RTSWestern

Running The Sam - Western 2022

More than a trail race, this will be a party for the entire family: Live music, costume contest, farm animals, gourmet food available for purchase, and of course, the award winning wines of West Sandy Creek Winery available at their tasting room. Come race with us at this beautiful location.

The Winery

West Sandy Creek Winery is a 360-acre ranch at the edge of the Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas. They are a family-owned and operated business, founded on their decades-long love of wine and winemaking. The property features the vineyards where they grow their own grapes, the winery and tasting room, several log cabins that are available to rent on Airbnb, and plenty of room for the animals that call the ranch home. They will have a large selection of wines for purchase in their tasting room, many of them medal winners in national and international wine competitions.

Race photos

Do you want to look this good in your race shots? David Reynolds from Digital Knight Productions took these stills at our first race: Charge The Hill! and he will be shooting this event. The best part? You get complimentary race pictures!

Packet pickup

Packets will not be mailed. All runners will receive their race packet on race morning at the race hub from 10:00AM and until 15 minutes before the start of the race. See the full schedule below.

Race day schedule

7 - 10AM Course and race hub setup
10:00 - 11:15AM Runners' check-in and packet pickup
11:15AM Costume contest
11:25AM National Anthem
11:30AM 4mi, 8mi, and 12mi events begin
11:35AM Kids race begins
12:00PM Tasting room opens
12:00PM Kids' award ceremony
12:30PM 4 mile race award ceremony
1:30PM 8 mile race award ceremony
2:30PM 12 mile race award ceremony
3:00PM Course closes
7:00PM Winery closes

Directions, parking and amenities

The race takes place at West Sandy Creek Winery: 1773 FM 1791, Richards, TX 77873

Volunteers will direct you to the designated parking area for the event, after which you will need to check-in to obtain your access wristband for you and any spectators. If you are registered to race, the Winery Access Fee has been covered with your registration and you will receive your wristband at packet pickup. Any spectators will have to cover the Winery Access Fee using cash the day of the event to receive their wristband. The fee is $5 for children ages 3-12 and $10 for people 12 and older. Please remember to bring cash.

We have created an amazing interactive map. Look at the map below to get the up-to-date information on:

Directions to the venue
Locations of portable toilets
Locations of Aid Stations
Packet Pickup
Location of First Responders
Race Course
Participant tents:
- We have a TON of space for you and your friends to bring a pop-up tent, chairs and coolers! And if you don't have a tent, don't worry - we will setup a Javelina Running tent for you to shelter your belongings from the elements and for you to setup your lawn chair. You are not alone in this!

Costume contest

We will have a costume contest for kids and adults, having two overall winners!

The award for the best kid's costume is a $25 gift card to Marble Slab
The award for the best adult costume is a gift certificate for tapas at the tasting room

You do not have to be a participant in the race to compete in the costume contest and runners in costume do NOT need to race in costume.

Aid Stations

This course has two Aid Stations (AS): The Start/Finish and the Gate AS. Both stations will be fully stocked with water, electrolytes, and sweet and salty treats, in a traditional trail race style. During the 4 mile loop, you will hit the Gate AS at miles 1.2 and 2.9.

This is a cup-less race. Each participant will receive a collapsible cup to bring on the course; the aid stations will not have cups for your drinks, so bring your collapsible cup or your own hydration device.

The food

Food will be provided by Chef Michael’s Gourmet Kitchen and everything will be prepared on site. Originally from Michigan, Chef Michael moved to Houston in 1980 where he began his employment at the Houston Country Club. During his 23 years of service he successfully fulfilled the requirements of all the departments in the kitchen from Banquets to A la Carte, and purchasing, earning him the title of Executive Sous Chef.

All will be available for purchase from Chef Michael directly.

Awards

This is a chip-timed event, but the results will be based on gun time, according to the race schedule posted above.

The top three overall winners will receive an award for each distance, Male and Female.
The overall masters' winner, male and female for each distance will receive an award.
The top three kids overall will receive an award.

In addition to the overall awards for each event, the top male and female in each event will receive a $25 gift certificate for Fleet Feet. Thank you to Fleet Feet Houston for being one of our proud sponsors!

SWAG

The Shirt

This is the shirt for this race, you can select your size until October 19, availability and/or sizes are not guaranteed after that date

The Cup

All of our trail races are cup-less. There will be no disposable cups at the Aid Stations, but you will receive a washable, collapsible cup in your race packet. They fit any pocket large enough to hold your keys.

The Finisher Award

Instead of medals, every finisher will get a stainless steel wine tumbler in the color of their choice. Colors are offered on a first come, first served basis - so run fast!

Thank you to our partners!

West Sandy Creek Winery

Our host venue for this race, a wonderful winery bordering the Sam Houston National Forest.

Fleet Feet Houston

Turn to Fleet Feet for all your running needs: From footwear and apparel to hydration and nutrition.

Five Star Lawn Services

Francisco provides top-of-the-line lawn services in the Bellville, TX area AND he's a fantastic runner!