The goal of the Chevron Houston Marathon refueling stations is simple – to leave no runner thirsty. Our teams are hard at work preparing their stations, and we want to give a peak into what you will find at refueling stations along the course.


The Chevron Houston Marathon refueling stations have a uniform design at all stations so you can grab the fluids you need and avoid confusion. The tables will all be erected on the side of the street, with Gatorade tables being the first stop, followed by water tables. There will be flags indicating which tables have Gatorade or water, and volunteers will be shouting what is in their hand as you pass. Tables will be placed together in pairs and spaced 16 feet apart so that runners can easily get past the station if they do not wish to take fluids. There will also be space available between and following the Gatorade and water tables for runners to stop and drink if they prefer.

Look in advance for upcoming refueling stations and move into a position that allows you to stop at the last table and avoid a bottleneck. Volunteers are prepared with Gatorade and water at later tables as well. Try to make eye contact with the volunteer so they know you’re going to grab the cup in their hand, and don’t forget to thank them! Make sure you’re not cutting off other runners or spilling fluids on them when passing through the refueling station. You can stop or slow down through the refueling station, but make sure there’s not a runner immediately behind you.

Recycling boxes will be positioned on the right-hand side of the course following the refueling stations. If you are able, toss your cup in one or throw your cup on the ground out of the path of other runners. Our volunteers will clean up and recycle all cups along the course.

Speaking of recycling, the Houston Marathon Committee is committed to producing another sustainable event for 2014. Unlike conventional cups made from petroleum-based plastic, the green Gatorade cups are made of compostable material and the water cups are made from compostable bio-based plastic.

A lot of hard work and planning goes into manning a refueling station. More than 2,100 volunteers will distribute over 173,000 cups of Lemon-Lime Endurance Formula Gatorade and over 125,000 cups of water along the course. Volunteers arrive early on race day morning to filter, fill, and stack cups on tables to ensure that fluids are available to hand out as soon as the first runners pass.

There are seven refueling stations along the half marathon course and sixteen refueling stations along the marathon course, available every 1.5 miles beginning at mile 2. Gatorade and water will be available in the George R. Brown Convention Center before and after the race, and bottled water will be handed out as runners enter the Convention Center post-race. A refueling station will be available to refill your water bottle, and recycling stations will be available throughout the building once you are ready to recycle. Please visit our website to read more about the Houston Marathon’s Green Initiative.