Houston Half Marathon - Race Recap 2024

[@matthewsingh151]

Congratulations, been a subscriber for maybe 4 or 5 years now, switching between bouts of casual and more serious running, got my first half marathon in the books later this year, love the inspiring content.

[@kofuzi]

good luck with your training!

[@tonykung1755]

Houston Marathon is the best! Flat as pancakes, well organized, and almost perfect weather every time! I've run Houston 3 time and 2 of them are my best marathon times. You should run the full marathon next time!

[@greenzza]

“Some uphills at the start of the race”. That 14 ft of elevation gain was brutal😂

[@kofuzi]

I see you've played knifey spooney before

[@willtatum3497]

Got a 3:49 for my second marathon here! Awesome to share the course with you! It was a great day at an awesome course. The post marathon message is class.

[@RoORou]

I must say, i love the path project shorts. I’m a type 1 diabetic and carry an insulin pump in my shorts when running. It’s always a struggle to carry the pump and gels because we are limited with space! I don’t like belts and I don’t like the clip on the pump so the path project shorts work great for me. For non diabetics they are also super comfortable. The fabric is best I’ve ever worn in a pair of shorts over the Mara distance.

[@kofuzi]

Glad to hear they work for you!

[@Martha-fluterunner]

Another congrats. A lot of topics resonated with me. I’ve shifted to taking 3 gels/ hr on my LR’s and the long races, tolerating it fine and feeling it’s helping me a lot. Also re: overdoing the socializing, it’s so hard in a major marathon weekend like Boston to curb the multitude of fun events. I take Lyft even though I could walk from our hotel (borderline distance for that), and I only do one shakeout run but go to several for the meetup aspect. The rest is dealing with the mental excitement and I try to get back to the hotel to rest most of the afternoons and all the evenings.

[@chrisgore77]

I also ran the half - much slower, but I was there. I heard others alongside me on the half get confused at the 20 mile sign. Really awesome recap - thank you for the detail!

[@zackbelcher3896]

Houston is one of the best organized races out there

[@chuckwavra8832]

Mike, thanks for the fueling tips, I'll use them for the Miami Half next weekend. Congrats on your Houston PB! 👏

[@snowwalker9999]

You made me nostalgic. I lived in Houston for about ten years. That’s where I started to run. Congrats on your PR! 🥇 🏃‍♂️ 👍

[@thesleevedsinger]

Thank you! Always thorough and absolutely LOVE how vulnerable you are with when you're hurting and pushing, letting us all know that even YOU work hard for your goals. Thanks for being inspiring! Hope to see you in 2024 in Bmore!

[@paulogryzek4740]

Great job, man! Super great run. You dug deep and had great strategy.

[@axlrosea675]

Great time, well done, Michael!

[@kenfox7007]

That's a fantastic time, well done!

[@cchungy]

Crushed it!!

[@kofuzi]

thanks Chris!

[@Vo2maxProductions]

Congrats! You know when I made my prediction (1:24:40) I didn't take into account you having to carry the GoPro and stick for the whole race....so 1:25:low is pretty close 😉 Enjoy the new PB!

[@kofuzi]

thanks Sage!

[@macau.friend]

Only in America and maybe a few other countries would one see markers in both KM and miles, I guess, complicating things a bit. Anyway, congrats and can’t wait for the new Kofuzi hat to come out.

[@motivationtheoryrunning]

Those race gremlins get in your head and try to "help you" lol. In ultras those guys try to take over the whole show for hours upon hours! Way to push through them!

[@Pheelip]

When I got into running I didn’t have a shoe rotation. Thank you bro with suggestions like the Nimbus 25 and Novablast 3. I’ve watched your older videos till now. I feel like I’m where you were 7 years ago vlogging. I just finished my first 10k yesterday in the Vapor Fly 3. My next goal is to run a half Marathon in Cambodia. I have you to thank for with such clutch tips. Congratulations on your Half Marathon PB!

[@kofuzi]

congratulations on your 10k!

[@jonathanwatkins447]

Amazing race. Well done.

[@Fuerza_Athlete_Josh]

Crushed it out there! Great running 👏🏼 also really like how you talked about the debate your brain goes through when pushing it. All you can do is keep pushing to not spiral and get as much energy from the crowd like you did.

[@CallMeSink]

Congrats on your PR! I ran the Full Marathon in Houston (my first ever!) And hit my goal of sub 4:20. It was a beautiful day and amazing crowds!

[@ericadavis4408]

Congratulations!!

[@zarnyk6]

I PR’d the marathon that day at 3:57 so great conditions all around. Agree that the event was chill and enjoyed it. Great recap! I heard you were there but never stumbled across you. Great job and good luck on your spring marathon!

[@kofuzi]

great job on the PR!

[@darylbickford]

Another great race recap! Congrats on the PR! Always motivated after watching your videos. Helps me stay in the game while training for London.

[@averagerunner_]

It was really interesting to hear about your nutrition approach leading up to the race! Congratulations! As usual love your work!

[@geertrombaut9336]

Congrats with this PB Mike! Great way to start 2024. 💪🦵

[@disarp]

Love these detailed recaps, Kofuzi! Have watched your Tokyo recaps and race videos 100+ times to keep me motivated to take the race on this year. It'll be my first international one and have been nervous of running a marathon in a completely foreign environment

[@AA-mm6wu]

Congrats! That race looks like a really nice race to do. I’ve always been afraid of doing any Texas races because of the heat, but this seems totally doable. I’ll be sure to put this on my list. Maybe a spring run you can always do is the Colfax Half/Full Marathon. 😊

[@mabey1]

Great time and shout out to the lady you finished with, she was strong in each clip.

[@ericAblair1903]

Dude, awesome race! Congratulations 🎉

[@Run_Farah_Run]

I was in Corral A, but the VERY back of it. It was so great, it’s super chill and spaced out in the back and very easy to catch up to pace. Corral B doesn’t start until a bit longer. Definitely recommend it next time, especially if not running with a pacer! Congrats again, Mike!

[@kofuzi]

thanks Farah!

[@ColinBloodworth]

Great work, homie. Always appreciate watching your recaps. I had a 5k this weekend and had to cancel bc of some ugly weather. Couldn't even fly out. Can't wait to snag that new Non Elite cap!

[@kofuzi]

hope you are staying safe out there, Colin!

[@matthewvitale1432]

Congrats on the PR! It was great meeting you after the race. 🚀

[@kofuzi]

Great to meet you too!

[@manriquehernandez1197]

I ran the full marathon, but I wish I could have met you. I love your videos, I always come here to this channel to see a shoe review.

[@PeterChee]

I like your self talk explanation and how you talk yourself through those thoughts. Great job with this recap and with your race!

[@kofuzi]

thanks Peter!

[@KelvinPan]

Great seeing you again at the Houston shakeout run. I like hearing the last segment of this video about the carbs you had the two days leading up to the race.

[@kofuzi]

I've never been great about carb loading. I tried to be a bit more intentional this time.

[@evadmit]

thanks for the informative and inspiring video! Waiting for the cap launch !

[@kofuzi]

Thanks! Coming soon!

[@M4SiiiiiiiiiiK]

I only found your channel last year, in the middle of my first year back into running. You inspired me to push myself and run a personal half marathon close to the end of the year (2: 06)! Thank you for the constant inspiration and race recaps + coverage from events. You’re one of my favorite runners and content creators. Cheers and congrats on the PB🎉!

[@Deadbuck73]

I love your recaps! You give so much detail I feel like I’m there. You’re such a great presenter! Congratulations on the achievement! You work so hard and to take us along?! You’re amazing Sir! Thank you 🙏 and Congrats again!

[@kofuzi]

Thanks DB!

[@kimdecker8901]

Really comprehensive, helpful and well-presented rundown! I learned stuff! And I appreciate it! Kofuzi, you done a good deed jn making this, and you ran an AWESOME race! Hats off!

[@Mattwongg]

Congrats on the PR! Tafari is a beast of a runner

[@derekdamon4753]

“If you slow down by 10 seconds per mile” I know that demon so well. 😂

[@kofuzi]

😈

[@LuffLab]

Congrats! Excellent point on the carbs, a half marathon is tempo-ish so greater and more frequent carbs probably helped you a lot.

[@Manuel-901]

Congratulations Mr. Kofuzi. You did it. Like from Spain 🇪🇸. Cheers.

[@kofuzi]

thank you!

[@TorresAbbeyR]

Been watching you for a while now. Your review on the CIM course helped me a lot when i ran it last year. I'm running Tokyo this year, so i started watching your review on that too. Btw, i screamed your name on mile 5.5 during your Houston Half race. 😂 Glad to see you in person.

[@ardkf]

Congratulations on your pb! I hope you can make more video about fueling for the race, especially for people that will have first time race and had no clue on how to properly fueling like me 😁

[@kofuzi]

thanks so much Leona!

[@alfdickinson1971]

Absolutely smashed it-Leg'd! 6*6 is definitely gonna be a staplr for my Great North Run Half PB attempt in Sept-massive WELL DONE!

[@kofuzi]

have fun with it!

[@JV-jf6qv]

Great recap. Ran this last year. My gels fell out of my pocket. I had to use the Gatorade gels they were handing out. They really messed me up when I took one around mile 8. 😢

[@DiscoStu1970]

Congrats on PR!!! 🎉

[@kofuzi]

thanks!

[@neely4606]

Great recap! I ran the full, and I'd agree that the hills were even less than anticipated. And the course is much straighter than other Marathons I've run. That made it easy to get in a rhythm. And the sun did rise, but I also thought there were more trees and buildings to provide cover than other races I've done. The bottleneck after the finish was my only complaint. 3:15 marathon, and it took about 20 minutes to get from the finish to the tshirt area. That was frustrating.

[@seegee_01]

The race logistics in Houston are top notch!

[@kofuzi]

it's really quite impressive

[@kylekermgard]

You should come race a marathon in Colorado this year 😊

[@kofuzi]

I am particularly susceptible to altitude. a marathon in Colorado sounds painful

[@yakiweiss546]

You are an inspiration as always, well done🎉

[@mnlw1363]

I PRed at the Houston Half in 2023-love that one

[@kofuzi]

A great course

[@RamrodSmothers]

Congrats on your PR and thanks for the detailed breakdown. I’m new to running and absolutely love your content and the vibe of the Kommunity! You guys are all very inspirational and I’ve learned a ton watching the videos and lurking in the comments of your channels. This really gets me excited to keep building my base fitness and hopefully try a half marathon later in the fall. A big thank you to you and everyone here for the invaluable information and inspiration

[@kofuzi]

welcome to running!

[@andread.s.8519]

Congratulations, great work! These detailed recaps are great

[@kofuzi]

thanks for watching!

[@enriquerincon3827]

I ran the full marathon , nice to see you at the starting line and congratulations on your PR .

[@kofuzi]

thanks!

[@bsmoov7]

You definitely would have felt there were hills in the marathon route. At first I was trying to figure out what hill you were referring to lol. Marathon has like 3 rollers that are the size of the downhill you mentioned and one bridge at mile 13. It’s pancake flat with a few hiccups

[@kofuzi]

I ran the marathon course in 2020. That bridge was tough

[@RUN_RGB]

Good job Mike!

[@Between2aidstations]

Congrats and awesome race breakdown 🎉

[@saytani]

Awesome work on achieving a PB for your half marathon!

[@kofuzi]

Thanks!

[@chriscallahan4195]

Awesome content and great journey.

[@GJuu-jd3vv]

Awesome job! Congrats on the new PB! Was thinking for next video content considering Olympic qualifying race in Orlando, maybe a fun activity is to analyze those high profile athlete’s Strava training plan and predict their target race time.

[@cmo3]

Congratulations to you, Michael. You put in the work.

[@slitherzither]

Congrats on your PR! I was a volunteer on the course at the at the 9k marker and recognized you as you ran by 😀. I'll be out there running the full next year.

[@stevemckellar4978]

Great run and great review!

[@Supafloppy]

Absolutely awesome Kofuzi. 🎉 Massive work and a phenomenal pb. Thank you for covering your race pre and post. Additionally thank you for mentioning your nutrition strategy. Science In Sport seems to be the one. 💪

[@fantaflesdopke]

Always a pleasure to watch your race (weekend) recaps! Congrats on the PR, pretty sure you can shave off another couple of minutes 😉 On a perfect day, fast course and perhaps with a companion on a bicycle filming instead of yourself with the GoPro? Keep it up, Ko!

[@kofuzi]

I feel like there’s still head room to run faster. I certainly worked hard during this buildup, but I don’t feel like I quite reach peak fitness ahead of the race.

[@johnurizarii7058]

Great job Micheal! Me being done with high school football I have found hybrid training of heavy lifting and running miles has been a good place to fill that for me. Got my first 5k in February

[@kofuzi]

good luck with your race! have fun!

[@bubkabubka]

King of spades!

[@mateuszmrowiec4265]

Congratulations!!🎉

[@LuisBecerra79]

Yo, what’s going on!!! Congrats again Ko 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@kofuzi]

yo Luis!

[@december25guy]

Can’t wait to get that hat!!!

[@wilfredo-teyrosalesfotos]

Great job out there cousin Ko and I hope to catch you again with my camera soon. Also good luck getting into London!

[@kofuzi]

Great to finally meet in person Wilfredo!

[@marshallritter1816]

Congrats!! I was also in that race and also got a PR. That wind going up Montrose Blvd sucked tho.

[@kofuzi]

That wind hurt

[@Leeroy49]

Congratulations :) I want that time one day :).

[@sun.2801]

Makes me want to run Houston! Looks like a great race.

[@MaijaKuittinen]

What about fuelling before the start when it´s that early, do you or others go to starting line with empty stomach? And congratulations on PB!

[@kofuzi]

I had a couple granola bars. One when I woke up and one while waiting in the convention center. Great question.

[@gavinbruce-thegreyrunner5581]

Brilliant video and run as usual. One thing I noticed: the Pro Evo upper looks very lose/sloppy? Might be just the angle.

[@kofuzi]

It’s quite minimal. Almost no structure. The last is snug in the toes but the fit works for me as a race shoe

[@JohnBirtchetSharpe]

Hate the use of cups, but gatorade provision is a nice in US races , helps with a carbs and electrolyte provision. Note in the UK its plastic water bottles with fixed bottle caps for recycling, so ensure you factor that in with your fueling for April.

[@kofuzi]

great tip!

[@philortman8139]

I'll have to put this race on my list. As for your Spring Marathon, maybe consider joining me at Carmel (Indy) in April? I think Floberg enjoyed his experience last year.

[@kofuzi]

Interesting 🤔

[@lorenceckk]

Hey nice recap! Like always like your videos😉 wondering if you can share about the shirt you wearing, dig the “K♠️” very much here😊

[@kofuzi]

It’s from Kore

[@TimothyKavanaugh-d6o]

love the vids, fellow chicagoan here. What watch do you use for the heart rate and pace?

[@lfcamerican4366]

Janji trail tight is one of the greatest garments in existence.

[@KevinGreenMedia]

Have you considered running the OKC Memorial Marathon? It is on April 28 this year.

[@Matt_Kraczon]

Congratulations on the PR and great break down on the race (as always) BUT how was the coffee situation at the hotel??

[@kofuzi]

keurig 👍

[@KingdomArmor]

Question- for the people starting the race in the last corral I assume they cross the start line well after the gun. Does their time start when the gun goes off or when they pass the start line triggered by a microchip of some sort?

[@kofuzi]

there is a timing chip in the bib and then mats that register when the chip crosses

[@NotSoOrdinaryGamer]

that elevation profile might be an issue taking into account the overpass, congrats on the PB!

[@philribbins]

Great run. Just a question on nutrition. A couple of years ago I also did a PR of 1:25 aged 52 taking well over 3 minutes of my last best. One of the things I did that year was switch to a Keto diet, so no carbs and no race gels, only water. This approach is gaining a lot of traction for ultra runners, have you considered this also? Thanks and well done again, love the channel 👍

[@kofuzi]

I have not considered keto. It reminds me of the time Beau Miles made a video about running an ultra on only canned beans

[@kloun1980]

First- congrats and thank you for always talking up my city. Its a very underrated runnjng city. Second- this isn't you, as you are responsible and use a GoPro But i was in corral A as well.. and the high number of people with their phones out looking through the screen eecording VS. Focusing on the pavement was a little ridiculous. I almost triped on people at least 8 times at the start. If they want to record they should learn to hold the phone up and run or ho yoir route with an action cam.

[@ThRunninHub]

Congrats on the PR. Are you going to the Cheery blossom 10 miles this year, i will be racing the 5k there

[@kofuzi]

I love that race, but I'm not sure at this time

[@fabsterun]

Gonna need 2 of those hats .. pre-order starts when!!!?

[@kofuzi]

Soon

[@nocheapdopamine725]

I did my first half a couple months ago and had a kinda shitty day out there. This vid makes me want to go run another one rn tho lol

[@JustHall87]

Did they squeak like that the whole time? Congrats man :)

[@LiveLongLiveHappy]

Maybe a stupid question, but what causes you to dry heaving / vomit? After any race I'm just exhausted and need to just breathe, just interesting to see how other react and why??

[@kofuzi]

I have no idea

[@ricHCarboCarbea]

18:25 but 20 miles is more than 20k I did not understand that part. Anyway congratulations increíble videos.

[@chrisstjean1644]

In the marathon the 20 mile mark is at the entrance to Memorial park. The half marathon does not even come close to that route. I am also confused.

[@kofuzi]

you know what. now I'm not sure what I saw? I'm looking at the map now and you guys are right. perhaps it was the 40k marker? I distinctly remember a timing mat on the other side of the street

[@L_niel_1003]

Do you wear contact lenses for your runs?

[@kofuzi]

yes

[@ThePsants]

Pushing and shoving at the start of a marathon / half marathon is the definition of "dumb male energy" lol - appreciate your recap!

[@december25guy]

+51 likes while watchingggggg