Some crouched, hands scraping the ground as they cut closely around corners at breakneck speed. Others took the corners wide with just a shift of hips and their arms outstretched, standing tall like surfers riding waves.

This is skating's fast lane. For local longboarders, there is nothing more thrilling than furtively careening down a dimly lit parking garage in the wee hours, when office workers and their cars have long gone home. Their only brakes are their feet and security guards.

"Every night between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., there are skaters in downtown garages," said Greg Noble, a 51-year-old stockbroker recruiter who has been longboarding for six years.

"This is getting too big to treat it like a bank robbery - 'Get in and get out,' " Noble said. "We are working on getting the sport respected."

To that end, he and his fellow riders are hosting what they believe are the first legal garage races in Texas this weekend in downtown Houston. The races are part of a three-day event sponsored by Team NoBull, a Houston-based international group of longboard racers.

The NoBull Bayou Battle will include a day of traditional skateboarding, which has dominated the Houston scene in recent years and saw the opening of the country's largest skate park in August.

Dozens of longboarders gathered downtown recently for a dress rehearsal for Saturday's sanctioned races. They raced together down the nine-story Hobby Center garage, cruising at speeds up to 20 mph. When they reached the second level, men, women and teens clutching colorful, sticker-laden boards crammed into elevators for another run - with the permission of garage management.

"It feels luxurious because we don't have to worry about security guards," 16-year-old Taylor Jandl said. "And I'm getting to skate with all my friends instead of just a handful."

The Alvin teen said they usually skate garages in small numbers to avoid detection. They've nicknamed the structures - Troll Face, Chronic, Jesus Saves - so they can share on social media where they'll be riding. Many nights, it's a matter of one run and done in a garage. Then it's on to another.

Why garages?

Longboards may look to the untrained eye like skateboards, which are built for tricks, but they have a longer wheelbase, softer wheels and are constructed for a more stable ride. The average skateboard measures 28-33 inches, while longboards generally stretch 36 to 42 inches.

Since their boards are built for speed, longboarders look to garages for the topography that this region lacks.

More Information Team NoBull'sGarage Race When: 7:30 p.m.-midnight Saturday. Where: Parking garage behind Hobby Center, 800 Bagby.Entrance on Walker Street. Admission: Free for spectators; riders can register at carveskateshop.com. Parking: Spectators are encouraged to park in the city's H Lot at Houston Avenue and Memorial Drive and then use the Hobby Center Pedestrian Bridge over Buffalo Bayou. Information: carveskateshop.com.

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"Houston is flat," said Jay Cronin, 29. "If you want to go fast, you have to drive to Austin or find a garage."

Cronin, a graphic designer who has been sailing down local parking garages for 10 years, estimates there are about 150 garage riders in the Houston area. An online search turns up dozens of videos of their nocturnal outings.

Noble skateboarded as a young man and picked up longboarding when his son learned to skate. The father of three said securing a garage for this weekend's event was easier than expected.

"We went in and said 'hear us out,' " he said of the Hobby Center garage's management. "They were, 'Why not? We're always chasing you out anyway.' They had the right attitude."

Greg Holloman, special events manager for Hobby Center, said being located on the west side of downtown near Joe Jamail Skatepark has familiarized the arts organization with skate culture.

"We've experienced the 'outlaw racers.' We felt that allowing the races would be a great way to open the dialogue with that community," he said.

It also helped that Team NoBull secured insurance for the event through Florida-based International Distance Skateboard Association.

IDSA's Jonathan Strauss called the Houston races unprecedented in size, adding that the event dovetails with his organization's goal to raise the profile of longboarding.

Most longboard events, he said, are small affairs held in rural areas where costs for security and road closures are minimal.

"We've been trying to figure out ways to do more events in an urban setting, to grow the sport and to open doors in larger municipalities," Strauss said. Saturday's races are double the size of any event IDSA has been involved with in the past, he said.

While there's a push for longboard legitimacy, Team NoBull's Bayou Battle schedule includes an "Outlaw Garage Sesh" on Friday night.

"That's part of our culture; it's our roots," Noble, a founder of Team NoBull, said of the covert races.

Race organizers expect the sanctioned races to draw about 300 racers from across North America and say spectators are welcome.

Including the public is part of the next step in the longboarders' goal to gain acceptance in the community.

"We want to use the same trails as the cyclists and people pushing strollers," Noble said, adding that cities such as New York, Vancouver and Austin are longboard-friendly. "In those cities, people use their boards as alternative forms of transportation.

"Our next step is going to City Council. We need to educate people about longboarding. As long as we ride respectfully, we should be able to use the trails."

'Gnarl and blood'

The local longboarding community has rules, among them respect your fellow riders and always wear a helmet.

Injuries are a part of the sport but also something the NoBull riders try to mitigate.

"What people need to know (about longboarding) is that the skate gods require gnarl and blood," 27-year-old Jerry He said during a break in the action at the race rehearsal.

In addition to helmets, many wear skate pucks, something akin to hand armor. Some don knee and elbow pads. A few sport hip padding.

"This is an after-hour sport. It calls for etiquette and a good mentality," said He, who works in the oil industry. "Better safe than dead. There's a lot of tough-guy mentality in shortboarding. There's an us-against-the-man mentality. That's not the case among longboarders. We police ourselves, and we clean up after ourselves."

They also mentor the younger riders.

Michael McDonnold, 17, of Alvin has been longboarding about two years. He said he's just beginning to build his confidence in garage skating.

"Endurance is my main struggle," McDonnold said, adding that his NoBull teammates are helping him.

"They literally push me to get better," McDonnold said. "They get behind me and push me to make me go faster."