{"id":497942,"date":"2026-01-07T03:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T03:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/497942\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T03:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T03:03:28","slug":"space-city-elite-is-showing-that-anyone-belongs-on-the-starting-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/497942\/","title":{"rendered":"Space City Elite is showing that anyone belongs on the starting line"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) &#8212; Derwin Graham runs in hopes to inspire people of color to get moving, bringing that message directly to the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Throughout the week, you can see members of Space City Elite running through Third Ward, past Texas Southern University, or at Jack Yates High School.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Their message: everyone belongs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I was always the only black or brown runner on my team, so I always felt like I had to dim my light and kind of shrink myself in these spaces that run distance.&#8221; Graham shared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The 32-year-old has been a runner most of his life. He was nationally ranked at Copperas Cove High School before joining the Track and Cross Country team at Baylor University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He co-founded Space City Elite in 2023. The running group is not about staying fit. It&#8217;s about representation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I think anybody can be elite in their own way, you just have to put in that effort. Find what works for you, and as long as you&#8217;re trying, as long as you&#8217;re putting in the effort, I think that&#8217;s what elite means,&#8221; member Stephen Aguilar said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Graham and members of Space City Elite will be running in the Houston Marathon this Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><strong class=\"vtkaO \">About 2026 Chevron Houston Marathon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">With all races, including charity entries, officially sold out, the <strong class=\"vtkaO \"><a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc13.com\/marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chevron Houston Marathon<\/a><\/strong> is set to make yet another major mark in our city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Watch ABC13&#8217;s Chevron Houston Marathon coverage on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 live at 6:30 a.m. on TV and <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc13.com\/apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">anywhere you stream<\/a>. Just search &#8220;ABC13 Houston&#8221; in your app store.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In 2026, race weekend is Jan. 9-11, with the schedule of events as follows:<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><strong class=\"vtkaO \">Friday, Jan. 9<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Houston Marathon Health and Fitness Expo presented by Houston Methodist<br class=\" \"\/>10 a.m. &#8211; 6 p.m.<br class=\" \"\/>George R. Brown Convention Center<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><strong class=\"vtkaO \">Saturday, Jan. 10 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">We Are Houston 5K presented by Aramco and Chevron<br class=\" \"\/>McKinney and Crawford<br class=\" \"\/>8 a.m. start<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">RunFest<br class=\" \"\/>Discovery Green, Jones Lawn<br class=\" \"\/>7 a.m. &#8211; 10:30 a.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Houston Marathon Health and Fitness Expo presented by Houston Methodist<br class=\" \"\/>8:30 a.m. &#8211; 5 p.m.<br class=\" \"\/>George R. Brown Convention Center<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><strong class=\"vtkaO \">Sunday, Jan. 11<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Start at Congress and Fannin<br class=\" \"\/>6:35 a.m. Marathon &amp; Half Marathon Wheelchair &amp; Handcycle Division<br class=\" \"\/>6:45 a.m. Aramco Houston Half Marathon Elite Field<br class=\" \"\/>6:55 a.m. Chevron Houston Marathon Elite Field<br class=\" \"\/>6:55 a.m. Marathon &amp; Half Marathon Open Field<br class=\" \"\/><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) &#8212; Derwin Graham runs in hopes to inspire people of color to get moving, bringing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":497943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[223778,223777,12514,4345,223776,6522,7171,1236,223775,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-497942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-223778","9":"tag-derwin-graham","10":"tag-diversity","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-houston-marathon","13":"tag-mission","14":"tag-representation","15":"tag-running","16":"tag-space-city-elite","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115851599192701678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}