January has been a busy month for long distance runners in San Marcos and around the area. Almost every weekend there was a long distance race for runners to travel to and run. Some of them have been in very cold weather, and others have been perfect for nice runs.

On January 5th, the Bandera 25K Trail Run (about 15 miles) was held; and Elizabeth Wills ran a nice 3:01:26 followed by Sheila Torres-Blank in 3:08:23. Eva Sanders ran a 4:45:20 and Deb Burley came across in 5:08:24. Woody Stallings ran the 100K Trail Run (62 miles) in 12:43:35.

Then on January 6th, the ARA 10-Mile Lost Creek Loop in Austin had Randall Wood finishing 3rd in his age group with a time of 1:43:38.

The 10-mile run was a short distance for those who chose not to run the ARA “Run Hard, Live Easy” 30K (18.6 miles). Opting to run the long distance was Teresa Medina in 3:45:22, Elma Minor in 3:51:55, Charlene Martinez in 4:08:18 and Laura Mason in 4:09:06.

The following week, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon found Krista Betzing running across in 1:56:53, Randall Wood in 1:57:34, Brenna Salinas in 2:04:27, Teresa Medina in 2:29:32, Laura Mason in 2:36:01 and Charlene Martinez ran in at 2:59:50.

Those who chose the full Chevron Houston Marathon (26.2 miles) included Doug Framke in a fast 2:48:12 and Tim Bayliss in 2:58:41. Mark Brendalen ran in at 4:10:26, Sharon Eads in 4:58:02 and Liesela Austin in 5:04:54. The full marathon had 5,591 entrants, so that race was a great crowd. To put it into perspective, notice that Liesela Austin finished in just over 5 hours and still beat over 1,000 runners to the finish.

Last Saturday on January 19, the River Road 12-Mile Run in New Braunfels was run along the river for an out-and-back, very scenic run. The weather was quite cold, as I was there to hand out entry forms for the ARA - Moe’s Better Half Marathon and the “Speak Up For Kids” CASA 5K Fun Run. The run had 114 finishers, as several runners turned back early from the cold weather and headed for the hot chocolate and sausage to warm up. Randall Wood came in 3rd overall and was the Masters Champion with a time of 1:21:26. Diana Esparza ran a 2:02:27, Teresa Medina crossed in 2:14:50 and Laura Mason ran a 2:16:50 for the run.

You may notice several names appearing in every long race held in January. That is quite a feat to run a long distance race every weekend; and I bet they will be running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin this Sunday also.

The advantage is that the weather in January has been from cool to cold; and that helps long-distance runners finish and not have to worry about overheating as they do when the weather warms up. I am sure that the other end of that benefit is that they wore warm and comfortable clothes so that they didn’t get cold.

Several of the faster runners wore shorts, but had long-sleeved shirts and a hat on top to keep warm. For most of the runners, it was a pair of tights, long sleeves, and a hat; and some even wore gloves to keep the fingers warm. Whatever the wear, it helped them all finish the distance, and that alone is a good accomplishment.

After the 3M Half, the ARA - Moe’s Better Half Marathon will be held here in San Marcos at the Tanger Outlet Center on March 2nd. We expect to have close to 250 runners this year. Finishers for the Half Marathon will receive a ceramic coffee mug and a ball-point pen.

If you’re a runner and aren’t up to one of the long-distance challenges, the “Speak Up For Kids” CASA 5K Fun Run will be held the same day. Every runner in the 5K will receive a finisher’s medal and a nice shirt. Either race is well worth the time and effort to run. All proceeds go to CASA for their work with abused children and the Kiwanis Club for scholarships to local students.