Vintage Park Half Marathon

Welcome to the Vintage Park Half Marathon, the finale of the Bayou City Half Series.

Join us for the inaugural Vintage Park Half Marathon, now part of the Bayou City Half Marathon Series. The race includes distances for athletes of all ages and skill levels; half marathon, half marathon relay, 5k, and kids 1k.

All registrations include:

FREE high-resolution race photos
Custom event shirt at packet pickup
Custom race bib with b-tag for accurate timing and results (must be registered by 3/9/2017 for name inclusion on bib)
Custom finisher's medal for ALL distances
Complimentary parking
NO PROCESSING FEES!
Half marathon participants will also receive:

Choice of Finisher's HeadSweats hat or visor

Awards
Male & Female Overall:

Awards will given for 1st through 3rd for male and female Overall, Masters division, and Grand Masters division for the half marathon.

5k overall awards will be given to the 1st male and female Overall,  Masters division, and Grand Masters division. 

Male & Female Age Group:

Age group awards will be given three places deep (1st, 2nd, & 3rd) for male and female half marathon and 5k winners in the following categories:

14 & Under 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 & Over Relay:

Awards will be given to both relay team members that place in the top 3 of the following categories:

All male All female Mixed Kids 1k:

Age group awards will be given three deep (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) for boy and girls in the following categories:

7 & Under 8-9 10-12
Course

The Vintage Park Half Marathon course starts with a 4-mile loop that immediately takes athletes on an overpass and through the beautiful, shaded campuses of Lone Star College - University Park, Noble Energy and HP and back over the Tomball Parkway, Frome there, runners will complete two fast and flat 4.5 mile loops down tree-lined Vintage Park Preserve, winding back to the shopping area, where a spectacular finish line and post-race party await.

The course will be well marked, patrolled by police at all necessary intersections, lined with appropriate traffic control devices and signage and measured for accuracy. Mile markers in the form of large 20′ red teardrop flags will be placed every mile and there will be hydrations stations stocked with water and Gatorade at miles 1.25, 3, 4, 5.5, 6.5, 8, 9.5, 11 and 12.5. These hydration stations will also have two portable restrooms should you need them as well as LIVE music to help motivate you along the way. We will have Gu energy gels at the start and the half way point (6.5-miles) along with mini medical stations positioned at miles 6.5 and 11 as well as the finish line.

Once outside of the mall runners will always stay in the furthest right available lane keeping cones and traffic to their left. The cone line is what separates the vehicular traffic from the runners. Always stay to the right of the cones keeping them on your left. Most roadways will be 4 lanes with plenty of room. There are a few spots where it’s 2 lanes but those roads will be turned into temporary one way streets for cars giving runners an entire lane to themselves still. Be careful and pay attention.

5K COURSE:

The 5k starts at 7:45am, 1-hour after the start of the half marathon. The 5k uses the same start line as the half marathon but heads North (counterclockwise) the opposite way that the half started. The 5k also exits onto Katy Mills Blvd. immediately (completing less than a 1/2 loop of the outer mall loop).

Once off the mall’s main outer loop and on Katy Mills Blvd, the 5k runners follow the same path the half marathoners do while also staying in the far right curb lane (cones on their left). The first exception to this is that the 5k will turn right off the feeder one street earlier than the half marathon did but they will join back up with the main course on Market Place a very short distance later. The next/last exception is that when the course T’s at S Katy Fort Bend Road and Kingsland the 5k will turn RIGHT instead of left like the half marathon runners do. Once the 5k turns onto Kingsland it’s a short run to the right turn onto Prairie and then the finish line.

KIDS 1K COURSE:

The Vintage Park Kids K starts at 9:30am. Course details will be available soon.

Directions & Travel

Traffic coming off of SH-249 (Tomball Parkway) will head east on Louetta and turn right on Vintage Park Blvd. Parking will be avialable ...........

Vintage Park Blvd. will be closed at Vintage Park Preserve.......

Those entering from the west will be directed to park in the west lots while those entering from the east will be directed to park in the east lost. Depending on when you arrive parking in the east lots may not be closer than parking in the west lots. It all depends on arrival times and availability. We recommend arriving as early as possible.

Parking opens at 5am. Also remember there is no race day packet pickup.

Yellow arrows are entrances that will be open until 6am to help the follow of traffic wishing to park. At 6am we will beginning closing the entrances with yellow arrows on the map. By race start the only entrance left open to vehicles wishing to park will be the green entrance. All vehicles entering during this time will be directed to park in the east lots and walk around the south side of the mall. About 1/4-1/2 of a mile.

Handicap parking will be available on both the west side, near post race and on the south side near the start of the kids race making it available to those entering on either side.

Click here to download the parking map.

TRAVEL INFORMATION
We try to make all out-of-town athletes feel welcome and comfortable during their stay in Northwest Harris County and the surrounding Greater Houston area. Please stay tuned for information on lodging options as well as family-friendly activities in the area.

Event Schedule
Thursday April 6, 2017 TDB - Packet Pickup #1 @ TBD begins TBD - Packet Pickup #2 ends Friday April 7, 2017 TBD - Packet Pickup #2 @ TBD TBD - Packet Pickup #2 ends Saturday April 8, 2017 TBD - Packet Pickup #2 @ TBD TBD - Packet Pickup #2 ends Sunday April 9, 2017 - RACE DAY! 5:00am - Parking opens 6:40am - Announcement & Anthem at Start Line 6:45am - Vintage Park Half Marathon begins 7:40am - Announcement & Anthem for 5k at Start Line 7:45am - 5k begins 9:00am (approximate) - Awards Ceremony for 5k begins 9:30am - Kids 1k begins 10:00am (approximate) - Awards Ceremony for half marathon and kids 1k begins 11:00am - Race Site closes
Finish & Post Race

For the athletes:

Finisher's medals (all distances) Finisher's Headsweats hat or visor, selected at registration (half only) Professional announcer and name acknowledgement at the finish line Hot and cold food options provided by race sponsor restaurants, and other assorted snacks for a quick recovery Awards for top age group finishers

For everyone:

LIVE post race music Random giveaways Food trucks Kids entertainment including a rockwall, bounce houses, and bungee obstacle course Vendors with great runner gear and other giveaways

The list for both athletes and spectators will continue to grow. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with the latest information.

Pace Groups

The following pace groups will be available at the Vintage Park Half Marathon. To run with any of these pace groups please look for the large signs that will be mounted along the start chute and gather around your desired finish time. Pace team leaders will each carry a stick with balloons (as of now) and have the time clearly marked on the front and back of their clothing.

1:30:00 finish - 6:52/mile 1:45:00 finish - 8:00/mile 2:00:00 finish - 9:09/mile 2:15:00 finish - 10:18/mile 2:30:00 finish - 11:27/mile 2:45:00 finish - 12:35/mile 3:00:00 finish - 13:44/mile
Registration Info

EVENT DAY REGISTRATION
There is no event day registration or packet pickup. See the schedule for packet pickup dates and times.

REFUNDS
All entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. See our refund policy for details. 

Runners may defer their entry up to 1-year but will be charge $30 to do so. ALL DEFERRALS AND/OR DISTANCE CHANGES MUST BE SUBMITTED BEFORE MARCH 9, 2017. To defer your entry, please contact us using the "Contact this Race" link at the bottom of the page.

Spectators

We will be in contact with Vintage Park merchants to have their stores open early to have food and drink available for purchase. In addition, we may have a variety of food trucks available for spectators to purchase food and drink from at the Vintage Park Half Marathon Post Race Finish Festival. We will also have 2-3 ATMs at post race for your convenience. Please keep in mind that all food under the big tent is intended for athletes only as we have only ordered enough for runners that registered for the event. Spectators should not ask runners to get them food as they will only be permitted to get enough for themselves so that we have plenty for all participants.

Start Corral

The start corral will be located inside the shopping area, at a location TBD. Hip-high barricade fencing will line both sides of the corral from the start line all the way back to where the athletes enter. As each runner enters they will make their way up the corral gathering around the projected finishing time signs posted on the sides of the fencing. As a general rule of thumb the fastest runners should be in the front of the chute closest to the start line and runners should fill in from there based on their projected finishing times.

Time Limits

The Half Marathon course cutoff time is 3:16:30 (15:00/mile pace). The 5k Run course cutoff time is 1:00:00 (19:21/mile pace). Runners that do not cross the finish line within those times will be removed from the course and brought to the post race party. These cutoffs are necessary to preserve the flow of vehicular traffic and the future of the event.

Volunteers

Volunteers are an integral part of each of the events we produce. Our half marathons require 300+ volunteers for each race.

We have established a group donation program that reward groups of 10+ who complete their schedule shifts. For more information about the group donation program please visit, http://www.bchalfseries.com/volunteers/

To register to volunteer, please click here. We'll be in contact with you a few days prior to the race with more details about your selected position.

Weather

The event will go on rain or shine and no cancellations will occur prior to race day due to weather.

In the event of severe weather on race morning, we will communicate any changes to the schedule or race with all registrered athletes via email, social media, and at the event.