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Press Release - Houston Marathon - 5/9/11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     Revamped Olympic Trials Marathon Course Unveiled in Houston

HOUSTON (May 9, 2011) – The Houston Marathon Committee and USA Track & 
Field have announced that the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon 
course has been modified based on feedback received from athletes and 
coaches after a first run of the course at the USA Half Marathon 
Championships last January where the top U.S. men and women "test drove" 
the multi-loop course. Houston will host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials 
– Marathon on Saturday, January 14, 2012, a first for a single city to host 
both the men's and women's Olympic Trials races at the same event.

"The first iteration of the Olympic Trials Marathon course used in the USA 
Half Marathon Championships was a balance between the request for an 
eight-mile loop to emulate London and ever-present city traffic concerns," 
said Brant Kotch, president and race director of the Houston Marathon 
Committee. "We have now modified the route to minimize and reconfigure the 
out-and-back sections, and we believe that the revised course will be very 
positively received by athletes and spectators alike. Moreover, the new 
route should be even faster than the Champs version, which actually 
produced finishing times that were faster than had been predicted by 
statisticians."

The improved 2012 course will feature a one-time 2.2-mile inner loop 
followed by an eight-mile loop traversed three times. With only one broad 
u-turn on the eight-mile loop, faster marathon times are expected. The 
relatively flat course has a similar configuration to the 2012 Olympic 
Marathon multi-loop, multi-turn eight-mile course in London.

One additional change from 2011 will have the Olympic hopefuls in 2012 
running counterclockwise over the entire course. This will result in a 
roughly 190-meter straightaway leading to the finish line, also a benefit 
to both athletes and spectators. The course will start and finish in front 
of the George R. Brown Convention Center, the home base for the Houston 
Marathon weekend events (January 14-15). The Olympic Trials will start at 
8:00 a.m.

For a look at the new 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon course map, visit 
houstonmarathon.com.

To-date, 109 U.S. men and 143 U.S. women have qualified for the 2012 
Olympic Trials Marathon. The top 150 male and female distance runners are 
expected to compete in Houston January 2012 to qualify for the six coveted 
spots on the U.S. Olympic marathon team for the London 2012 Olympic Games 
next summer.

About the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC), a Running 
USA Founding Member, annually organizes the nation's premier winter 
marathon, half-marathon, 5K and kids' fun run. In 2011, more than 30,000 
runners participated in four race weekend events organized by 7,500 
volunteers, creating Houston's largest single-day sporting event. In 
addition to hosting numerous world-renowned road races, including the USA 
Men's and Women's Half Marathon Championships since 2005 and the 1992 U.S. 
Women's Olympic Marathon Trials, HMC will host the 2012 U.S. Men's and 
Women's Olympic Marathon Trials on January 14, 2012.

For more information, visit houstonmarathon.com or call (713) 957-3453.

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