A TRAINING TRAIL IN CLEAR LAKE FOR MARATHON RUNNERS
BY PAUL D. MALEY
SERVING THE RUNNING COMMUNITY IN THE CLEAR LAKE AREA (located in Harris County, Texas USA)
Running trails are vital in order to train for marathons and other races. As an example, when I lived in Alexandria VA I ran on this trail:
ALEXANDRIA VIRGINIA RUNNING TRAIL
However, in Clear Lake City, TX it has been much harder to lay out a trail with equivalent beauty. The Clear Lake City Marathon Training Trail is an urban running path located within the expanse of Clear Lake City, Pasadena and Taylor Lake Village that has been created with the intent of establishing an area where runners can train for various distance events on a marked and measured route. The concept was originated in August 2009 by Paul D. Maley (a runner and resident of the Pinebrook subdivision) who first submitted the proposal to Harris County Precinct 2. The ‘trail’ is a path (drawn using the online tool MapMyRun) winding approximately 26.2 miles (42.1km) around the Clear Lake area, arbitrarily starting and ending at Sylvan Rodriguez Park. The CLMTT has been set up in cooperation with and through the generous support of Commissioner Jack Morman, Harris County Precinct 2 and the cooperation of Clear Lake City subdivisions: Bay Pointe, Bay Knoll, Bay Glen, Bay Forest, Bay Oaks, Brookwood, and Pinebrook. As the principal local running clubs have engaged in developing the overall route, recommending improvements, and agreeing to help maintain the trail we further recognize Bay Area Fit (BAF) President Charlotte Bailey, Clear Lake Fitness Club (CLFC) President Rick Burris and Bay Area Running Club (BARC) President Dennis Malloy for their assistance. Note that CLFC was replaced by the Houston Area Road Runners Association (HARRA) in 2018.
Note, this is not the creation of a race or a marathon! The streets that are shown on the maps below have already been in use for training purposes by the local running clubs. This project is simply a formalization of the routes which have been used for years. Runners from the three running clubs above live in all of the subdivisions so this is for the residents who are runners. The only thing we are doing is marking the training trail so runner/residents will know where each of the mile markers are and how to navigate measured distances to help them achieve their training goals.
The trail can be used by those training for 5k, 10k, half marathons, and marathons. It has been designed to allow runners to start at any point so that small sections can be run based on runner/club choice to fit any training regimen. It is hoped that future developments along areas such as within the Harris County Flood District will allow us to replace certain street sections with actual trail. The broad overview map is shown in the next figure, while more detailed maps follow.
Parking areas are shown above. Runners are requested not to park in the subdivisions.
NAMED SECTIONS OF THE TRAIL
There are three named segements along the core section of the trail each approximately three miles in length. The overall purpose for naming portions of the CLMTT is to recognize the enthusiasm and dedication of ordinary runners in order to stimulate Clear Lake residents to join running club programs and improve their health and fitness!
Guidelines for naming these sections are as follows: the honoree should be living; the honoree’s name is changed once per year usually in May; the honoree should be someone who is considered an ordinary runner in the sense that this person is not famous and does not win awards; the honoree should serve as an example to other runners based on his/her dedication to the sport; there is no age, gender or other limitation related to honoree selection; the decision on the names of the honorees should be made by the respective running clubs; the names of all three CLMTT sections should be updated at the same time; honorees should only be current members of one of the running clubs and can be officers or members provided they meet the other criteria.
2011 honoree Lynn Palmer. Photo by P. Maley.
2012 honoree Madison Rickerl (left) with Clear Lake Fitness Club president Rick Burris.
HONOREE LISTING*
CLEAR LAKE FITNESS CLUB….BAY AREA RUNNING CLUB….BAY AREA FITNESS CLUB
2011………Lynn Palmer
2012……..Madison Rickerl
2013……..Robby Sabban…………………………….Martha Myers……………………..Pete Rake
2014……..David Stockton…………………………..Alfonso Torres…………………….Sandy McKinney
2015……..Diana Armstrong…………………………Dennis Malloy…………………….Martha Yost
2016……..Jean Campbell…………………………….Joe Carey…………………………..Priscilla Fierro
2017……..Veronica Hoge…………………………….John Riekert………………………Rick Burris
HOUSTON AREA ROAD RUNNERS ASSOC….BAY AREA RUNNING CLUB…USA BAY AREA FIT
2018…….Peter Lawrence/HARRA………………..Keith Schreiter……………………David Raines
2019…….Lynn Malloy………………………………..Annabel Yu…………………………Warren Hall
2020……Peggy Yetman………………………………Kerry Lee……………………………Paula Clemens
2021…….Peter Mullin………………………………..Lisa Pace…………………………….Grant Bue
2022…….Pam Meaux………………………………..Deepa Patel…………………………Mary Sailors
2023…….Sabra Harvey………………………………Jennier Wells……………………….Ileana Sepulveda
2024…….Catherine Kruppa…………………………Theresa Pearsall…………………..Maria Arriaga
2025…….Angela Neira……………………………….Janet Jones………………………….Chris Robbins
2026…….Gerardo Mora……………………………..Ben Harvie…………………………..Cortney Bell
*[IMPORTANT NOTE TO HONOREES: The signs are the property of Harris County and after their use they cannot be given away. Please have your photo taken with the sign after it has been posted.]
TRAIL HONOREES FOR THE CURRENT YEAR
2026
HARRA:
BAF:
On behalf of Bay Area Fit (BAF), it is our great pleasure to nominate Cortney Bell to be a 2026-27 Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail honoree. She has been a BAF member since 2013 and is a great inspiration for the sport. She was Assistant Coach of Blue (Half Marathon) running group in 2016-2017 and served as Head Coach of Blue 2018-2020. In 2020 she also ran her first full marathon as the final leg of the Florida Iron Man. In the 2021-22 season she served as BAF Co-Organizer and was instrumental in rebuilding the club membership following the Covid pandemic. She stepped down in 2022 for her pregnancy, but continued to serve as a Core Coach, specializing in teaching our members yoga stretches that improve flexibility and build muscles, especially in the hips. In the past year she became the Head Coach the Red Group (Full Marathon) even while she continued as a Core Coach. She organized a Turkey Trot for BAF members, with a Thanksgiving potluck, and made medals for all participants. She also produced medals for all participants in the BAF 21-miler/12-miler event. During long training runs, she would frequently drive the course with other members to cheer-on participants and pick up anyone who was injured. For her excellent leadership and coaching she received the BAF Coach of the Year Award for 2025. Over these 13 years she has built up our running community. Her joyful spirit and knowledge nurtured many new runners to become half-marathoners and full-marathoners. Please consider our worthy candidate Cortney Bell for this honor.
FOR BACKGROUND ON PREVIOUS HONOREES, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS AGE
TRAIL FEATURES
A stretching station is located at Clear Lake Park (Mud Lake side) and is depicted below.
Bathrooms and water stations may be found in each of the parks but runners should check the hours of each park to know when they will be available (usually not earlier than 6 or 7 am). For those running earlier, the running clubs now have a specially designated bathroom area (provided by Precinct 2) across from Clear Lake Park on the lake front which must be accessed through club management.
Harris County Precinct 2 specially designated portapotties for the running clubs
The core of the route is the loop (miles 11-20) that begins at the intersection of Bay Area Blvd and Middlebrook Drive, continuing east along Bay Area Blvd to Red Bluff, then turns southeast to where it intersections Kirby, continues south into Taylor Lake Village. Then it cuts west on NASA Road 1 to Space Center, northwest on Space Center to Middlebrook, then north to Bay Area Blvd. This portion is 9.8 miles in length (15.8km).
The 9.8 mile core route map as provided by Harris County Precinct 2.
The rest of the trail is divided up into segments. They are shown in sequence below, but again, runners can begin any place they choose. The CLMTT route is defined by these maps but when runners are on the course they can look for two types of decals that have been inserted on the sidewalk. The first is the mile marker (MM) which starts with “1” and ends with “26”. The second is the arrow marker (AM) which points the direction in which the runner should turn to help them avoid going off the route. It is up to runners to use these maps to help stay on the proper measured route.
MARKERS
DIRECTIONAL ARROWS: Figure 6 shows a directional marker. It is circular and about 4-inches in diameter, placed on sidewalk (corner location rather than in the middle), and with a non-slip surface. Each marker is secured using a special adhesive with a cure time of between 4 and 14 hours. The entire 26.2 miles features about 40 of these markers strategically placed to properly direct runners. Markers are only placed at key turns so you may go quite a ways without seeing one. The best way to use the detailed trail maps below is to print out those sections you plan to use and get a good idea where the key turns are located. It is entirely possibly that during your run you may not be looking down and thus will miss key markers!
Actual direction marker placed on concrete sidewalks along the entire 26.2 miles of trail only at critical turn points. Courtesy R. Burris.
MILE MARKERS: Markers will also be placed where there is a mile marker number on the images that follow.
An example of marker placement in a corner of sidewalk. Point of tennis shoe is the location.
Where home owners associations have wanted to participate in approving the marker installation locations, we have worked with them (see Figure 6A above) to assure minimum impact on the local infrastructure.
START POINT and Mile 1-City of Houston
The formal 26.2 mile long CLMTT starts/ends in the Sylvan Rodriguez Park (SRP). But runners/clubs may start their training from any place along the route. If it is desired to start at SRP the next image shows the overview of the walkways around this small park area leading to mile marker 1 as one proceeds out toward the entrance.
Mile 1 overview
Figure 7 shows the path inside the park, along the bike path and out to Clear Lake City Blvd. To follow the track for the first mile consult figures 8A and 8B.
Inside mile 1
The start point is the green marker. Run counterclockwise along the small red circle (C1) back to the green marker. Then continue counterclockwise along the blue circle to C2 continuing in a counterclockwise direction to the second blue circle following the route back to the first blue circle and then to the green marker. Then continue clockwise along the white lower arc following the red line which leads to the small red circular pavilion at C3 in figure 8B below.
Detail of mile 1
Go around the circular pavilion C3 in a clockwise direction and return to the Crescent Landing circle following the redline until it intersects with the blue bike path. Follow the bike path past mile marker 1 (shown in green) out to Clear Lake City Blvd.
Miles 2 and 3-Bay Knoll/Bay Glen
The trail proceeds from SRP south to the park entrance, then you have to run across busy Clear Lake City Blvd. A convenience store can be found at the Shell station here. Runners proceed left onto the sidewalk remaining on the right side of Clear Lake City Blvd. Continue east on Clear Lake City Blvd until reaching El Camino Real. Turn right and follow it to Pineloch. Cross El Camino Real at the Pineloch intersection carefully and proceed down Pineloch to Space Center staying on the left side the entire time.
Miles 2 and 3
Mile 4-Bay Oaks
Carefully cross Space Center staying on Pineloch (left side) through Bay Oaks subdivision. Turn left at Greenwood Oaks and follow until you are back at Space Center. Turn left and continue along Space Center passing the fire station.
Mile 4
Miles 5, 6, 7 and 8-Bay Forest
Continue down Space Center to Orchard Falls (Bay Forest subdivision). Turn left and go to Greenleaf. Turn left following Greenleaf until it becomes Willow Shores. Follow Willow Shores to El Dorado. Right on El Dorado to Bay Forest. Cross El Dorado and stay on the left as you go on Bay Forest. Left on Lake Lodge which becomes Scenic View which becomes Manor Square. At the end of Manor Square turn right on Lake Lodge, then left on Bay Forest (stay on the left side). Left on El Dorado being careful as you pass the Kroger Shopping Center due to cars exiting. Note: a convenience store is located at the Shell station (intersection of El Dorado and Space Center). Turn left on Space Center.
Miles 5, 6, 7 and 8
Mile 8 to 9-City of Houston/UHCL
Stay left on Space Center to Falcon Pass where you turn left. At Krueger get on the right side and turn right on Krueger passing Clear Lake High School on the left and police station on the right as you arrive at Bay Area. Carefully cross Bay Area onto University (University of Houston at Clear Lake-UHCL) staying on the right side where there is sidewalk.
Mile 8 to 9
Miles 9 to 11-UHCL/Harris County Pct. 2
Continue on the ride side of University to Bayou Road. The sidewalk disappears after a time so you will have to be careful as you run either into oncoming traffic (left side) or stay on the grass on the right side. Continue until you see sidewalk on the left side of the road in front of the parking lot. Head toward Middlebrook Drive. Left at Middlebrook Drive to Bay Area following the directional arrows. Carefully cross Middlebrook onto the first part of the 9.8 mile core trail and stay on Bay Area. At the intersection of Bay Area/Middlebrook (between MM10 and MM11) is the first of three designated signs honoring a specific runner.
Miles 9 to 11
Miles 11 to 20-Harris County Pct 2/Taylor Lake Village
This section is called the “Bay Area Trail”; it follows the asphalt portion along Bay Area passing Bay Are Park and the Armand Bayou Nature Center to Red Bluff. Note: a convenience store is located at the Valero station (intersection of Bay Area/Red Bluff). Right on the sidewalk to Kirby. Note: a convenience store is located at the Chevron (intersection of Red Bluff/Kirby). At the Kirby/Red Bluff intersection (MM14) is the second of three signs honoring a running club member. Right on Kirby all the way to NASA Road 1. Note: a convenience store is located at the Shell station (intersection of Kirby/NASA Road 1). You will cross a bridge with scenic Clear Lake on your left and Mud Lake will be on your right. Right on NASA Road 1 to Space Center. As you run here, the NASA Johnson Space Center is on your left and Armand Bayou Nature Preserve on your right. Right on Space Center to Middlebrook. At this point (MM17) is the third of three signs set up by Harris County Precinct 2 honoring a runner. Cross Middlebrook onto the sidewalk (northwest side) and continue past UHCL to Bay Area.
Miles 11-20
Miles 21 to 22-Brookwood
At the Bay Area/Middlebrook light, first cross to the other side of Middlebrook. Then carefully cross Bay Area and immediately turn right on the sidewalk (staying on the north side of Bay Area Blvd) until you arrive at Pine Shadows Trail.
Miles 11 and 22
Turn left (stay on the left side of the sidewalk until recommended otherwise for the next few miles) on Pine Shadows Trail and continue to Mighty Redwood Drive. Turn left and go a short distance to Middle Forest Drive. Turn right and continue to Walnut Pond. Turn left and continue to Middlebrook Drive.
Miles 21 and 22
Miles 23 – Pinebrook
Then, carefully cross Middlebrook staying on the left side (Pinebrook subdivision) and continue to Clear Lake City Blvd. Turn left, remaining on the south side of Clear Lake City Blvd. until arriving at El Dorado.
Mile 23
Mile 24 – Bay Oaks
Cross El Dorado remaining on the south side of Clear Lake City Blvd. and proceed to Space Center.
Mile 24
Miles 25 and 26-Bay Pointe/City of Houston
Carefully cross Clear Lake City Blvd at the Space Center light, wait and cross Space Center continuing on the north side of Clear Lake City Blvd in a westerly direction back to Sylvan Rodriguez Park.
Miles 25 and 26
Enter Sylvan Rodriguez Park turning right on the bike path until you reach the parking lot. This will complete the full 26.2 mile route.
RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY
Opening of the Bay Area Trail portion of the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail occurred on October 27, 2012. Additional participants not identified on the photo by D. Acker (Pct. 2) are (to the immediate left of P. Maley): Sandy McKinney (BAF), Julie Morris (BARC) and Terry Frank (CLFC).
SAFE RUNNING
Runner safety is the number 1 priority. That means that each runner (whether a member of a running club or not) and running club must use common sense when running the sidewalks, streets, asphalt and any other pathways to ensure that they are not injured or worse. It is your personal responsibilty to ensure that you run safely and do not fall or injure yourself due to your own carelessness. Your responsibility includes being sure you have good vision and that you recognize that trip hazards can exist on ANY sidewalk or street or path! One of the more common problems is when the tip of your shoe encounters the lip of a protruding sidewalk segment causing the runner to fall forward onto their hands, knees, and arms. Wearing gloves may help mitigate such a fall but may also be uncomfortable to wear except in winter. Other potential injuries may occur due to planting a shoe in a hole/depression because of distraction or misjudging your footing. Due to Houston area weather variations, sections of sidewalk can uplift or depress due to temperature changes.
Remember it is your responsibility to run safely. It is very easy to encounter a trip hazard if you are not careful. In addition, after a heavy rain, some sections of trail my be slick or even collect water, though efforts have been made, particularly with Harris County Precinct 2 assistance to try to mitigate such a situation. You should run only under good lighting and visibility and runners should be self-supporting in their efforts, avoid littering, and to clean up after themselves in order to maintain the integrity of the trail and continuing good relations with the subdivisions through which it passes.
All runners should exercise great care when crossing major intersections (look in all directions!), when running in the street or on the sidewalk to avoid vehicles, trip hazards, bicyclists, etc. Before setting off on a long run be sure you have a hydration plan (especially in summer) and have checked weather radar to be sure you know local weather conditions are/will be safe during your run. Never run when lightning is present within 5 miles of the course.
Wear a headband or hat in warm/hot weather and if on a long run, carry gels and / or water as needed; carry a small towel to wipe away sweat. Be sure your exposed body surfaces are adequately protected from the Sun. If you can, carry a lighweight cell phone with fully charged battery; this may be helpful in case of problems if you need to call for assistance or see/experience an emergency in progress. Avoid wearing headphones as it makes you less aware of what is going on around you.
Female runners especially should consider to avoid hidden trails with no visibility, run with a partner or with a leashed dog with big teeth.
If you encounter a fallen tree, branches or vines, downed fences, damaged sidewalk section or other interference that would block runners from crossing part of the trail, contact your local running club so they can inform appropriate responsible authority.
The CLMTT uses urban sidewalks and paths to define the route. Since it passes by three parks (Clear Lake Park, Bay Area Park and Sylvan Rodriguez Park) and a number of churches and schools (e.g. University of Houston at Clear Lake and Clear Lake High School) runners should consider to stage from one of these locations most convenient to them but preferably one of the parks where there are bathrooms and adequate parking. Do not park your car along the street in the neighborhoods shown. Use Google Maps to zoom in on any part of the CLMTT and print out maps of the area or memorize the route in order to keep on track.
Runners can start from any place along the route redefining that spot as “mile zero” and proceed in one direction or another to run their goal(s). Driving the route ahead of time may help enhance the experience and minimize the chances of getting lost. Runners in training who are not experienced with traffic hazards should stay on sidewalks as much as possible. When running on the street always run into the direction of oncoming traffic so they can see you and you can see them. If running in poor lighting such as predawn or even at night (not recommended), use a head lamp or better yet, run in the street when there is minimal traffic. Wear bright clothing/reflective markers to be sure you can be seen. As you run be on the lookout for vehicles and assume that any vehicle you see is out to hit you. This is the best defensive running strategy. Don’t forget to perform stretching exercises before and after your run!
FUTURE CHANGES
The CLMTT is generally set up so that runners can run in open, visible spaces—not secluded places. Due to lack of real trails in the Clear Lake area, we are attempting to make maximum use of existing surfaces when physically and politically practical. We hope to eventually move portions of the CLMTT off streets and onto more trail-like pathways in the future. This would enable runners to encounter fewer traffic issues, to find more scenic views and create less intense energy transferrence from the surfaces through the body. Due to approval issues and other factors, making this happen now is not possible. The obvious candidates are trails along drainage areas, those controlled by the Harris County Flood District as well as the abandoned Clear Lake Golf Course.
JOIN A BAY AREA RUNNING CLUB
Running clubs are the best resources in order to help guide you in proper training techniques.
1. Bay Area Fit: http://www.bayareafit.com/
2. Houston Area Road Runners Assocation: https://harra.org/
3. Bay Area Running Club: http://www.barchouston.com/
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to Gail Miller, Gilbert Smith and Donny Taylor of Harris County Pct 2 for their ongoing efforts to help make the CLMTT a reality.
Comments or questions about the CLMTT? Email Paul Maley at pdmaley@yahoo.com
BACKGROUND OF PREVIOUS CLMTT HONOREES
2025
2023
HARRA
The Houston Area Road Runners Association’s nomination for the 2023 Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail Honoree is Sabra Harvey. Sabra was the highest performing member on an age graded basis at October’s Space City 10 mile race. The Space City 10 miler takes place on the south loop of the Clear Lake Marathon Trail and is the HARRA Championship 10 mile event. Sabra’s finishing time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 57 seconds at age 73 is a world class result. Her time is just 46 seconds behind the American record for a 70-74 year old set in Bronx, New York in 2013 per USA Track & Field (USATF).
Sabra is well known nationally as a superstar of senior running. She was honored as the USATF Masters Athlete of the Year for 2017, an award given to the top American track and field athlete over the age of 35. She currently holds the American record in the mile for a 65-69 year old, which is 6 minutes and 6 seconds set in 2017. In 2019, the USATF added her to their Masters Hall of Fame. Her exploits have been covered in Sports Illustrated and Runners World magazines. Sabra did not begin running until she was in her 50’s, began training in 2004 in HARRA’s Power in Motion running program, and is an inspiration for young and old alike. We congratulate Sabra and nominate her for HARRA.
BARC
Jennifer Wells has been a member of BARC for over 10 years and has served on the board throughout that time in multiple positions, including serving as the President of the club 2 years. She has worked extremely hard to grow the club and was able to win the Overall HARRA Club Championship as President. This is the competition between all of the Houston Running Clubs through the year. In addition to her work within the club, growing and supporting it, Jennifer is an amazing runner having run Boston three times with another on the way and is working towards running all of the World Marathon Majors. Most recently, Jennifer served as Race Director on very short notice to help host the HARRA Fall Relay with well over 100 people running. With her help, BARC was able to host. It truly is my honor to nominate Jennifer for this as it is extremely well deserved for all the work she has done to promote the running community in our area.
BAF
On behalf of the USAFit Bay Area (BAF) running club, we are honored to nominate Ileana Sepulveda for the Houston County Precinct 2 Marathon Trail honoree for 2023-24. Ileana joined BAF in 2013 and became Runner of the Year in her inaugural season. The next year she became Blue Head Coach and was recognized as Coach of the Year for the 2014-2015 season. She started training for Full marathons in 2015 and served as a Red Assistant Coach in 2015-2016 for that year. Since then, she has been training for full and half marathons in the Orange group.
She has demonstrated excellence in marathon training and running. Since joining BAF she has trained for and completed 24 Half-Marathon races and 3 Full Marathon. She has raced a slew of other races and garnered several podium finishes. She is a highly disciplined runner, always striving to do the distance and pace that the plan calls for. She has overcome physical problems that have plagued her in years past through rigorous core strengthening which she does religiously. She stretches before and after every run and rolls after every run. If she has an issue, she seeks out and follows the advice of her coaches. Her success as a runner through her disciplined behavior is a great example to other runners.
She is a tireless volunteer. For three years she served BAF as the Event Coordinator. In 2019, she organized “The Breakfast Club”, a group of BAF runners who would meet at the CLHS Track at zero-dark-thirty for speed work, enticing them with the post-workout bonus of having ready-made breakfast treats to look forward to. She spearheaded and volunteered to communicate with the Orange runners for the quality runs through the “Morning Crew” GroupMe site. She is always looking for ways to help others. She puts out hydration jugs and coolers for our Thursday and Saturday quality runs. She organizes Christmas and pool parties and birthday celebrations at her own house. She makes being a part of a running club fun.
Many people, when they finish a coaching position or a BAF support position seem to drift away from running somewhat and become unplugged from BAF. Not Ileana. She continues to grow as a runner and looks for ways she can help others do so in BAF. She has an effervescent personality that inspires joy from her fellow runners and makes it easier to start and finish our difficult runs. She is an ambassador, facilitator, coordinator, and coach for marathon running. Her discipline, consistency, positivity and giving spirit have helped many others achieve their marathon goals! We wholeheartedly endorse Ileana Sepulveda to receive this Marathon Trail honor.
2022
BARC: Deepa Patel
Deepa has been with BARC for numerous years and has made such a positive impact on not only the club itself but the entire Houston running community. Deepa has served on the BARC board in a few different capacities but the biggest impact that Deepa made was through her volunteering and positive attitude she expressed. Deepa has won our ‘Volunteer of the Year’ a few different times and this speaks to her support of other runners. There are few people who have run with Deepa who don’t remember her lively attitude and encouragement. She has traveled to numerous destination races through the years, not to run, but to support fellow runners reach their goals. Deepa moved to Austin, TX roughly 3 years ago but still supports BARC from a distance and travels back to Houston to volunteer at races, notable the Houston Marathon at the BARC water stop. It is a privilege to nominate Deepa for this honor.
HARRA: Pam Meaux
The Houston Area Road Runners Association’s nomination for the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail Honoree is Pam Meaux. Pam was the highest performing member on an age graded basis at the October 2021 Space City 10 mile race. The Space City 10 miler takes place on the south loop of the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail and is the HARRA Championship 10 mile event. Pam’s finishing time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 29 seconds at age 61 is a women’s national class result. Pam started her running journey at age 24 in New Orleans to get fit and at age 29 she ran her first marathon here in Houston. After a several year break and a move to the Houston area, she picked up running again in her early 40’s. Since that time, she has completed 22 more marathons including 6 more Houston marathons and 1 Antarctica marathon. In her 50’s, she took up triathlon and has completed a full Ironman and several half Ironmans. Her results since turning age 60 are inspiring. She qualified as a local elite athlete for the 2022 Aramco Houston Half Marathon and completed the half marathon in 1 hour 40 minutes and 1 second, also a women’s national class result for her age. We congratulate Pam and nominate her for HARRA.
BAF: Mary Sailors
Bay Area Fit would like to nominate Mary Sailors for naming a section of the CLMTT. Bay Area Fit would have been challenged to operate if it were not for Mary Sailors’ leadership during the Covid pandemic. Along with another organizer, Mary was in contact with the CDC to understand the implications of CoVid and what we could and could not do. She devised and encouraged activities to allow us to train together while being separated as best we could during the pandemic. While we typically had weekly CORE exercise sessions in person on Monday evenings, Mary created and established the ability for our CORE coach to broadcast those sessions over Facebook live on Monday evenings. We modified our large Gatorade coolers so they could be operated in a touchless maner, provided hand sanitizer and established a staggered starting protocol every 5 minutes that permitted 3 to 5 runners start together on our large, Saturday morning long runs.
With Mary’s leadership, we were able to complete the 2020-2021 training season including holding a virtual marathon in Clear Lake as well as an appropriately social distanced award ceremony. Mary also devised a number of activities to keep the runners engaged during the week. One of those activities involved our members taking selfies. The selfie challenge had a very profound impact on one of our members. The following is from Pam Bennett:
“Many heroes emerged during the 2020 season of Covid. For me, it was Mary Sailors. In an effort to reduce the spread of Covid, runners were discouraged from gathering. To continue the feeling of community, Mary created online photo challenges for Bay Area Fit Runners such as sharing a photo of your favorite running shoes or a selfie in your favorite running spot. Selfies are not my thing but I wanted to play along. It was during a photo challenge that I noticed my smile wasn’t quite right, one side was droopy. Because of this selfie, I discovered I had had a stroke. I didn’t have any other symptoms other than the lopsided smile. After many tests, doctors discovered a hole in my heart which they believe was the leading cause of the stroke. Thankfully, my medical issue was addressed immediately and I had photo documentation that doctors used throughout the next year. If it had not been for Mary’s creative approach to community and her steadfast leadership of BAF, my medical condition would have gone undetected. My family and I are forever grateful for Mary.” Our local ABC affiliate did a piece on Pam, I believe this will help you understand why we are nominating Mary. https://abc13.com/pam-bennett-chevron-houston-marathon-distance-running-stroke/11438185
2021
Lisa has been a member of the Bay Area Running Club for over 15 years. She has served in numerous different positions within BARC including Vice-President and President from 2008 to 2012. Some of the most important roles that Lisa has done to help the running community is her participation of 10+ years helping on the scholarship committee in which BARC awards two scholarships to local high school athletes. Overall, Lisa has too many volunteer hours to count in her many years within BARC. One of the most prestigious gigs is that Lisa was the captain and coordinator for the BARC aid station at the Houston Marathon for six years from 2015 through 2020.
Lisa’s outreach to the running community in the Bay Area is endless. There are so many people that she has helped and introduced to running over the years. The current BARC president, David Leach, recounted his first interaction with Lisa when he first joined BARC: “I met Lisa on the trails at Seabrook for my first run with BARC. Lisa was so welcoming and invited me to join them for a loop (about 10k). She talked the whole 6 miles and told me all about BARC….all while I managed to PR for my 10K time. She is just such a great ambassador the running community”. It is an honor for the Bay Area Running Club to nominate Lisa Pace as this years nominee.
Bay Area Fit would like to nominate Paula Clemens as our nominee for naming a section of the CLMTT. Paula began running a decade ago running her first 10K in early 2010. From there she was hooked and has been training in the Clear Lake area ever since. She joined Bay Area Fit in 2011 and completed her first marathon with Chevron in 2012. She has been an inspiration to all of the runners she has encountered since. She has run New York and Boston and has traveled to New York to cheer members of BAF who were running in that marathon too. At BAF she has been an organizer in the past and has been an active mentor to the coaches and organizers who have followed in her footsteps. She is always there to lend a hand, help at an aid station, promote the organization and more importantly she promotes running in Clear Lake and the local shops and races.
Paula is the currently the event coordinator for Bay Area Fit. In this role she tirelessly commits to organizing and planning events for runners such as the season kick-off, the 21 mile run and the end of season celebration known as the “Blessing of the Feet”. Without her help, our organization would not be successful.
BARC
Bay Area Running Club’s 2019 nomination for the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail Honoree is Annabel Yu. Annabel has been a long-time member of BARC and runs all over Clear Lake, Houston, and the world. Spend any time running around the area and you have probably crossed paths with Annabel at some point. She’ll always have a big smile on her face and an encouraging word to offer! Logging thousands of miles a year, Annabel races all around the country, most of which are marathons and ultra-marathons. She has many 50K finishes and is a proud member of the 100 miler club, with her finish at Rocky Raccoon 100 miler in 2013. When she is not running for fun, she is a proud member of Race Guard, where she helps treat everything from leg cramps to heart attacks in the middle of the race. Race Guards is a unique non-profit program that coordinates certified in-race first-responders with event directors and sponsors. Annabel serves as an inspiration to many BARCers and runners around the area, especially on the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail.
HARRA
The Houston Area Road Runners Association’s nomination for the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail Honoree is Lynn Malloy. A Katy resident, Lynn was the highest performing member on an age graded basis at October’s Space City 10 mile race. The Space City 10 miler takes place yearly on the south loop of the Clear Lake Marathon Trail and is the HARRA Championship 10 mile event. Lynn’s finishing time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 9 seconds at age 58 is a women’s national class result. Lynn’s running accomplishments are lengthy as she is a prolific road racer. For example, in the Bay area in 2017, Lynn was overall top female at the Toughest 10k Galveston beating all 1095 other women, most of whom are much younger than her. That year she also was top overall female at the Run Houston Clear Lake 5k and was second in her age group at the USA Track & Field Masters 10k championship in Massachusetts. Win or lose, Lynn races with a smile on her face and sets a positive example for all.
BAF
I’d like to nominate Warren Hall as Honoree to represent USA Fit Bay Area. Warren is our Red/Yellow color group head coach for the marathon training program. He has been a great mentor and leader to our members. Everyone looks up to him for advice and guidance. He shows up to most of the runs and is always encouraging his running peeps to do better. He is also very knowledgeable in every aspect of this sport. He has been a great asset to this organization and is the right candidate for the spot. If you have any questions please let me know. During our Blessing of The Feet celebration before the Houston Marathon we nominated him for Coach of The Year. He has truly been an inspiration to everyone in the running club.
2018
BARC
The Bay Area Running Club’s nomination for the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail Honoree is Keith Schreiter. Keith has been a runner, member, and volunteer for BARC and other local organizations for several years, and has served as BARC’s Social Director for the past four years. Keith has taken BARC socials to a whole new level by rotating to different locations each week and by making everyone feel welcome regardless of pace or distance. He also has a strong presence in local interclub joint activities such as serving on the board for Running Alliance Sport and participating the Houston Area Road Runners Association race series.
Keith has been an integral part of the growth of the local running community, particularly in BARC. He is a frequenter of local and out of town races, where he is always promoting BARC with a positive and cheerful attitude. He is the definition of what a true BARC member should be.
HARRA
BAF
David Raines, also known as Super Dave, has been a very supportive member of the entire Bay Area running community since he discovered his passion for running 6 years ago after joining Bay Area Fit. He went from being a member to a coach to one of the co-organizers of the group in a few short years. As an organizer, Dave has brought new energy and ideas to the group. He hosts regular social events, puts out the route and water stations, and he supports other runners by attending every training run. Under his leadership, the BAF group often has 100 or so participants showing up to local races – specifically the bridge series runs. He also participates in other area running groups like BARC and HARRA. In support of local running, he regularly posts events on Facebook. In addition, he has represented the area at national marathon events in Chicago, New York, and Boston.
2017
BARC
The Bay Area Running Club’s nomination for the Clear Lake Marathon Training Trail Honoree is Veronica Hoge. Veronica has been a dedicated and inspirational member of BARC for several years as a runner, volunteer, board member, officer, community representative, social fixture, mentor, and friend. She has consistently represented BARC as an accomplished runner during the Houston Area Road Runners Association (HARRA) race series as well as local races all the way to Boston. She has volunteered at every level doing every task from small local races up to the Olympic Trials. Veronica has served as a past president of BARC and is currently a board member serving on the nominating and scholarship committees each year. She actively recruits for BARC at every opportunity by embracing new or unfamiliar runners in our community. Additionally, she reaches out to other clubs in the Houston area for friendly competition and social events. Veronica is the definition of running class and inspiration and we could not be more pleased and proud to have her as an ambassador for BARC.
CLFC
BAF
For BAF, I would like to nominate John Riekert. John has contributed to the running community for the past 6 years as a coach of BAF. He typically works with the new and more inexperience runners. Those runners would tell you that he inspires them, listens to them, and encourages them. He is also very knowledgeable about all things running. Every year he does a clinic for the group on hydration and how to figure out how much each runner should be drinking. He has us weigh before and after our run and fill out a calculations form. He is a go to expert at BAF. In addition to working full time, John also works as a volunteer fire fighter. He sets a great example for his group and all of BAF and should be honored.
2016
BARC
Joe has been a fixture in Clear Lake and Houston’s running communities for many years. He serves as an ambassador to the sport in all capacities large and small: he has been a proud Bay Area representative as the president of the Houston Area Road Runners Association (HARRA), and he hands out water cups and picks up trash at local races. Joe is currently taking on the role of Vice President of Communications with HARRA as well as continuing serving on BARC’s Board of Directors. Not only does Joe demonstrate competence in leadership and volunteering; he also has proven to be a key contributor to the growth of running in Clear Lake and beyond. He encourages both experienced and beginning runners alike to perform at their best whilst having a great time and promoting the sport. Clear Lake runners and the community at large can thank Joe for being a pillar of support for the sport and recreation of running.
CLFC
Jean Campbell ran marathons and helped others train for marathon running for several years, starting with Houston Fit. In 1999, she gathered several friends and made a few more when she suggested starting a branch of USA Fit in the Clear Lake area which later became Clear Lake Fitness Club (CLFC). Through her enthusiasm and energy, and her experience as a teacher and Girl Scout leader, she helped many attain their running goals. Many remember when a fellow club member proposed to her on the Houston Half Marathon course at the turn-around point. Although she could not continue running herself, she continued to support people in a volunteer role at many races and club runs until her unexpected death in 2015.
BAF
Priscilla Fierro has been a marathon coach with the BAF since 2009. During that time, she has encouraged countless numbers of runners to be the best they can be. She participates in all the BAF and other running community events. She is also constantly participating in local runs. Last year she became one of the organizers of BAF and did a great job increasing the participation in the club. This year she again is on the team of organizers of BAF. She would be a great representative for BAF and the running community at large.