FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Worku Looks to Three-Peat at 2015 Chevron Houston Marathon
Aramco Houston Half Marathon to Host USA Half Marathon Championships
HOUSTON (January 7, 2015) - The 43rd edition of the Chevron Houston
Marathon Race Weekend features stacked fields in both the Chevron Houston
Marathon and the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, which plays host to the USA
Half Marathon Championships. Race-day for the 2015 Chevron Houston Marathon
and Aramco Houston Half Marathon is Sunday, January 18.
"Three of our four 2014 champions are returning in 2015, although one has
switched from the half marathon to the marathon," said Chevron Houston
Marathon Race Director Brant Kotch. "Our professional fields for the
marathon are particularly well-stocked with runners who have had promising
debuts and other quality results, and we think they're ready to step up and
deliver some really stellar performances on our stage. The fields in the
USA Half Marathon Championships are deeper than ever, even with
intentionally heightened entry standards. We think everyone is ready to put
on a first-class show."
Two-time defending champion Bazu Worku of Ethiopia, who set a personal best
2:05:25 when he finished third at the 2010 Paris Marathon, leads the field
in the men's Chevron Houston Marathon. Out to challenge him on race day
will be 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon runner-up Debebe Tolossa. 2014 USA
Half Marathon Championships runner-up Aaron Braun and Craig Leon are the
top American entrants in the field.
In the women's race, Ethiopian Fatuma Sado leads the way. Sado set her
personal best 2:25:39 in 2012 when she won the LA Marathon. Biruktait
Degefa will look to improve upon her personal best of 2:26:22 that she set
in Houston last year when she finished fourth. The top American in the
field is Serena Burla who returns to Houston after winning the 2014 USA
Half Marathon Championships. Kellyn Johnson will make her marathon debut
after setting a person best 1:11:50 in winning the St. Louis Half Marathon.
2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon champion and 2014 Boston Marathon
champion Meb Keflezighi returns to Houston looking to win his third
national half marathon title after winning his second here in Houston last
year. Josphat Boit and Shadrack Biwott, third and seventh last year
respectively, return to Houston hoping to improve upon their results. Also
in the field are Matthew Llano, who ran a personal best 1:01:47 in
finishing fifth last year, and Gabe Proctor.
Janet Bawcom, the fifth-place finisher at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials,
leads the field in the women's USA Half Marathon Championships, held in
conjunction with the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, while 2006 USA Half
Marathon Champion Annie Bersagel hopes to win her second national crown.
Bersagel recently set her personal best of 1:10:10 when she finished 13th
at the World Half Marathon Championships. 2014 USA Half Marathon
Championships runner-up Lauren Kleppin also returns, along with 2014 Dallas
Half Marathon champion Sara Hall. 2014 USA Outdoor 10,000m champion Kim
Conley and Houston athlete and former Rice University four-time NCAA
Division I All-American Becky Wade also are entered.
Men's Marathon
Bazu Worku (Ethiopia)
Debebe Tolossa (Ethiopia)
Silah Limo (Kenya)
Gadisa Shumie (Ethiopia)
Dominic Ondoro (Kenya)
Erick Mose (Kenya)
Birhanu Degefa (Ethiopia)
Lema Tola (Ethiopia)
Craig Leon (USA)
Aaron Braun (USA)
Ahmed Osman (USA)
Jesse Davis (USA)
Jonathan Mott (USA)
Simon Stuetzel (Germany)
Javier Ceja (USA)
Michael Wardian (USA)
Bennett Grimes (USA)
Tony Migliozzi (USA)
Women's Marathon
Fatuma Sado (Ethiopia)
Biruktait Degefa (Ethiopia)
Guteni Imana (Ethiopia)
Yebrgual Arage (Ethiopia)
Sechale Dalasa (Ethiopia)
Misiker Demissie (Ethiopia)
Serena Burla (USA)
Kellyn Taylor (USA)
Goitetom Haftu (Ethiopia)
Lindsay Flanagan (USA)
Lingling Jin (China)
Nicole Camp (USA)
Danielle Miller (USA)
Meghan Roth (USA)
Catherine Watkins (CAN)
Men's Half Marathon
Meb Keflezighi
Shadrack Biwott
Josphat Boit
Gabe Proctor
Matthew Llano
Jeffrey Eggleston
Ian Burrell
Daniel Tapia
Brett Gotcher
Jared Ward
Patrick Rizzo
Women's Half Marathon
Janet Bawcom
Annie Bersagel
Lauren Kleppin
Lindsey Scherf
Sara Hall
Alisha Williams
Mattie Suver
Clara Santucci
Sarah Crouch
Becky Wade
Kim Conley
For complete information on the 2015 Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco
Houston Half Marathon and USA Half Marathon Championships, please visit
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com.
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, and 5K. Over 250,000 participants, volunteers and
spectators make Chevron Houston Marathon Race Day the largest single-day
sporting event in Houston. Race Weekend generates over $50 million in
economic impact for the region annually. In 2013, the Run For a Reason
Charity Program raised $2.2 million and the HMC garnered Gold Certification
from the Council of Responsible Sport for industry-leading sustainability
initiatives. Host to 12 U.S. Half Marathon Championships since 2005 and
the 1992 women's Olympic Trials Marathon, HMC conducted the
nationally-televised 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, which featured men
and women competing on the same course simultaneously for the first time,
vying for the chance to represent Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games.
For more information, visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or call
713.957.3453.
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