Houston Rodeo Run 10K

Saturday B and I ran in the Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run. B ran the 5K and I ran the 10K. We ran the 5k last year and it was the first one we had ever done and really enjoyed it so decided to do it again this year. Last year I ran the 5K in a very speedy 44 minuts :) this year I ran the 10K in 1:01.30 which is a new PR for the 10K. My goal was to finish in an hour but I didn't really factor in the hills I would struggle through going over the viaduct, so considering that I'm very happy with my time.

B ran the 5K in 33:59. Not bad since he only started running again a couple of weeks ago and had been suffering from shin splints this week. I'm so proud of him!

Very foggy when we first arrived. It was also pretty warm considering it's February (humid at about 70 degrees) It's a point to point race with the start in downtown and the finish at Minute Maid park. We parked close to the ballpark and then walked (less than a mile) to the start. The 10K started at 9:35 and the 5K at 9:45.

runners in Alice in Wonderland costumes

The run starts off the beginning of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo parade. All of the floats were lined up behind the corrals of runners. Since the run is HUGE (about 15,000 people) we arrived about an hour early and walked around and looked at the floats.

The crowd is crazy at the beginning because everyone is there getting ready for the parade and around mile 2 it thins out a little bit.

At mile 3 we started going over the viaduct and that was pretty tough. It's about a mile of steep rolling hills (steep for me considering I hardly ever run hills), and then a big loop and we headed back over the viaduct and back towards Minute Maid park where the finish line was.

It's a good race, very well organized, and lots of good people watching which is my second favorite sport.