"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle—when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
Source unknown.



Christoph F. Eick's Running Homepage

Brief Running History

I ran my first race in 1994 and got more serious about training and running races in 1998; I jogged, enjoyed downhill skiing, hiked, played volleyball and tennis before I picked up running. I am a member of the Bayou City Road Runners and HARRA. I am mostly self-coached although I trained in the past with Jon Warren's & Sean Wade's Kenyan Way group.

Running Mile 17 of the cold, wet and windy Houston Marathon on January 13, 2013 (Photo taken by Arie Moghaddam).

I completed 33 marathons (7 Houston'96+'97+'03+'11+'13+'15+'17, 4 Dallas White Rock'97+'01+'06+'09, 4 Austin'99+'02+'04+'14 (1999 Race Photo), 2 New York'95+'02, 2 Boston'99+04, 2 Cleveland'01+'08, Califonia International'96, Virginia Bearch'00, Madison'00, Steamboat Springs'04, New Orleans'05, Big Sur'06, Vermont City'07, Fargo'10, Orange County'13, San Francisco'14, San Antonio'15 and Lafayette'17; DNF: Houston'01, Buffalo'05 and GreenBay'09; all finish times), running a 3:05:37 placing 128th in the 2003 Houston Marathon, and a 3:03:47 in the 2002 Austin Motorola Marathon. I won age group awards in the 2000 Madison Marathon, the 2002 Austin Marathon, and the 2004 Steamboat Springs Marathon. I also won top 500 finisher posters in the 1998 Crescent City Classic (placing 445th) and in the 2000 Crecent City Classic (placing 261st). I also ran a 5:16.7 in the Dec. 2001 Congress Avenue Mile, a 39:14 (6:19 pace) in Houston's 2000 Bayou City Classic 10K Race, and a 1:27:17 (6:39 pace) in Houston's 2002 El Paso Energy Half Marathon ('Leader of the Compaq Marathon First Mile Hill' Photo taken by Jerry Robinson).

I also ran 4 mountain races: Pikes Peak Ascent (almost 1.5 vertical miles!) in 1998, the Mount Washington (7.5M; elevation gain more than 600 feet per mile) in 1997, and Mount Evans Ascent (finish line at 14250 feet) in 2001, and the Eldora Mountain Trail 10K (Nederland, Colorado) in 2009. I enjoyed the scenery in all races;Woods however, I have to report that I was not very fast going up those mountains. I also completed the Prickly Pear 50K (San Antonio, TX) in March 2010, the Skyline 50K (Castrovalley, CA) in August 2003 and the Bighorn Trail 53K (Dayton, WY) in June 2002 (Photos: 'Bighorn National Forrest Adventure Club', 'How the Tail Looks').

As far as races in extreme weather conditions are concerned, I ran the Runner's World 4M Midnight Run on December 31, 2000 in Central Park, New York on snow in subfreezing conditions, I completed the Piney Woods 10 Mile Race (60 miles north of Houston) on January 30, 2010 on a partially flooded trail in temperatures ranging between 33 and 40 degrees and I completed the Habanero Hundred 20K Race in Cat Spring, Texas on August 12, 2023 in temperatures ranging between 102 and 106 degrees.

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming."
Frank Shorter, 1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist.

Running the Peachtree 10K Race in Atlanta, Georgia July 4, 1997.
"Running is not about the destination; it's about the journey, and the journey is therapy for the mind."
Kevin Nelson.


(Planned) Races in 2023-2025
  • Tuesday, July 4: Red, White & Blue 10K Race, Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
  • Saturday, August 12: Habanero Hundred 20K Race, 7IL Ranch, Cat Spring, Texas.
  • Hamstring injury in September 2023!
  • Thursday, November 23: 38th Annual Sugarland Turkey Trot Five Miler, Texas.
  • Sunday, December 31: Resolution Run 10K, Houston, Texas.
  • Sunday, January 7, 2024 Sunday, December 3, 2023: Brazos Bend 100 Half-Marathon; Due to trail damage and danger of potential flooding, the race was moved to January 7, 2024 at a new location: 7IL Ranch, Cat Spring, Texas (65 miles NWWWW of Houston).
  • Saturday, February 10, 2024: Surfside Beach Half Marathon (on beach sand), Texas. DNS, due to a calf injury.
  • ... (not much running February-October 2024)
  • Saturday, December 21: Houston's 12K of Christmas, Texas.
  • Saturday, January 4, 2025: The Freedom Runners' Happy New Year Half Marathon, Fort Worth, Texas.
  • Saturday, January 25, 2025: Hot Chocolate 15K, Houston, Texas.
  • Sunday, February 2, 2025: 8th Sienna 10 Miler, Missouri City, Texas.
  • Sunday, March 16: Unlikely, Seabrook Lucky Trails Half-Marathon, Texas.
  • Saturday, March 29, 2025: Unlikely, The Ascent 5K Run, Humble, Texas.
  • This concludes my Texas races until July 12, 2025, as I will be living in Tucson, Arizona April 1-May 1 and then in San Louis Obisco, California May 3-June 23 and finally in New Mexico June 25-July 10!
  • Sunday, May 18: Likely, Seaside Half Marathon, Ventura, California.
    "Remember, the second most important thing to choosing the right shoe is choosing the left one."
    Unknown Runner.

    Running the Brazos Bend 7IL Trail Half Marathon on January 7, 2024.

    Christoph's Featured Race in the Future


    Sunday, May 18: Seaside Half-Marathon, Solimar Beach, Ventura, California.

    "Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never touched at all because we never push through the obstruction."
    ---William James, philosopher

    Interesting Links

    Christoph Eick's Running Training Advice Interesting Running Topics Non-Running Links Christoph F. Eick
    "Nature is not a place to visit; it is home. Running in nature reminds us of our roots."
    Gary Snyder

    Running the 2001 Congress Avenue Mile, Austin, Texas.

    "To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating,...I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."
    Henry David Thoreau, in Walden.


    Running the TownBank Shamrock 8K Race in Virginia Beach on March 18, 2017 (with 7759 other runners, placing 855th, my 244th long distance race lifetime); it is one of the best Party Races in the US!


    Last updated: March 14, 2025.