by Larry EderBrant Kotch has been involved with the Chevron Houston Marathon Committee for many years. Brant is always with the traveling group from Houston that we see at the major marathons around the country.
I asked our friend to update RunBlogRun on how the city of Houston and its lovely inhabitants are recovering from Hurricane Harvey. Remember to support both the city of Houston and the Chevron Houston Marathon in January 2018.
Brant Koch, Chevron Houston Marathon
“Houston has a long recovery ahead, but it’s been very heartening to see how the city has come together. There have been lots of stories circulating about how the disaster has really brought people together – neighbors helping neighbors, total strangers coming to the aid of others, even people from far away coming to town to aid in the recovery. Our marathon staff was asked by the city to help on the logistics end of the contributions and donations of clothing food, etc. that were flowing into the convention center that took in over 9000 individuals displaced by the storm, and they handled everything, including obtaining trucks to haul the goods, from the convention center to a 250,000-square-foot warehouse – and filled it! Being in Scotland on a long-planned family vacation, I was watching all of this from afar and feeling a little bit and feeling a little bit guilty for not being able to do my part. They did a magnificent job. There was an article on the Running USA website and email about what they did: http://www.runningusa.org/
We have been in contact with all of our local agencies, including the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, Houston First Corporation (which owns the city’s convention and entertainment facilities), the Houston Police Department, the Houston Fire Department, the Houston Office of Emergency Management, and many others, and they have all advised us that they will be ready for our weekend of events in January. Virtually none of the infrastructure upon which we rely was damaged, although a portion of the convention center ordinarily used for the expo will be unavailable because it has been repurposed for city infrastructure that was damaged. Even then, we already have a plan in place and I don’t think anyone will even notice the difference – our team is that good! There will be various relief initiatives in play also, and I think it’s safe to say that more than ever, our races will be a celebration in which the entire city, as well as many from environs beyond, will be able to take part. Houston is already on its way back, and we hope that our weekend in January will be proof positive of that.”
Words of Brant Kotch, Chevron Houston Marathon Committee
