FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lucky Seven - Ethiopians Sweep Again at Chevron Houston Marathon
HOUSTON (January 18, 2015) - Near-perfect conditions yielded speedy
performances Sunday at the 43rd Chevron Houston Marathon as Yebrgual Arage
ran the second fastest time ever by a woman at Houston and Birhanu Gedefa
outkicked Gebo Burka to take the men's race. It was the seventh straight
sweep of the titles by Ethiopia.
Arage made a late race surge and passed early leader Biruktait Degefa
before fighting off the challenge of Guteni Imana on the way to a 2:23:23
that was a personal best by almost three minutes. Imana finished at
2:23:32, the third-fastest time ever at Houston and a seven minute
improvement on her previous best, and Degefa also dipped under 2:24 with a
2:23:51 that moved her to fifth on the all-time race performance list.
Kellyn Taylor had an impressive debut to place sixth at 2:28:40 as the top
American, three minutes ahead of 2014 half marathon champion Serena Burla,
who crossed the line at 2:31:46 in seventh. Lindsay Flanagan and Taylor
Ward were the other Americans in the top 10, taking ninth (2:33:12) and
10th (2:38:30) respectively.
Gedefa was content to run with the pack for the early part of the race,
cruising through the halfway point at 1:03:20. He stayed with the leaders
through 30K at 1:31:06 and was six seconds behind Debebe Tolossa with just
over four miles to go. Burka made a strong push and pulled away from the
pack, opening up a 14-second lead by 40K, but Gedefa fought back and passed
Burka in the final 400 meters to win at 2:08:03, a lifetime best and the
eighth-fastest time ever at Houston.
Burka's 2:08:12 made him the ninth-fastest in race history, while Tolossa
was third at 2:09:07. Kenya's Dominic Ondoro was also under 2:10, taking
fourth at 2:09:40.
Last year's half marathon runner-up, Aaron Braun, moved up in distance to
great effect, finishing as the top American at 2:12:54 in seventh. Braun
passed the halfway point at 1:06:53 and picked up the pace over the final
13 miles to chop almost seven minutes off his personal best. Craig Leon
also nabbed a top-10 finish for the U.S. with his ninth-place 2:14:43.
ESTRADA, CONLEY BIG WINNERS IN HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two very different races produced two superb results in the Aramco Houston
Half Marathon, which served as the U.S. championship race for the ninth
time for men and seventh time for women.
Diego Estrada shot to the lead after running with the pack for the first 5K
at 14:41, opening a 20-second gap by 10K (28:51) and stretching that margin
to 45 seconds over Jared Ward at the 15K mark (43:14). He tacked on five
more seconds to his cushion by 20K (57:45) and eased to the finish at
60:51, the third-fastest time ever by an American and also the
third-fastest ever at Houston.
Ward finished well to clock 61:42 in his debut at the distance to move to
ninth on the all-time Houston list, and Girma Mecheso was third at 62:16.
Three-time champion Meb Keflezighi was fighting a cold and a sore back as
he pursued his fourth U.S. title and third straight, but battled through to
take fourth at 62:18.
Last year's U.S. 10,000 meters champion, Kim Conley, bided her time through
10 miles at a fast pace, running with the leaders through 5K at 16:45 and
10K at 33:27. She shared the lead with 2006 champ Annie Bersagel at 15K
(50:08) and then pulled away over the next 5K, running 16:12 for that
portion of the race to pass 20K at 66:20 and take a 22-second lead.
Conley was powerful through the finish, crossing the line at 69:44 for the
fifth-fastest time ever at Houston and the second-fastest by an American
woman in the race. Brianne Nelson trimmed more than two minutes off her
lifetime best to take second at 70:16, and Janet Bawcom was third at 70:46.
For more information on the 2015 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco
Houston Half Marathon, featuring the USA Half Marathon Championships, visit
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 2014, the Run For a Reason
Charity Program raised a record $2.6 million and the HMC retained Gold
Certification from the Council of Responsible Sport for industry-leading
sustainability initiatives. Host to 14 U.S. Half Marathon Championships
since 2005 and the 1992 women's Olympic Trials Marathon, the 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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