It's going to busy Sunday in Houston this weekend with a record field of just over 25,000 runners who are now getting ready for 37th running of the Chevron Houston Marathon and eighth-annual Aramco Houston Half Marathon.
For the fourth year in a row the race has sold out early.
"The interest and support we receive from the running community is incredible," said Race Director Brant Kotch. "We have experienced tremendous growth over the past seven years, transforming an already successful event into a must-run race weekend for runners from across the country and around the world."
According to ABC13:
"The events attained their combined limit of 18,000 runners - 8,229 for the marathon and 9,771 for the half marathon - just 16 weeks after registration opened. With fields in excess of 4,000 runners for the EP5K and 3,000 for the Texas Children's Hospital Kid's Race, combined participation in the Chevron Houston Marathon weekend races will top 25,000 runners for the first time in the events history.
Thousands of race participants will arrive on the starting line to run for personal accomplishment and to help others through the event's Run for a Reason charity program. Over the past 14 years, runners have raised over $9 million through pledges and donations for dozens of charities associated with the program. In 2008, Run for a Reason participants generated a record $1.2 million for 45 nonprofit organizations, and fund raising is expected to approach $1.5 million this year."