Which is better for a first time marathoner?
I am a 1:17 half guy looking to break 3 hours.
Which is better for a first time marathoner?
I am a 1:17 half guy looking to break 3 hours.
Austin marathon is very hilly. If you have not trained on hills, Austin is going to set you back a couple of minutes timewise. Woodlands has very gently rolling hills, but is generally a flat course and can be fast.
If you need a good pack of runners to get under 3, Austin will have bigger numbers. Woodlands will have a decent number of sub 3 paced runners, but there is a decent chance that you could spend a lot of the race on your own with no one in sight in front of you if you are shooting for 2:55 or better.
Woodlands course is all through the burbs with a few miles in the "town center". There will be long stretches of the course with very few people out watching. Austin's course takes you through some more interesting parts of the city (SoCo, UT, Capitol building, downtown, east side) and you will see more spectators along the way.
Weather in the Woodlands can be pretty unpredictable. It can be very warm and can also be very windy as cold fronts/warm fronts are very active that time of year. Same can be true in Austin, although it tends to be dryer and a bit cooler than around Houston.
Austin will be more expensive. Hotels are expensive and there are almost no direct flights.
If you are just looking for the best course to run fast and do not care about all the other marathon experience stuff, the Woodlands is a good race for that. If you do not have a problem with some hills and want more of a big marathon experience, Austin is the better race.
Where do you live, and have you been to both places?
I don't live in Texas but we have friends in Woodlands.
I ran Woodlands last year. It was nice enough, weather was great. Kind of feels like a large suburban marathon. I was around 2:50, and there were just a couple of other runners to work with at that pace. Then there's the merge with Half Marathon at that pace, which is either is helpful to give you something to think about or slightly frustrating but there is plenty of room to pass. Also, my family, with little kids, was easily able to see me at the middle and the end.
Austin is a better town. It's a couple weeks earlier if that makes a difference for training. Austin generally will have more fast runners to work with, more energy and more to do. I have not run the race, but have volitionally visited Austin for fun and would do so again.
Depends on if you want that bigger racing excitement as motivation for your goal, or want something more chill. For my younger self and most first-timers, I'd probably go with the big-city experience. Good luck!
Austin is fairly hilly and I wouldn't recommend for a first timer / anyone going after a certain time goal. The full is also small which means you won't have a lot of company on the road.
Do the Woodlands and enjoy the flatness of the Houston area.