Your guide to Houston marathon weekend

Race weekend is approaching, Houstonians.

Running the news: The 2023 Chevron Houston Marathon, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon and the We Are Houston 5K are Saturday and Sunday in downtown.

Why it matters: It's the city's largest single-day sporting event, with 33,000 participants among all three races and thousands of spectators.

👋 Editor Lindsey Erdody here with some tips for watching and running the race.

• I ran the half marathon last year and set a personal record, despite the near-freezing temperatures.
• I'm not mad at all that the forecast this year is showing much higher temps…

Tips for runners:

• Don't try to get your packet right when the expo opens on Friday. I made this mistake along with a bunch of other people, and the line I stood in stretched through almost the entire floor of the convention center. Another runner went the next day and got in and out quickly.
• Be prepared to walk a lot before the race. I felt like I zigzagged through all of downtown to get to my corral and then to get to the start line.
• If you're not in the first starting corral, don't stand in the ridiculously long bathroom lines. Once you start shifting up, there are port-a-potties within the corrals and no lines, at least in my experience.

Tips for spectators, as suggested by my cheering section last year:

• Track your runners on the marathon app.
• Plan your route and cheering stops ahead of time. (You can find maps here and road closures here.)

• Try to drive in one car to make parking easier.

Pro tip for everyone: Make brunch reservations for after the race. We went to Killen's of the Heights, and it was delightful.

The bottom line: Good luck to all runners — you trained for this and are ready — and to all the spectators — your support and dedication to get out of bed early, make entertaining signs and line the streets is very much appreciated.