increase or registration-related deadline come to pass.

Perhaps the best and most unheralded deal in all of greater Houston is the two-person marathon relay that is part of the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon on Saturday, March 4, 2017.

I was so surprised that I actually confirmed this on the telephone with race director Willie Fowlkes on Friday, December 23.

So if you're not hung up on seeing your own name in the individual results of a half marathon, but want to race the distance at the cheapest price in town, this is your deal!

Each runner of the two-person relay pays just $55 through Sunday evening, December 31 and $60 per person once the ball drops in Times Square to bring in 2017.

A complete listing by date of the registration-related deadlines is listed below:

January 1
USA Fit Marathon and Half Marathon finishers will receive their choice of a "Finishers" sweatshirt, 1/4 zip pull-over shirt or backpack, if registered by January 1.  After January 1, only backpacks are guaranteed.  The official link is here.

The Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon increases the price on all of its races but the Family 2K run by $5 on January 1.  Therefore, the marathon goes from $110 to $115, the half marathon from $90 to $95 and the 5K from $35.  The four-person marathon relay goes from $180 to $200 - or from $45 per runner to $50.  Exchange Points will be at the 6.5, 13.1 and 19.75 marks for the 4-person relay teams.  The official link is here.

Texas Country Music Half Marathon, less than two weeks after it was announced, will see a price increase on January 1.  The half marathon fee increases to $80, the half marathon relay team jumps to $110 (from $90) and the 10K goes from $40 to $50.  The official link is here.

The Cross Creek Ranch Dusk To Dawn Half Marathon, 5K and 1K, to be held on Saturday, March 25, 2017, will see its prices go up on January 1.  Prospective half marathoners will pay $84 instead of $75, 5K runners will pay $35 instead of $30 and 1K'ers will increase $2 to $20 even.  The official link is here.

January 3
Surfside Beach Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K future participants will experience a price on January 3.  Price for the Surfin' Surfside 5K will go from $40 to $50 and Offseason pricing for the marathon and half marathon will increase from $75 to $85.  The race's Facebook page posted on December 22 reminding runners to "register the family by January 4th to claim your shirt sizes!"  The official link is here.

January 4
Katy Half Marathoners may defer their entry up to a year, but are charged $30 to do so.  The deadline to defer or change distance must be submitted before January 4, 2017.  The official link is here.

January 7The Messina Hof Wine & Roses Half in Bryan will have its registration fees increase from $90 to $110 for the half marathon and from $45 to $50 for the 5K on January 7, 2017.  The race is on Sunday, April 23, 2017.  The official link is here.

January 9
Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon prices increase on January 9, 2017.  The half marathon goes from $85 to $95, the quarter marathon goes from $60 to 70 and the 5K goes from $45 to $55.  The official link is here.

(Disclaimer:  While the writer does provide various communications-related services to many races in the greater Houston area, he no longer serves the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon as its media relations director.)

Run The Woodlands 5K Race Report

Back in 2003, when I first started to run, there was this twice-a-month $1 race series, Run The Woodlands 5K.

It was - and still is - held at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.

The race was basically a time trial course in that it never changed.  Therefore, you could always go out and benchmark yourself - in race conditions - where you were in your fitness.

And if you didn't need a t-shirt and a bunch of post-race food, you could do so for a $1.

Many times I would wake up at 7:15 a.m. and realize that I could make it there before the 8 a.m. start time.

Go up to the table, sign the waiver, put a $1 in the box and get ready to run.

Today's race completed the 17th year of the series that either spawned or was a great influence to two others -- Vern's No Frills 5K in Georgetown (produced by former and frequent RTW participant Bill Schroeder) and the current Run For Wellness 5K Series in Houston.

Today, I repeated that trend from the early years, arriving at the race site at about 7:40 a.m.

I ran with the Seven Hills Running Club's Ken Johnson, as I do many times at the once-a-month Sunday Night 5K produced by The Woodlands Running Club (well, really, Bill Dwyer).

Our time was 36:54, but that's never the important thing.  Running with Ken, it is a chance to converse with one of the few people that is out there and sees more than I do.

Run The Woodlands 5K was race #65 for me this year -- and nine of them were of the Run The Woodlands, Run For Wellness or TWRC Sunday Night 5K varieties.

If all goes well, I'll add one more in Mission, Texas next Saturday morning.  It will be a race in Texas city or town #125 and Texas county #64.

As always, being at a race, regardless if I'm running, working or volunteering, it is about the people that I see and meet.

The Attanuccis were there.  Vincent and son Michael.

They recently completed another BMW Dallas Marathon together earlier in the month.  It was Michael's 16th marathon and Vincent's 46th.

Vincent, a Penn State graduate, has run a mile a day for at least the last ten years.

Congratulations to Michael as he'll be getting married one week from today, December 31, 2016 in Fort Worth.

Dr. John Slate, who lives in The Woodlands and is a member of the Seven Hills Running Club in Huntsville, was out today.

Long-time friend Rick Cook and his son, Cooper, who is in the seventh grade, were racing today.  They live just right around the corner from the school.

Rick, Bill Dwyer and myself along with Andrew Perry started the Montgomery County Triple in 2006 and while working for Luke's Locker, who produces the race now, Rick was the RD of Run The Woodlands 5K for a year or so.

The very first Run The Woodlands 5K I ever attended was the second Saturday of July 2003.  I got lost by making a right-hand turn across Crownridge instead of left to come back to the finish.

That day, a man encouraged me to get rid of the cotton t-shirt and baseball hat.  (Yes, I was a newbie once.)

He ran with this really tall dog, whose name was Khobar.

His name is Tom Pinney and he was there this morning.  It was really good to see and talk with him -- and he was continuing to encourage another generation of runners that were out there.  Something we all need to do every chance we get.

I think the two daughters of fellow Spring High School graduate Kim Driver were there.

And as Ken and I made the turn into the school parking lot, we saw former Houston Strider Joan O'Connor, who has relocated up to The Woodlands upon her work retirement.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I went to Hughes Landing where Bill's Volte Endurance Training group was finishing up their long runs in preparation for next month's Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

Conversed with many, including Mary Carter, Rich Cooper, Leeanne Rosser, Randy Harris and others, but went there primarily to wish probably my best friend, Bill, a Merry Christmas and to give him a gift.

Although I'll see him later as he'll be at North Park Baptist Church for tonight's Christmas Eve service as his son-in-law Chris is leading worship.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Dallas Marathon Finisher Numbers

2016
5K - 278 (139 men / 139 women) (41.7% decrease)
Marathon Relay - 621 + 5 = 626 (12% increase)
Half - 6,712 (3,142 men / 3,570 women) (8.5% increase)
Marathon - 2,812 (1,751 men / 1,061 women) (2.4% increase)

2015
5K - 477 (197 men / 280 women)
Marathon Relay - 195 + 215 + 41 + 63 + 6 + 12 + 17 + 5 + 5 = 559
Marathon - 2,746 (1,727 men / 1,019 women)
Half - 6,184 (2,853 men / 3,331 women)

2014
5K - 418 (271 men / 147 women)
Marathon Relay - 218 + 221 + 36 + 73 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 6 + 1 + 1 = 568
Marathon - 3,951 (2,328 men / 1,623 women)
Half - 8,442 (3,652 men / 4,790 women)

2012
5K - 590 (257 men / 333 women)
Marathon Relay - 58 + 128 + 15 + 10 + 273 + 21 + 208 + 117 + 28 + 5 + 5 = 868
Marathon Clydesdale/Athena - 327 (278 men / 49 women)
Marathon - 4,875 (2,970 men / 1,905 women)
Half - 9,879 (4,347 men / 5,532 women)

Today's Price Guide to Houston Area Half Marathons Post-Chevron/Aramco

1/29 - USA Fit Marathon ($95), Half Marathon ($85) and 5K ($35)
2/4 - Katy Half Marathon ($105), Half Marathon Relay ($150 2-person), 5K ($50) and Kids 1K ($30)
2/4 - Surfside Beach Marathon ($75), Half Marathon ($75), 5K ($40) and Kids Race ($15)
2/12 - Galveston Marathon ($105), Half Marathon ($85) and 5K ($30)
2/12 - Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon ($85), Quarter Marathon ($60) and 5K ($40), Houston [No race day PPU]
2/18 - Love. Run. Marathon ($90), Half Marathon ($80) and 10K ($60), Huntsville State Park - Returning from 2015
2/25 - Citizens Medical Center Half Marathon ($70) and 5K ($30), Victoria - First year race
2/25 - Jail Break Run Half Marathon ($85) and 5K ($35), Baytown
2/26 - Texas Country Music Half Marathon ($70), Half Marathon Relay ($90 2-person) and 10K ($40), Houston - First year race
2/26 - Republic of Texas Half Marathon ($85), Quarter Marathon ($50) and 5K ($40), College Station
3/4 - The Woodlands Marathon ($110), Marathon Relay ($110 2-person or $180 4-person), Half Marathon ($90), 5K ($30) and Family 2K ($25) [No race day PPU]
3/4 - The Gusher Marathon ($98), Half Marathon ($88) and 5K ($25), Beaumont
3/17-19 - Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon ($85), Marathon Relay ($180 4-person), Half Marathon ($85), Half Marathon Relay ($90 2-person), Quarter Marathon ($45) and 5K ($35)
3/19 - St. Paddy's Half Marathon ($75), Race Day PPU ($12 donation to Snowdrop Foundation), Sugar Land
3/25 - San Felipe Shootout Trail Half Marathon ($75), 10K ($55), 5K ($45), San Felipe
3/25 - Cross Creek Ranch Dusk to Dawn Half Marathon ($75), 5K ($30) and 1K ($18), Fulshear - PM race
4/8 - Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon ($65), Half Marathon ($65), 5K ($25), 1M ($15), Groveton
4/8 - Texas Wine Series at Whistling Duck Half Marathon ($85), 10K ($70) and 5K ($55), Weimar
4/9 - Vintage Park Half Marathon ($90), Half Marathon Relay ($130 2-person), 5K ($40), 1K ($25), Houston - First year race
4/23 - Divas Half Marathon ($95), 5K ($50), Race Day PPU ($20), Galveston
4/23 - Messina Hof Wine & Roses Half Marathon ($90), 5K ($45), Bryan

Largest Trail Races in Texas by Finisher Miles - 2016

First attempt to establish a metric of some kind - other than simply the total number of finishers - that would determine the largest trail races in Texas.

Again, the idea - just like road races - is that sure you can sign up a million runners, but it all depends on who gets to the finish line.

Therefore, I took the total number of finishers from each race in a given event multiplied by the number of miles at each race's distance to come to a "finishers miles" total.

If I'm missing a trail race that was run in Texas in 2016, please let me know:

26,846.0 - Bandera
24,000.0 - Rocky Raccoon 100, Huntsville
21,346.0 - Brazos Bend 100, Needville
17,987.2 - Ragnar Trail Relay Hill Country, Comfort
16,815.1 - Brazos Bend 50, Needville

16,595.6 - Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon
13,922.4 - Snowdrop 55 Ultra, Sugar Land
11,775.0 - Rocky Raccoon 50, Huntsville
 8,287.5 - Franklin Mountains Trail Run, El Paso
 8,042.0 - Palo Duro Trail Run, Amarillo

 7,874.2 - Wild Hare, Warda
 7,349.6 - Hells Hills, Smithville
 6,848.1 - Grasslands Trail Run, Decatur
 6,758.0 - Capt'n Karl's Pedernales Falls, Johnson City
 6,262.0 - El Scorcho Diez, Fort Worth

 5,997.3 - Pandora, Burnet
 5,918.1 - Blazing 7's Trail Run, Bellville
 5,900.0 - Cactus Rose, Bandera
 5,640.0 - Habanero Hundred, Bellville
 5,057.4 - Cross Timbers Trail Run

 4,791.6 - Whispering Pines, Tyler
 4,550.8 - Capt'n Karl's Reveille, Burnet
 4,462.4 - Big Bend Ultra
 4,444.8 - Isle du Bois, Pilot Point
 4,427.0 - San Felipe Shootout, San Felipe

 4,207.2 - Fossil Valley, Dallas
 3,942.0 - Jackalope Jam, La Marque
 3,859.5 - Horseshoe Trail Run, Hitchcock
 3,760.3 - Possum Kingdom Lake, Graford
 3,732.9 - Austin Rattler Run, Smithville

 3,592.5 - Wildflower Half, Bastrop
 3,570.0 - Prickly Pair Trail Race, San Antonio
 3,521.6 - Capt'n Karl's Colorado Bend
 3,503.0 - Capt'n Karl's Muleshoe Bend, Spicewood
 3,303.9 - J&J Race and Running Reunion, Rocksprings

 3,286.8 - The Circus, Cedar Creek
 3,200.1 - Paleface - May 2016, Spicewood
 3,178.5 - Big Cedar Endurance Run, Glen Rose
 2,996.6 - Texas Switchback, Johnson City
 2,776.2 - Night Moves and Next Generation Trail Races - August, Hitchcock

 2,652.9 - Rough Creek Trail Run, Glen Rose
 2,349.8 - The Ranch, Austin
 2,306.4 - The Maze, Austin
 2,280.5 - Piney Woods Trail Fest, New Caney
 2,144.7 - TXU Energy Crazy Desert Trail Run, San Angelo

 2,120.4 - The Tangle, Austin
 2,002.0 - Lighthouse Hill Ranch, Johnson City
 1,968.9 - Saddle Blazer, Killeen
 1,937.5 - Sky Island, Fort Davis
 1,781.8 - El Chupacabra de San Antonio

 1,710.0 - Texas 2-Way Torture Test, Johnson City
 1,630.7 - XTERRA Magnolia Hill, Navasota
 1,629.2 - XTERRA Cameron Park, Waco
 1,620.0 - Trans-Pecos Ultra, Alpine
 1,552.6 - Rawhide, Comfort

 1,519.3 - Wonderland, Gail
 1,445.0 - Toughest N' Texas, Waco
 1,370.2 - Rugged and Raw, Dallas
 1,330.0 - IAAP Trail Run, San Antonio
 1,314.9 - Friends of Government Canyon Recharge Race, San Antonio

 1,255.5 - El Chupacabra de Houston, New Caney
 1,240.0 - XTERRA Pedernales, Johnson City
 1,162.3 - Night Moves and Next Generation Trail Races - October, Hitchcock
 1,143.4 - Paleface - October 2016, Spicewood
 1,088.1 - The Mammoth at Dinosaur Valley, Glen Rose

 1,072.6 - Shannon Trail Series Race 3, San Angelo
   924.0 - XTERRA Muleshoe, Spicewood
   895.5 - Shannon Trail Series Race 2, San Angelo
   821.5 - XTERRA Gator Bait, Huntsville
   821.5 - Shannon Trail Series Race 1, San Angelo

   756.4 - XTERRA Jurassic, Glen Rose
   688.0 - Cedar Brake, Dallas
   680.3 - XTERRA ATX, Spicewood
   536.3 - XTERRA Dallas, Grapevine
   533.2 - 30K of the Dinosaur Trail Race, San Angelo

   512.9 - XTERRA Bluebonnet, Burnet
   508.4 - Skinnydipper Sun Run 5K, Decatur
   474.3 - Purgatory Trial Run at Spring Lake, San Marcos
   356.2 - Dirt Trails & Pony Trails, Austin
   342.9 - Texas Trail Camp, Rocksprings

   288.1 - Run 4 Bibles Trail Run, Dallas
   226.3 - Pioneer Trail 5K, Austin

Thanks for your interest and support.