Known by its nickname for the deep woods forests that keep this region remote from the rest of the state and make it a perfect hideaway for some of life’s more bizarre characters, the “Pine Curtain” of East Texas includes within it the city of Nacogdoches, on which runners will converge this fall for the inaugural East Texas Half Marathon.
It’s a place Willie Nelson has visited — he recorded his 2004 album Nacogdoches here — and where massive amounts of debris fell from the Space Shuttle Columbia when it broke up upon re-entry during its final, ill-fated return voyage home in 2003.
Lost Pines State Park near Bastrop, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Rutledge/flickr)
This being East Texas, it’s a place that features mostly flat terrain through a smallish city — just over 30,000 people live here — and where you’ll get the chance to run on a pretty PR-friendly course.
Get the full scoop on the East Texas Half Marathon here.
