FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steven Karpas
Director of Marketing and Race Development
713-957-3453
America’s Best to Run in Houston
Aramco Houston Half Marathon to host both male and female
Half Marathon National Championships
HOUSTON, TX July 11, 2006 The Houston Marathon Committee has been awarded
both the 2007 and 2008 USA men’s and women’s Half Marathon National
Championship races. Many of America’s top distance runners are expected to
run in Houston over the next two years to vie for more than $100,000 in
prize money.
The USA Half Marathon Championships will be staged as part of the annual
Aramco Houston Half Marathon, which has been run on Chevron Houston
Marathon weekend for the past five years. The 2007 race is scheduled for
Sunday, January 14th.
“The Chevron Houston Marathon has a rich history of hosting USA
Championship races, and we are very pleased to extend our commitment to
U.S. distance running,” said race director Brant Kotch. “We began our
support by hosting the 1979 USA men’s and women’s marathon championships
and more recently, we’ve served as the site for the men’s national half
marathon title races. Having the country’s top male and female runners in
Houston is important to our event and the city, and we look forward to
hosting the races the next two years.”
As part of its commitment to hosting the championship races in 2007 and
2008, the Houston Marathon Committee has allocated a prize purse of $51,500
for each race. Men and women will compete for a top prize of $10,000, with
prize money awarded to the top ten finishers. The race also will serve as a
qualifier for two athletes from the top three U.S. finishers for the 2007
IAAF World Road Running Championships to be held in Udine, Italy in October
2007.
The 2007 USA Half Marathon Championships will open next year’s USA Running
Circuit road-road series. While the fields for the races will be determined
closer to the event, past half marathons in Houston have featured several
elite Americans, including Dan Browne, Brian Sell, Colleen DeReuck and Jen
Rhines.
The Chevron Houston Marathon, a Running USA founding member, is the
nation’s premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all
50 U.S. states and more than 30 foreign countries. The race will celebrate
its 35th anniversary in 2007. The marathon offers the only closed marathon
course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the
Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd
support. More than 5,000 volunteers organize the race, which is Houston’s
largest single-day sporting event. More information is available online at
www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or 713-957-3453.
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