Rob Salinas/Houston Public Media
Runners participate in the Chevron Houston Marathon in January 2024.
The annual Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will take place Sunday, with several related events scheduled for the days leading up to the main races.
More than 27,000 participants will compete in the 54th annual marathon this year, according to the City of Houston. Across all races and events, the event is expected to draw in 250,000 spectators, runners and volunteers.
Here’s a breakdown of all the events leading up to Sunday’s race, along with road closures that will be in effect.
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Road Closures
A small number of road closures will begin late Thursday night, with additional closures beginning Friday morning. The majority of these early closures will occur downtown around Discovery Green and the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Early closures
12:01 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8-11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11
Sections of Avenida De Las Americas and Lamar Street near the George R. Brown Convention Center will be closed.
7 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9-2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11
Sections of McKinney Street, Congress Avenue, Caroline Street and San Jacinto Street will be closed.
Dozens of additional sections of McKinney Street, Fannin Street, Rosalie Street, San Jacinto Street and Lamar Street will be closed for the 5K course from 7-10 a.m. on Saturday.
The closures for the marathon and half-marathon will begin Sunday at approximately 5:15 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m., with some sections of the course closing earlier as participants complete those areas.
A map of the marathon and half-marathon courses, along with their expected reopening schedule, is below. A full list of all street closures and the scheduled reopening can be found here.
Provided/Chevron Houston Marathon)
A map of the 2026 Houston Marathon and half-marathon routes. (Provided/Chevron Houston Marathon)
Marathon Schedule
Friday, Jan. 9 to Saturday, Jan. 10 — Houston Marathon Health & Fitness EXPO
On Friday, Houston Methodist will begin its Houston Marathon Health & Fitness EXPO.
This two-day event at the George R. Brown Convention Center will feature more than 100 vendors with the latest running apparel, product samples and health and fitness information.
Friday will also be the first day that race participants can pick up their participant packets. Participants in either the marathon, half-marathon or 5K can pick up their packets in the George Bush Grand Ballroom at the George R. Brown Convention Center from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday.
Since the 5K race takes place on Saturday, participants in that race must pick up their packet on Friday or before 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the schedule on the marathon website. Marathon and half-marathon participants can still pick up their packets from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
A second “shakeout” run, following the initial event Wednesday in the Heights neighborhood, will also be hosted by Brooks Running at 4 p.m. Friday at the Brooks Newsstand in the Jones Lawn at Discovery Green.
Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday will include the We Are Houston 5K presented by Aramco and Chevron. The 5K race will begin at McKinney and Crawford streets. The start time for wheelchair and handcycle participants will be 7:50 a.m., while the start time for runners will be 8 a.m.
Following the 5K, the Michelob Ultra RunFest Post Race Party will take place at Jones Lawn at Discovery Green.
The EXPO will also continue on Saturday from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 11
Both the marathon and half-marathon will start at Congress and Fannin. The start time for wheelchair and handcycle participants in both races will be 6:35 a.m.