FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pro Athletes to Tackle Chevron Houston Marathon,
Aramco Houston Half Marathon
A tantalizing mix of veterans, newcomers, speed and savvy will be on
display at the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon on
Sunday, as top international fields of professional athletes join 25,733
other runners in tackling the streets of the city, cheered by an estimated
250,000 spectators for the city's largest one-day sporting event.
"This is a year of milestones for us," said Brant Kotch, race director, in
welcoming media to the pre-race press conference on Friday morning. Led by
the 25th anniversary of the Run for a Reason Charity Program and the
inaugural year of a partnership between Chevron and Aramco in sponsoring
Saturday's We Are Houston 5K, the milestones may also include
record-breaking performances and a well-earned birthday party.
In the Chevron Houston Marathon, Ethiopia's Yitayal Atnafu is seeking to
celebrate his 26th birthday by breaking the tape after three consecutive
runner-up finishes here. "I am ready to be first this time," he said
Friday. Last year, he led the race by as much as 40 seconds before
finishing as runner-up to Bazu Worku, who is not in the field this year.
He will be challenged by, among others, compatriot Abayneh Ayele (the
fastest man in the field, with a personal best of 2:06:45); 2017 champion
Dominic Ondoro of Kenya; and Albert Korir, a 24-year-old Kenyan who will be
racing for the first time in the U.S.
On the women's side, defending champion Biruktayit Degefa returns for the
sixth consecutive year. The Ethiopian's streak includes victories in 2018
and 2016, a runner-up finish in 2017 and third place in 2015 - the race in
which she set her personal best of 2:23:51, the fastest in the women's
field. Her closest rival may be Buze Diriba, a 24-year-old Ethiopian making
her debut at the distance. Diriba has seen great success on the U.S. roads,
with wins in 2018 at five different distances (5K, 10K, 12K, 10 mile and
the half marathon).
For the Americans, 40-year-old Kara Goucher makes her masters debut. The
two-time Olympian is running her first marathon since finishing fourth in
the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, after overcoming a series of injuries.
"I'm here for the joy of it," she said, when asked about her race goals.
"I'm here for the love of competing."
They will all be chasing a first-place prize of $45,000, as well as a race
record bonus of $30,000.
In the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, both the men's and women's fields are
arguably the fastest and deepest ever assembled in this country, with six
men bringing personal bests of under 1 hour and six women under 1:07. Few
will be shocked if both the men's and women's winners run the fastest half
marathon ever on U.S. soil: two men come in with personal bests faster than
the current mark of 58:46, and four women better or equal the mark of
1:06:29.
Leading the men's field is Jemal Yimer, a 22-year-old Ethiopian who less
than three months ago ran a 58:33 half marathon, tying him for the
third-fastest man in history. Not far behind him on the depth chart is
Kenya's Bedan Karoki, the sixth-fastest man in history at 58:42, with
another 22-year-old Ethiopian, Shura Kitata (59:16) coming in as one of the
best marathoners in the world, having finished as runner-up in 2018 in both
London and New York City.
For the women, all eyes will be on Kenya's Fancy Chemutai, whose personal
best of 1:04:52, set in 2018, is only one second off the world record.
Sunday will be not only the 23-year-old's first race in the U.S., but her
first in cool temperatures. As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather
Service forecast for the 7 a.m. start is for a temperature around 35
degrees and winds of 5-10 mph.
Among her international challengers will be defending champion Ruti Aga of
Ethiopia; Kenya's Mary Wacera (whose winning time here of 1:06:29 is the
fastest half marathon ever run on U.S. soil); and Kenyans Gladys Cherono,
the 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Champion and Brigid Kosgei, the 2018 Bank
of America Chicago Marathon Champion.
But at least two Americans are also worth watching. Sally Kipyego, the 2012
Olympic silver medalist and 2011 IAAF World Championship silver medalist at
10,000 meters for Kenya, will be running her first race after becoming an
American citizen in 2017, and Emily Sisson will be looking to run a
personal best that could put her in the record books.
Sisson has twice run the United Airlines NYC Half - in her 2017, she ran
1:08:21 for the fastest-ever U.S. debut - but Houston will her first half
marathon on a flat, fast course. The 27-year-old said she is hoping to run
under 68 minutes. When asked if she might challenge the American record
(67:25) set here last year by her training partner, Molly Huddle, she said,
"I know Molly made a comment about her record, and she wouldn't just say
something like that so I'm going to take that as confidence she thinks I'm
fit."
The Aramco Houston Half Marathon athletes will vie for the first-place
prize of $20,000, along with a race record bonus of $15,000 and a world
record bonus of $50,000.
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