One of the state’s more popular half-marathon races, the Houston Half Marathon & 10K is organized by the Houston Striders running club and usually draws more than 2,500 runners in both the individual race and the relay combined each year.
Run along a tight loop course in the shadow of the city’s downtown skyscrapers, the race starts and finishes on the edge of Sam Houston Park and features long stretches along the Buffalo Bayou, the main waterway that flows through the center of the city.
In contrast with many other road races that follow sprawling, circuitous routes through their home cities, this race’s loop course is run within a fairly confined area, and runners complete an out-and-back loop before reaching the finish line back at the park. The course time limits is 4 hours, which means runners will need to keep a pace of 18 minutes or better.