Always in Training — Lifelong Athlete
“The Woodlands Waterway, The George Mitchell Nature Preserve and the trails along Spring Creek all provide an awesome variety of scenery (urban and natural) and terrane (soft and hard surfaces) to train in and on.”
Meet 55-year-old and longtime resident of The Woodlands, Bret Strong. He is currently training to run The Woodlands Half Marathon on March 2, The Muddy Trails Run in Creekside Park in April, The Woodforest Woodlands Triathlon in May and 10 For Texas in October.
He was a 3-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball and wrestling) so he’s been training most of his life. Born in LaPorte County, Indiana, he grew up in a small farming community and started running, skiing, biking and hiking in college at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he received his Bachelor of Science in business finance. After a transfer to Houston with Shell Oil Company, he attended South Texas College of Law where he received his Juris Doctorate cum laude. It was then, in the late 1990s, that Strong began running half and full marathons and started competing in triathlons. He competed in his 1st Ironman in Germany in 2004. He continues to compete in running races and triathlons from short distance sprint races up to marathons and Ironman races. Already, he has a whopping 4 Ironman races including 2018 Ironman Texas under his belt!
He runs/trains on the hundreds of miles of hike and bike trails and pathways in all of the villages of The Woodland and bikes throughout Montgomery County (to Magnolia and Montgomery and all the way up to Richards and Dacus). He swims at Villa Sport, The Woodlands Township Community Pools and occasionally at the CISD Natatorium. His favorite local nature spots involve those locations providing a variety of running and biking experiences including The Woodlands Waterway, The George Mitchell Nature Preserve and the trails along Spring Creek.
“These all provide an awesome variety of scenery (urban and natural) and terrane (soft and hard surfaces) to train in and on,” he explains.
Since 1996 Strong has been practicing law in The Woodlands handling various corporate and contractual matters, real estate transactions and oil and gas matters. He founded The Strong Firm P.C. in 2004 and has grown it to 8 attorneys and 15 employees and works out of an office space in Hughes Landing on Lake Woodlands. Strong has served on the boards and provided counsel for decades to close to a hundred different community and charitable organizations throughout our community. He has also served as the Chairman of the Board of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of the South Montgomery County YMCA, is a founding member of The Woodlands Bar Association and was named a Hometown Hero by Interfaith of The Woodlands in 2014. He is married to Angela Strong and is father to five children: Tyler (29), Hunter (26), Luke (7), Ella (5) and Kate (3).
Strong explains that as an attorney he encounters a tremendous amount of daily conflict and stress. He trains often, not only stay in peak physical condition for his physical health and to compete, but also to try to maintain a positive and productive mental state. When he trains, he says, “I am able to reset, refocus and be close to nature and God so I can provide my employees, my clients and my family with the best version of myself that I can be.”
His favorite running store is Fleet Feet in Hughes Landing which is about 500 feet from his office and his go-to bike shop is Bike Lane. He has been buying bikes and having them serviced by Ken (of Go See Kenbumper sticker fame) at Bike Lane since the 1990s. Strong’s favorite swim shop is Swim Shops of The Southwest located at the CISD Natatorium and also on Woodlands Parkway.
“To be able to walk out my front door and be running through a forest in 5 minutes, to continue running and be looking at a vibrant central business district in 10 minutes and to rest at beautiful parks, golf courses and amenities at any interval along the entirety of the way is breathtaking,” explains Strong.” There are very few places in the world that can match the mixture of all the world has to offer on a short run than The Woodlands, Texas.”
The Woodlander couldn’t agree more! Keep a lookout for Bret Strong and give him a friendly wave the next time you are on the hike and bike trails located throughout The Woodlands.