This was my 3rd time running the Houston half marathon. I really enjoy the course through our downtown, River Oaks and West U area. It's flat, easy to navigate and there are plenty of spectators to cheer you on.

We got a race t-shirt and a finisher shirt, which was really nice. I also love the Houston double medal that they offer if you also run the 5k the day before the half.

There were a few areas of growth for the race:
1. Paying to park. You need to bring cash with you on race day to pay $20-$40 to park in a privately owned garage or lot around George R Brown. It's not the race management's fault as these are privately owned, but it's annoying.
2. The gatorade station at one marker was already being broken down before we got there and I'm a middle of the pack runner, but the rest of the water/gatorade stations were great.
3. The process to pick up our tshirt at the Expo seemed uncoordinated. There wasn't anyone directing people to fill in the empty lines as everyone naturally lined up along the Expo entrance. They could have had bags premade with shirts already folded in them.