(RRW) Athletics: Full Set of New Records at Houston Marathon & Half-Marathon
HOUSTON (15-Jan) — While it was hard to match the excitement of yesterdays Olympic Marathon Trials here, the top competitors in the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half-Marathon gave it their best shot, toppling the mens and womens course records in both races. Todays event marked the 40th running of the marathon here.
The record breaking started in the half-marathon. With pacemaking help from Kenyas Philemon Limo, Ethiopian Feyisa Lilesa, the reigning IAAF World Championships Marathon bronze medalist, went out at a fast clip, hitting 5-K in 14:01 and 10-K in 28:02. His nearest challenger, compatriot Tilahun Regassa, was nearly a minute back. Limo left the course after 10-K, leaving Lilesa –who only decided to run the race a week ago– to run the remaining kilometers alone. He clocked an excellent 59:22, to smash Ryan Halls 2007 course record of 49:43. His was the fourth-fastest half-marathon ever on US soil.
I was very much prepared for this race, and it was comparatively easy for me, Lilesa said through an impartial interpreter. Im really very happy. This is my best personal best. Im happy to have achieved this thing (the record).
The womens half-marathon offered considerably more drama. Reigning Boston Marathon champion Caroline Kilel of Kenya was running shoulder-to-shoulder with Belaynesh Oljira, an Ethiopian who won last months Corrida de Satilde;o Silvestre in Luanda, Angola, with 200 meters to go. The pair jostled as they made the final left hand turn into the 184-meter homestretch in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Oljira went wide, then accelerated away from Kilel to take the win in 1:08:26, two seconds ahead of the Kenyan and 1:15 under Shalane Flanagans 2010 course record. Oljira said that she was counting on her track speed to get the win.
Im very much into the 10,000, so I have the speed, she said through the interpreter. That helped me a lot today.
She was not, however, thinking about the course record, and the $7500 bonus the organizers had on offer. Nobody told me about the time, but I ran very fast, she said with a laugh.
Both Lilesa and Oljira earned $10,000 for their victories plus the course record bonuses.
Behind the mens winner, two Americans ran noteworthy times. Scott Bauhs of the Mammoth Track Club clocked 1:01:30 in third place, while former University of Oregon star Luke Puskedra ran 1:01:36 in fourth. Both marks were personal bests, and Puskedra made his debut at the distance.
In the marathon, Ethiopias Tariku Jufar broke away from compatriot Debebe Tolossa in the 38th kilometer, then ran alone to the finish in a course record 2:06:51 (previous 2:07:04). Jufar, who was struck by a car in Addis Ababa in 2009 and suffered broken bones, was beaming after his victory and personal best.
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