Texas Independence Relays returns to Gonzales

Gunsmoke isn’t just a TV show that aired for 20 seasons on CBS. It’s also what residents will see — and smell — plenty of this Saturday, March 23 when the annual Texas Independence Relay returns to its departure point in front of the Gonzales Memorial Museum.

The nearly 200-mile relay race sends off teams of runners with staggered cannon booms to commemorate and trace the path of Sam Houston and the Texian Army towards independence after the fall of the Alamo from Gonzales to the Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park, which provides a close-up view of the impressive Houston skyline.

Teams of up to 12 runners will be announced by their chosen theme song and a cannon blast beginning at 6 a.m. and continuing until 2:30 p.m. Saturday in this relay that was begun in 2008 by the husband-and-wife team of Jay and Joy Hilscher of Lone Star Relays LLC.

Team members run together twice during the race — once in Gonzales at the beginning and once approaching the Water Works — but otherwise the 36 legs of the journey are assigned to individual runners and team vans shuttle team members to designated points for pickup and drop-off and the exchange of team wristbands. These legs vary by length and elevation.

Completing a Texas Independence Relay becomes not only a physical test for runners, but also a strategic test for team and race organizers as well. It is also not uncommon for residents in the towns along the way to come out to cheer on racers and show them some hospitality during their brief stops in their communities.

The Friday before race day (March 22) is the TIPP (Texas Independence Pajama Party), which includes registration and allows competitors to get to know each other before the official event start.

The race begins Saturday morning with a 1.15 mile prologue run that all team members run that takes them from the Gonzales Memorial Museum around the Courthouse in a loop and back towards the Museum until going on their way to the first checkpoint, located on County Road 342 (Kelley Loop).

The second leg ends at the Sam Houston Oak, where the Texian leader was camped when news came of the loss of the Alamo. The first four legs of the race — a total of 19.5 miles — are located entirely in Gonzales County.

The race continues to Shiner, Moulton, Flatonia, Schulenburg, Weimar, Columbus, Altair, Eagle Lake, Wallis, Fulshear, and Katy before finishing up in downtown Houston.

It takes the majority of teams between 27 to 32 hours to completely finish the Texas Independence Relay. The fastest teams — some comprised of collegiate runners — do not depart until after 1 p.m. Saturday, but will overtake the slower runners around Fulshear and may finish the race around 9 a.m. Sunday, while the slowest teams may not finish until 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m. Sunday.

Participating teams hail from at least 32 of the 50 states and there is one runner from England taking part in the race. The vast majority are from Texas. The 2023 winning team was the Good Guys Run Club, who set a new TIR record with an overall pace of 5:40 per mile.

The race itself traces the route Sam Houston and the Texian army took during the “Runaway Scrape” as they burned down and moved from Gonzales following the losses at the Alamo and Goliad and eventually ended up at the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, where the Texians surprised and routed the Mexican Army, captured Santa Anna and gained their independence.

Of course, the cannon blast is reminiscent of the scene in Gonzales from Oct. 1, 1835, when a ragtag group of Texians dared the Mexican Army to “come and take” their six-pound cast-iron swivel cannon used for defense.