If you live in Austin and you're a runner, chances are you've run 3M. Billed as "Downhill to Downtown" it touts a fast course. This is rare in Austin where hills are all around! That being said, there are some little hills (the biggest one at mile 9) but the net elevation overall is downhill which makes this a fast course.

For 2019, the 3M Half Marathon happened to fall on the same day as the Houston Marathon (and Half Marathon). Houston is known to be flat and fast. 3M is known to be slightly downhill. I've done both and I like 3M better! :)

SWAG! A sponsor like 3M= really cool, unusual swag! Like tape, and shipping tape, and Post-Its, etc. Just really neat non-running swag and a lot of it! Seriously great swag! T-shirt was Under Armour as they sponsor this race too and its actually something you could wear that's cute!

The award for the top three per age group was sweet. A beautiful plaque that sits upright with "25th" anniversary and capital skyline.

All in all, a great prep race for a spring marathon or in general a fun race to do in Austin. If you have to pick between 3M or the Austin Half Marathon by far, pick 3M!

For the 2018 race, this race was a debacle. The ENTIRE race was run the wrong way. Yes, you read that correctly. No one guided us runners or informed us that we turned right out of the gate when we should have turned left. So, in the words of another runner there, this was a "make your own 5k". No course direction to inform you of the course or signage to tell you where to go. I ended up running about 3.6 miles.

Normally for a small 5K, this is not a big deal but when a race is sponsored by Women's Health and Cooking Light magazines, you expect more. Plus the winning prize was worth over $3,000- a trip for the top female and male to the Cayman Islands to run the marathon there. So, by having bad course management, no course signage, I ran the race backwards, off course twice, and was not able to race it fast to win this top prize. If you are going to have a race with such high value prizes, there needs to be timing chips at every mile to verify mileage of winners and the course needs to be clear.

Race management addressed the situation after the race with an email and promised that next year this would not happen. For 2018, the race was in Mueller Park, and they said likely for 2019 it will be in Round Rock. So I think changing the course so that it is not on a park pathway will vastly improve this race.

Overall, a fuming race to run because of the poor course and course management. The only plus was the after race expo which was fun and had a ton of booth and freebies.

This race was a debacle. Instead of running right out of the gate, due to no signs and no volunteers, the entire race was run the wrong way! By the time us in the front figured this out, it was too late. Totally off course. A big debacle. Hopefully in 2019 they will get their act together. But if it’s in Mueller Park, pick another race. Paths too tight to race a 5K, especially in some parts with both directions on the same section of path.

The London Marathon was an amazing experience!! The crowds!! The people! It was jammed with cheers throughout the whole race. So much to see and experience that you never got bored once! Worth the trip! For 2018, it was hot. Hotter than you anticipated I think for all. As an American, there was little things too that were different than when running in the states. Such as the water was given in small flip top water bottles, not cups. Only one station on the course was cups. The flip top bottles were nice though! I didn’t try their version of Gatorade (Lucozade) and stuck to my GU gels. My only advice to organizers would be to make the water station signs more prominent (they were white branded with the water company logo) but they got easily overlooked versus a bright color. And the signage for any medical tent was awful. Thankfully no need for me to use them, but I really didn’t see any med tent signage. Be prepared for the first miles being super crowded even if you are up in front. Slower first miles. Be careful with center street medians too. I saw one man fall hard because he tripped the center street dividers which were somewhat frequent on the streets. The race did a nice job of painting a dotted blue line which was the official course route for elites to follow and that helped me a lot to look down and know which side of the road I need to follow. All in all, a fun, high energy race, and a great experience. Not necessarily a PR race though due to the crowds.

I thought Houston was a well oiled machine. Super organized and a fast, flat course which can sometimes be hard to find in Texas. It was cold this year, 36 degrees that morning, and last year was in the upper 60s and humid. So the weather can go up or down but for a January race, its a great option. Lots of Elite and great starting corrals. Most people do the half, and then the marathoners continue on after the course splits at mile 7. Hardest part about Houston is that you have to train over the holidays as the race falls on the second or third weekend in January. Overall a great, fast course! Not scenic and few crowds, but...for a big city marathon, its really well done and did a mention, flat? :)