Jonathan Hou

Story

Since about 2018, I started running regularly in my neighborhood area. I had a Fitbit back then but I didn’t really “use” it much and didn’t care about the data. At most, I would run about 2.5mi but I think I regularly only did about 1mi about 2 to 3 days per week. The main goal back then was to track steps because my employer’s health insurance program offered discounts if certain fitness activity criteria was met. The Fitbit came from that program. Otherwise I would not have bought it or any other tracker.

One fateful day in October 2022, I was driving to work on Gaither Rd and saw a sign warning about road closures for the Rockville 5k/10k. I had never run a race before since I thought it was silly to pay to do something I could do for free. Since I sometimes ran about 2.5 miles, I decided to sign up to try it out. On race day, I got a net time of 32:59. I thought maybe I’d try to improve my time but didn’t really think much of it and proceeded back to my normal routine. I thought about joining Montgomery County Road Runners Club (MCRRC) who held the race but I did not find any strong reason/desire to join. But I did toss my Fitbit for an Apple Watch 7.

Then another fateful day in April 2023, I got an e-mail advertising the Pike’s Peek 10k from MCRRC. I initially put it in the trash folder since I wasn’t interested. Since 10k is double 5k, I thought it was an awful big distance to try since the most I had run so far was the Rockville 5k. After a few days, I had a change of heart and rummaged in my trash folder for the e-mail. I decided to try to run the 10k distance in my neighborhood. If I got to the end in a reasonable time, I’d sign up for the race. My practice run took about 90 minutes, so I signed up to run.

In the few weeks leading up to the 10k, I thought I should train or do something to improve my time. A while ago, I had listened to an audiobook about running training. I reviewed the book and tried a routine I could follow in the limited time I had leading to the race. On race day, I finished Pike’s Peek 10k with net time of 1:10:44, less than the expected 90 minutes I got during my practice run.

After the 10k race, I decided to join MCRRC. My new goal was to beat my 2022 Rockville 5k time. I signed up for the club’s Run Performance Lab and took part in a few of the club’s low-key races. I continued to run about 3 times a week, following the training schedule from the book.

I thought my routine was working since over the course of next several months, I ran several MCRRC low-key races and saw my pace improve in many distances. Getting closer to race day, I signed up for Kentlands/Lakelands 5k, early September 2023, to test my progress and got 26:09! At that race, due to being thirsty a few times, I decided to carry water from then on. I bought an UltrAspire Momentum 2.0 Race Vest and UltraFlask 550 Hybrid Bottles for it and have worn it for any distance at or above 5k since.

While I was happy to run alone, I signed up for MCRRC’s Fall 5k and 10k training programs to try them out. One problem I had was I did not really do long runs. So I benefited from the programs’ weekend runs. It was a great opportunity to meet other people in the club and to visit places in the county I had never visited even though I’ve lived here my entire life.

At the Rockville 5k in November 2023, my net time was 25:40, mission accomplished!

Running into 2024, I decided I wanted to go faster and further. I signed up for the club’s Speed Development Program for the winter and handily beat my prior year’s Pikes Peek 10k time in April 2024.

After, I signed up for the First Time Marathon (FTM) program. Before FTM, the most I had run in one session was 10mi. Since my Apple Watch 7 would likely not have enough battery for an entire marathon, I rewarded myself by upgrading to an Apple Watch Ultra 2. I decided to pursue the goal of running a marathon in every state. I also entered into several Major Marathon lotteries but was not selected. I ran my first marathon at Baltimore in October 2024 and a second one a week later at Marine Corps Marathon (MCM). Unfortunately, I got sick the week of Baltimore but recovered enough to run the race. At MCM, I intended to go a very easy pace. My first 5k was at about 12:00/mi. However, by the 13mi point, I realized I was getting faster throughout and decided to push hard to beat my Baltimore time.

One of my other hobbies is collecting/playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game. A few weeks before Baltimore, I got a free little key charm of a Pokeball. I had the idea that I would attach it to my running vest and carry it on my future marathons. Like how some people dress up in costume, I’d just carry the Pokeball. Unfortunately, it fell off my vest on one of the FTM runs as I was testing how running with it felt. I thought about looking for it but 9mi is a long way to look for something I’d barely be able to see on the ground. So maybe somebody found it and gave it a new home or it’s still somewhere along on Sligo Creek Trail. Anyways, disappointed at the loss, I looked for a replacement or alternative. I couldn’t find exactly what I got originally but I found an even bigger Pokeball keychain. I bought 3 off eBay and attached one to the front of my vest. And at Baltimore, a fellow participant commented on it. Later on, I decided I wanted to give people behind me something to look at too, so I attached a second Pokeball there too. Although, the front Pokeball normally stays tucked in a pocket. I only like to show it off for marathon races.

While the Apple Watch is nice, I often found it unreliable for heart rate data. It would often lose track, so I decided in early February 2025 to get an external HR tracker. After some time comparing with the help of reviews from DC Rainmaker, I settled on a COROS Heart Rate Monitor.

A few weeks before my first marathon in April 2025 at Delaware, YouTube recommended me a video of a person who recorded the entire NYC Marathon on a GoPro. I was curious if I could do that too. With two weeks to race day, I purchased a GoPro HERO13 Black, several accessories, and tried recording a MCRRC low-key race. It worked out, and I have recorded every race since.

And that is my story so far….

Best Effort Races

1 Mile

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2023-07-07	Midsummer Night’s Mile	7:41.0	Gun
2024-07-12	Midsummer Night’s Mile	6:42.9	Gun
2025-07-11	MCRRC Midsummer Night’s Mile	6:31.6	Gun

2 Mile

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2023-08-05	Going Green Track Meet – 2 Mile Run	16:26	Gun
2024-08-02	MCRRC Going Green 2 Mile Run	15:16	Gun
2025-08-01	MCRRC Going Green – 2 Mile Run	14:01	Gun

5k

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2022-11-06	Rockville 5k	32:59	Net
2023-09-02	Kentlands/Lakelands 5k	26:09	Net
2023-11-05	Rockville 5k	25:40	Net
2024-01-01	New Year’s Day 5k	26:06	Net
2024-06-15	Suds and Soles 5k	24:26	Net	Did not plan to race this. Ran 9mi earlier in the morning with FTM so was going to just be fun run…
2025-06-14	Suds and Soles 5k	24:21	Net	Wow was this a lot more hot/humid compared to last year.

4 Mile

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2023-05-28	Memorial Day 4 Miler	37:07.37	Gun

8k

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2023-12-17	Jingle Bell Jog 8k	47:19.35	Gun	Started cramping about 1mi in. Do not recommend.
2024-12-15	Jingle Bell Jog 8k	40:37	Gun

10k

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2023-04-23	Pikes Peek 10k	1:10:44	Net
2024-04-21	Pikes Peek 10k	52:54	Net

10 Mile

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2023-11-25	MCRRC Turkey Burnoff 10 Mile	1:37:47	Net	Started it thinking I was going “easy” pace, ended with HR in the red zone.
2024-11-30	Turkey Burnoff 10 Mile	1:29:35	Net

Half-Marathon

Many half-marathons run but none at best effort.

Marathon

Date	Race	Time	TimeType	Notes
2024-10-19	Baltimore Running Festival	4:43:10	Net
2024-10-19	49th Marine Corps Marathon	4:38:19	Net
2025-04-06	Delaware Running Festival	4:23:10.98	Net
2025-05-25	M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon	4:57:46	Net	IT Band started aching around 3mi then full sharp pain starting around 6mi. Was a struggle to even walk.