Houston Lottery

Houston Marathon lottery selection process is complete.

Who's in?

I'm in by virtue of my membership in Houston Area Road Runners Association and completing 4 or less Houstons'.

When we signed up for the lottery, you could sign up as a group where everyone in the group is either in or no one is. We signed up as individuals and we both made it in.

I didn't get in, but entering probably would have helped my odds.

Matt W wrote:

I didn't get in, but entering probably would have helped my odds.

I am in! Good thing, too, since I am my son's ride over there. He had a qualifying time and has been in.

I am in for the 1/2...I can't wait!

I'm in! Can't wait to party with all the cool kids in Houston

I'm in - early registration by way of a qualifying time in a half marathon (by 18 seconds).

I'm running the full, hopefully.

I'm in for the half! Looking for a HUGE PR!

Yeah Yeah!

I am not...good luck to all that are running...

Has anyone booked their hotel yet? I honestly didn't expect to get in, so I really haven't looked into any of the logistics yet. Suggestions? Places to avoid? What is most convenient for race day?

Colleen wrote:Has anyone booked their hotel yet? I honestly didn't expect to get in, so I really haven't looked into any of the logistics yet. Suggestions? Places to avoid? What is most convenient for race day?

Most convenient = Downtown = Most expensive.

Avoid the bad spots of town.

I reserved a downtown hotel room weeks ago when I did early registration. There were only two that still had availability for the three nights I'm staying in Houston.

I am at the Inn at the ball park. Ken said the start line is right in front.

The hotels listed on the marathon website are mostly showing no availability. Do not believe it.

Some of those hotels set aside a block of rooms for the marathon and the rooms in that block are sold out. Find a hotel and call them directly.

The one I wanted to stay at said sold-out, I called, they still had rooms and are even honoring our corporate rate for the weekend.

The place Jerry is staying is very very close and I don't think it is one of the official hotels. It was so close I used its lobby restrooms for my final potty stop.

I agree not to believe they are all sold out. But there are enough downtown hotels not listed that you ought to be able to find one. I had a back up reservation (long story) at the Hyatt last year that I got pretty last minute. The Hyatt isn't one of the closest, but it is comfortably close and is nice.

ChasMcG wrote:I'm in for the half! Looking for a HUGE PR!

Yeah Yeah!

OMG...I finally get to meet the infamous CHAS!!!!!

Colleen wrote:Has anyone booked their hotel yet? I honestly didn't expect to get in, so I really haven't looked into any of the logistics yet. Suggestions? Places to avoid? What is most convenient for race day?

The Inn at the Ballpark is very close but it is a bit pricey....the Hilton Americas is right next to the convention center where everything takes place but again it is pricey. I believe the Hyatt (Liz is talking about) is close and not a bad price. I haven't stayed in any of the other hotels downtown before so I can't comment on those. But do what Tim suggests and call the hotel directly, more times than not they still have rooms available even if the website says they don't.

Joel H wrote:

ChasMcG wrote:I'm in for the half! Looking for a HUGE PR!

Yeah Yeah!

OMG...I finally get to meet the infamous CHAS!!!!!

Oh goodness the pressure is on! I think it was Natalie that told me "I had you pictured so different". I can't remember now what that meant or if that was even a good thing hahaha

Can't wait though! You've always been one of my favorites!

ChasMcG wrote:

Joel H wrote:

ChasMcG wrote:I'm in for the half! Looking for a HUGE PR!

Yeah Yeah!

OMG...I finally get to meet the infamous CHAS!!!!!

Oh goodness the pressure is on! I think it was Natalie that told me "I had you pictured so different". I can't remember now what that meant or if that was even a good thing hahaha

Can't wait though! You've always been one of my favorites!

No pressure Chas...you are, who you are and we love you for it!

I'm in for the half, but I had a qualifier. Glad to see that lots of us will be there.

We get to celebrate my first race as a Grand Master!

And, Colleen, I'm staying at a Doubletree near all the other downtown hotels.

Colleen wrote:Has anyone booked their hotel yet? I honestly didn't expect to get in, so I really haven't looked into any of the logistics yet. Suggestions? Places to avoid? What is most convenient for race day?

Colleen,
There are some good hotels around the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB), which is ground zero for everything related to the race. LizR stayed at the Four Seasons, Ken Mello stayed at the Magnolia, Inn at the Park is very near the start line and a couple of blocks from the GRB. The Hilton Americas is the closest as it is attached by skyway to the GRB. There's a Courtyard a few blocks from the GRB. A Hyatt is a few blocks more. The Doubletree is the furthest from the GRB, but is on the course at about mile 25.5.

I would go to the Marathon's website and get a feel for the hotels. But make your reservation this week! If you know your way around Houston, then you don't have to stay downtown.

If you're flying in and don't need a car, I would recommend flying into Bush IAH, which is on the north side of town. The good thing about flying into Bush is that the transit system, Metro (ridemetro.org), has a shuttle from Bush to downtown for $4.50 each way and it leaves every 30 minutes or so. I believe the bigger hotels will pick you up from the Metro Downtown Transit Station. Continental United Airlines is the major airline out of Bush.

Hobby Airport on the southeast side of town is a major hub for Southwest Airlines, or as we call it down here "The Cattle Car". There is no shuttle from Hobby, but there are cabs and rental cars, just like at Bush.

If we all want to get together for a Saturday lunch, we could probably go to the restaurant we went to back in January. I could even take a few on a course tour, if there's interest. I'll be volunteering at the Olympic Trials on one of the water stations. That'll be my only commitment.

It'll be fun.