Photo: Houston Parks Board - Brays Bayou Greenway
3) From all of our social runs comes our social events! In a city like Houston with so many events, activities, shows
, museums and things going on, meeting new friends from your running habits just might mean becoming active and meeting your new friends to attend all of the city's non-running activities and events too. Art events, galas, brewery nights, weekend festivals, culinary experiences, and so much more. It's all a part of the Houston lifestyle. Your circle of fun will increase just by running the miles on your training calendar. What's the saying? RUN, TACOS, REPEAT." Or if you prefer, "RUN, MARGARITAS, REPEAT."
4) With city taglines like "Houston Strong" and "Houston Inspired" it's no surprise to find a number of runs dedicated to supporting our very own local communities. We take pride in knowing we can support nonprofit organizations through our running, training and miles to make Houston a better place! In fact, the Chevron Houston Marathon, the best race event in the city (if I may say), supports 65 of our local nonprofit organizations through the Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason Program which encompasses charitable causes for many different human interests needs. To take part, all you need to do is run the Chevron Houston Marathon, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon or even the We Are Houston 5K presented by Aramco and Chevron to support one. All the while giving your miles more intention and becoming a Hero for your community.
5) If you ask anyone who lives here about the best places to Run in Houston, top on their list will undoubtedly be, Memorial Park. This 3 mile crushed-granite trail is lit and filled with other people running so you can feel safe even after dark. It is also well-shaded and has restrooms and water fountains along the way. And a recent upgrade is the addition of the newly paved asphalt track just north of the Tennis center, so you don't have to climb a fence to any high schools to get those Tuesday workouts in. I realize my optimism may be skeptical to some, but I'll tell you what, my running life in Houston has introduced me to so many aspects of this city, that either through races, events or social runs, one day I woke up and realized "I'm not a newbie anymore. I've seen at least 70% of this city on foot, through running. And in my opinion there's no better way to see a city than on foot.
6) Let's talk about earning those race medals and just the sheer number of running events around. In Houston we have races every weekend - and for everybody. Trail racing, road racing, fun runs, relays, charity runs, you name it. The options are endless and are YEAR ROUND. It might be a bit warm during the summer months, but that doesn't stop us! We're still out here running, and there is truly a race for you and your running buddies every weekend of the year. We'll be there and ready to take you to that fun after-run brunch or beer we're so fond of.
7) Adaptive athletes out there? Have no fear! Houston has got you covered too. You're an integral part of our running community, and we encourage each other to keep moving forward and challenging ourselves. The Chevron Houston Marathon has one of the largest adaptive programs proportionally of any major events, and our smaller local events welcome all athletes too. Many of our runners regularly run and support our local Achilles Houston chapter and Team Catapult that help athletes overcome adversity. These programs do a great job of involving our amazing run community so that we can help support them with their initiatives.
We are diverse. We are full of many different cultures. We welcome all abilities. We are Houston. And if I may, I'd like to tell you just once more. There is a place for everybody in Houston. Come run with us!
