2009 Houston Marathon

Another year, another marathon down! 2009 was my 5th finish in Houston & 6th overall marathon, but it was only the 2nd time I finished in under 5 hours! I actually felt great almost the entire race, despite the 70+ degree temperatures and blazing sun.

This is our neighborhood running gang- we had 6 of us running the full, which is quite a bit smaller than usual.

I ran the first 14 miles with my running buddy from the Rocky Raccoon Race earlier this year.

There are some nice scenic parts of the marathon- especially miles 3-12, which go through some fun neighborhoods with nice trees.

It’s much better after the half-marathoners turn off & the crowd thins out considerably.

It’s a mostly flat course, and the biggest hill is this giant over-pass. It’s the not-so-scenic part of the run….

Nor is this part, where you run along a major interstate and between a sound wall. It’s only about a mile & then we head back into the swanky parts of town.

I felt great & ran quite a bit the last 6 miles. It always feels so good to turn that last corner & see the finish line.

You can see me on the far right just under the banner.

This is the first place I landed after standing for about 6 hours! I needed to rest, drink and wait for my hubby to come find me.

After getting on some more comfortable shoes & a dry shirt, I was anxious to head home & get rested before our big trip to DC that night!