Monday, January 14, 2013

Weekend Fun ~ Chevron Houston Marathon

Oh boy, what a long week last week and an even longer weekend.  I was out in Chicago for work all last week and went straight from there to Houston. My sister is the Communications Manager for the Houston Marathon.


There were a total of 4 races this weekend, double that if you count men's and women's separately. It was a great weekend and I enjoyed being able to help my sister and get a better idea of her job.  There was a lot of work, a little bit of sleep and some fun mixed in there.


The Hilton where we stayed was the official hotel of the Chevron Houston Marathon.  It was connected to the GRB convention center.  The staff marathon sported t-shirts all weekend.  It was a great touch.  These bellhops were more then happy to pose for a picture.


We tried to get as much set on Saturday night as possible.  This directly interfered with our plan to be in bed by 9pm.  I feel like the clock went from 8 to midnight in 10 minutes.  


Only in Texas would the winners of the marathon get these awesome cowboy hats!


Of course I had to try it on, I don't think it looks to bad.  I may have to get me one of these real deal hats!


And if the marathon winners get hats, that would of course mean the first man and woman to cross the line for the half-marathon score this fantastic belt buckle.  



The level of organization by the race staff was very impressive.  There was no shortage of potties, and that's extra TP in front of each group of port-o-pots.  Genius!   



The reunion area for the finishers was inside the convention center.  This worked out well because it was rainy, cold and windy the morning of the race.  This gave the runners a warm dry place to meet their family and friends once they crossed the finish line.  


It is a common practice for runners to post a pic of their race day gear to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.  This was what I had for the day plus a jacket and pants of course.  It was chilly, especially once the AC kicked on.  


This was on Sunday morning (5am) clearly I was not awake yet.  I don't remember feeling this pissed off, I hope people knew it was just early.  That's Glenn next to me, he was the announcer in the press room.  I didn't take a picture of the room set up, but that is where I spent most of the day Saturday and all day Sunday.  



Had to be out of our room by 2pm.  Vic was still writing the winner's press release.  So I had to pack up all out stuff and get it to the Concierge.  In case you have trouble, that is 2 carry on roller bags, 2 totes, 1 smaller bag, a backpack, a winter coat and a pair of Hunter wellies.  It was an adventure getting all that downstairs by myself.  

I didn't realize I don't have any pics from the race itself or one with my sis.  I will work on race photos.  This was her first year at working for the marathon, in face she only started there in September.  I think she did an awesome job and can only imagine what she will come up with for next year, having been through one now, to make it even better.  

What's the longest you have ever run for a race?




No comments:

Post a Comment