An overview of streets that will be closed Sunday, beginning at 6 a.m, for the Chevron Houston Marathon. Most streets will reopen between 8:25 a.m. and 2 p.m. as runners finish the course: To view the map of street closures, click here.<doc-sep>The start time conditions for the 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday expect to feel like freezing because of wind chill, but by the early afternoon the weather will turn mild and sunny. To Calum Neff, a four-time competitor in the full marathon and founder of Space City Racing, a training program for the city's most talented runners, the environment sounds nearly ideal for fast run times. "We're going to see quite a strong performance from everybody," he said. He said he has advised 30 athletes on how to prepare for the race. "But you might be asking the wrong person," he said, "because I'm a Canadian living in Houston. No sympathy from my end." Neff worked search and rescue up north of the border for five years. "We'd say, 'There's no such thing as bad weather, there's only bad clothing.'" If you're looking to keep pace with the leaders, set a personal best or merely finish the 26.2 miles of Houston pavement on Sunday, Neff has some helpful tips. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: A cold forecast won't slow marathon field Get there early because the cold makes everything take longer "Show up mentally to run knowing it's going to be colder. You'll be dealing with more gear, more dealing with the pre-race expo, dropping off your bag and getting into the corral. Prepare for that mentally, so you're not frustrated and having those negative thoughts creep in." Bundle up for a freezing start but dryness is a key "You can get hyperthermia when it's 60. It doesn't have to be freezing. If somebody is ill-prepared and doesn't have the right clothing on, or maybe they have a lot of clothing on and they sweat a lot, then that dampness makes them freeze even more – it could go either way. I'd rather have someone overdressed than not adapting that clothing along the way." Wear attire you might not mind giving away "People will wear old t-shirts and heaps of gear that their wives have been telling them to throw away for years. Use that opportunity to wear it in the shoot and then discard it right there or maybe a mile or so in...something you won't have emotional attachment to." "The race actually has volunteers collect them and donate them to people that need the clothing. But it might be worth keeping gloves or a layer for the windiest stretch heading north "Be modular, ways you can strip down, but save it. There's a potion by the Galleria. You're running north. That north stretch there heading back toward Memorial Park, it's always headwind. That's where it's going to bite people the most if they've discarded clothes. "Hold on to your stuff until then, North up to I-10, then you take a right turn back through Memorial Park, that's the home stretch." It gets easier and warmer after enduring the north headwind "You've got 10 kilometers to go, you're heading east, you're facing the sun, and it'll feel a little warmer. Turn east into the sun. Don't give up. Get to Mile 20, and I guarantee everything will get better when you're heading back toward Houston." Don't deviate from your regular pre-race routine "You don't want to do anything new. Some people have their pre-race meal — oatmeal or yogurt — something high in carbohydrates. That shouldn't change much. (You) might be less inclined to drink along the way. Don't force water. Stay on the plan." ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Artist dives into a project for the Chevron Houston Marathon Unlike a scorcher, a cold day encourages you to hydrate only when you get thirsty "Hydration still very important. Your thirst might not be there when it's 65 (degrees), so you have to have a mental reminder that you need to have a few sips along the way. When it's hotter, you're dousing yourself in water." Position behind a leader and rely on drafting to get through the wind "Drafting, even without wind, can save between 8-15 percent of your energy. That's just sitting behind somebody, with their wind shadow, essentially. As it gets windier, those forces against your body are amplified, and it's a lot of work to be the guy in the pole position up front." The penultimate pack finishing around 2 hours, 20 minutes, is the loneliest "In the (full) marathon there's a really strong competitive range in that top 10 to 20 range. There's a big gap once you get to the 10th or 15th person. It's a large time gap between them and the 2:30 mark. "If you get stuck in 2:20 to 2:22, it's a sub-elite. It's very lonely there. There's not a lot of pacers. You see elite women creeping in. You'll have a pack there, but the masses you won't see until 2:40." Do not count out East African runners in frigid temperatures "There's a lot of money on the line ($45,000). It means a lot more to the guys that are winning it from East Africa. It's their livelihood. They're not going to blow it away in the first few miles." If you're in the lead pack, you will have a chance to out-sprint everyone down the stretch "When it gets windy, it gets tactical. Elite runners are less focused on running a fast time. They're more concerned about placing. It's all about who will have that final sprint and who will be in that final pack when it goes. "You find times where somebody just has a really good pure speed, and if they get stuck in a race like that, they're in that pack with a kilometer to go, and they're untouchable, whereas if it was a full out race from the start, they wouldn't have a chance. If you give a sprinter a chance to be in a pack, with not that much race left in it, it's going to be anyone's race. It's going to be fun." With as many as 27,000 runners, the volunteers need to show up "These people will be under a lot of stress from running a marathon. It's not an easy feat. Hopefully the volunteers still show up and they also dress run. There's a lot of runners out here, but there's just as many volunteers and first responders. Hopefully they know we need them just as much as ever." ON CHRON.COM: Why you should think twice about driving downtown this weekend<doc-sep>
Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes that avoid the course. HOUSTON — If you’re heading downtown this weekend, be sure to check out the road closures scheduled for 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon. The marathon is set to start at 7 a.m. Expect traffic to be slow in and around areas near the race course. Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes that avoid the course. The following streets will be closed on Sunday, starting at 6 a.m. All lanes will be closed unless otherwise noted. For a complete listing of all streets, tap here. Marathon Course Closures Congress from Crawford to Smith Smith from Congress to Franklin Franklin from Smith to Washington (all lanes except one westbound curb lane) Washington from Congress to Waugh (all lanes except one westbound curb lane from Franklin to Houston, and one eastbound curb lane from Studemont to Sawyer) Heights/Waugh (southbound) from Washington to West Gray West Gray/Inwood from Waugh to Kirby Kirby (northbound) from Inwood to San Felipe Kirby (southbound) from San Felipe to Bissonnet Bissonnet from Kirby to Montrose Mandell (southbound) from Bissonnet to Sunset Sunset from Mandell to Rice Blvd. Rice Blvd from Sunset to Greenbriar Greenbriar from Rice Blvd. to University Blvd. University Blvd. from Greenbriar to Weslayan Weslayan (from University to Bissonnet Weslayan (northbound) from Bissonnet to Westpark Westpark from Weslayan to S. Rice Blvd. (all lanes closed except one westbound lane from Newcastle to 610/59 northbound feeder road Loop 610 feeder (southbound) from Richmond to Westpark Post Oak Blvd. (northbound) from Richmond to San Felipe San Felipe (westbound) from Post Oak Blvd. to Tanglewood Rd. Tanglewood Rd. (northbound) from San Felipe to Chimney Rock Rd. Chimney Rock Rd. (northbound) from Tanglewood to Woodway Dr. Chimney Rock Rd. (southbound) from Woodway Dr. to Memorial Dr. Memorial Dr. (westbound) from Chimney Rock Rd. to Loop 610 Memorial Dr. (eastbound) from Loop 610 to Shepherd Shepherd (all lanes under overpass) from Memorial Dr. to Allen Parkway Allen Parkway from Shepherd to Bagby Dallas from Allen Parkway to Bagby Bagby from Dallas to Lamar Lamar from Bagby to Avenida de las Americas Avenida de las Americas from Polk to Rusk Additional Half Marathon Course Closures Montrose from Bissonnet to Main/Mecom Fountain Main (southbound) from Mecom Fountain to Bissonnet Bissonnet (eastbound) from Main to Montrose Montrose (southbound) from Bissonnet to Dallas Montrose (northbound) from Dallas to Allen Parkway Freeway Exit Ramp Closures