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(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, Published with permission. HOUSTON (19-Jan) -- Conner Mantz and Weini Kelati set new American records at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon on a chilly and windy morning here.  Mantz, 28, the reigning USATF marathon champion, crushed Ryan Hall's mythical record of 59:43 set here in 2007, running 59:17 and nearly winning the race overall.  Kelati, 28, broke her own record of 1:06:25 set here a year ago, clocking 1:06:09. "It was a special day today," said Mantz, who finished second to Ethiopia's Addisu Gobena by 4/100ths of a second (both athletes were given the same time).  He added: "My coach Ed Eyestone prepared me really well." Mantz made his intentions known right from the gun at 6:45 a.m.  With a black watch cap pulled down low on his head, Mantz tucked in behind pacemaker Amon Kemboi of Kenya along with Gobena, Gabriel Geay of Tanzania, and Jemal Yimer of Ethiopia, twice the race champion here. Kemboi did a great job, taking the quartet of contenders through 5 km in 14:02 and 10 km in 28:01.  That put them just under the required pace to break Feyisa Lelisa's course record of 59:22 set in 2012. Although Kemboi dropped just after 10K, the pace remained strong through 15K.  The third 5-kilometer segment was timed in 14:04, and the four athletes were rotating against the wind.  Gobena did a lot of the leading. Remarkably, the four stayed together all the way to the final kilometer, and it was only inside of the final 200 meters that a head-to-head sprint between Gobena and Mantz set up.  Gobena had a one-step lead and appeared to be getting away, but Mantz surged on the Ethiopian's left and tried to overtake him.  As the two barreled for the narrow finish tape, Gobena angled slightly to his left, squeezing Mantz, who nearly ran into one of the tape-holders.  Officials confirmed that Gobena was the winner, and the two athletes embraced after the finish. "I was very happy to be able to run with all of those runners," said Gobena, who won $15,000 in prize money.  "I was very happy to be able to compete with such great athletes." Along the way to his record, Mantz split 42:05 at 15K, 45:16 at 10 miles, and 56:23 at 20K.  Those are all pending national records. "This is a record I really wanted," said Mantz, looking a little shocked.  "I want to lower it down the road." Going down the finish order, Geay took third in 59:18, Yimer got fourth in 59:20, and Britain's Patrick Dever took fifth in 1:00:11. In the women's race Kelati also set pending American records at 15K (46:32), 10 miles (50:05), and 20K (1:02:43). "The goal is just to run hard from the beginning (and) that's what I did," said Kelati, who said that stomach problems almost derailed her race today. Like Mantz, Kelati finished second.  Senayet Getachew of Ethiopia picked up five seconds on Kelati in the 20th kilometer, and held a four-second lead to the finish.  She won in 1:06:05 and claimed the $15,000 first prize. "The race was very good, the race was very tough," said Getachew through a translator.  She continued: "I have never run in weather like this before." Both Mantz and Kelati took home $18,000: $8,000 for second place and $10,000 for setting new national records. The Chevron Houston Marathon lacked the fireworks of the half, but was still an exciting race.  The men's elite pack went out conservatively in 1:04:17 which kept ten men in contention, including Israel's Haimro Alame, Eritrea's Yemane Haileselassie, and Kenya's Shadrack Kimining. Haileselassie, who won the Honolulu Marathon last month, put in a surge after 30-K, running the 5-kilometer segment between 30 and 35-K in 14:49.  That was too fast for most of the pack, and set up a three-way battle between Alame, Haileselassie, and Kimining just past 40-K.  Alame put in a surge of his own and ran away for the win in 2:08:17.  He won $50,000 in prize money. "At the beginning it was slower because it was so cold, so the only option was to save everything for the finishing kick," said Alame, clutching the Israeli flag. Haileselassie took second in 2:08:25, Kimining got third in 2:08:29, and France's Hugo Taupiac took fourth in 2:08:50.  Christian Allen was the top American in seventh place in 2:10:32.  His time was the fastest ever by an American man in Houston. In the women's division of the marathon, Ethiopia's Kumeshi Sichala got away from compatriot Tsige Haileslase and American Erika Kemp in the 26th kilometer, and only had men for company for the rest of the race.  She cruised to a personal best 2:20:42. "It was after the halfway that I left everyone behind," said Sichala through a translator.  "After the pacemaker dropped out, I followed runners (men) who were running for themselves.  At 26-K I was able to pull away." Kemp, who was running in only her second marathon, achieved her goal of running the "massive PB" she said she was trying for. She finished second in 2:22:56, a 2025 World Championships qualifier and the second-fastest time ever by an American woman in Houston.  She improved her personal best by over 11 minutes. Haileslase, who struggled in the second half, held on for third in 2:25:09.  Fourth went to another Ethiopian, Anna Dibaba, in 2:26:49.  Amber Zimmerman of Philadelphia got fifth in 2:29:01. Both the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon and Chevron Houston Marathon are World Athletics Gold Label Road Races.  This is the only event with two Gold Label races contested on the same day at the same time. PHOTO: Weini Kelati and Conner Mantz after setting USA records at the 2025 Aramco Houston Half-Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)  

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly all rights reserved. Published with permission. HOUSTON (18-Jan) -- Ryan Hall's USATF half-marathon record of 59:43 was set here in 2007 at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon, and despite the introduction of "super shoes" in 2016, which use carbon plates to help propel runners forward, Hall's record has yet to be broken.  Hall, now 42, set that mark as a 24 year-old while making his half-marathon debut. "My plan was to just see how I felt," Hall told Race Results Weekly that day.  "I was just going with the race pace I could maintain." America's best road runners of the last decade --Dathan Ritzenhein, Galen Rupp, Leonard Korir, and Hillary Bor-- have been unable to break the record giving Hall's mark a mythical quality.  But a new crop of athletes are ready to try on the streets of Houston on Sunday, including Olympians Conner Mantz, Joe Klecker and Morgan Pearson.  For them Hall's record is definitely top of mind. "There were a lot of races to pick from, but the most exciting one for me was always Houston," Klecker said at a press conference yesterday.  The 28 year-old, who is coached by 2009 World Half-Marathon Championships bronze medalist Dathan Ritzenhein, is trying the distance for the first time and wants to run fast.  "I've seen the field and there's people in this race who have run faster than that record.  So, if I go in there and try to win, and if I feel good push for it, it's possible.  From the stuff I've done in training I believe it indicates that it's a doable goal." Klecker did his build-up with Pearson, an Olympic silver medalist in the triathlon mixed relay, who is a gifted runner.  Pearson, 31, ran a 1:01:08 half-marathon in Valencia last October a week after he wrapped up his triathlon season in Malaga.  He was clearly excited by the chance to run fast here.  He called his result in Valencia an "OK race" and would like to go faster. "I was left wanting more," Pearson said of his run in Valencia.  He added: "After Valencia, I hope to improve my time." Mantz, 28, the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon champion who won the 2021 USATF Half-Marathon Championships in a personal best 1:00:55, was motivated to run here based in part on the strength of the field.  He had a terrific year in 2024 culminating in an eighth place finish at the Paris Olympic Marathon and a sixth place showing at the TCS New York City Marathon.  His time at New York of 2:09:00 was the fastest ever by an American on New York's tough course. "With this elite field there's a ton that's possible," Mantz said.  "With a field like this you can definitely get fast times and the American record could go down.  Part of the reason I wanted to come here was it's a fast course, and you have Morgan and Joe and plenty of other elite Americans running here.  I want to be in that race whether I'm ready or not." The other top Americans include Olympians Clayton Young (1:01:18 PB) and Hillary Bor (1:01:20), Diego Estrada (1:00:49), Frank Lara (1:01:00), and Futsum Zienasellassie (1:01:21).  The fastest international athletes are Jemal Yimer of Ethiopia (58:33 PB), Gabriel Geay of Tanzania (59:42), Abe Gashahun of Ethiopia (59:46), and Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya (1:00:43).  Yimer has won the race twice. Not to be overlooked is the possibility of a USA record on the women's side.  Last year, Weini Kelati came to this race and ran a national record 1:06:25 in her debut.  She's back this year and is ready to run fast. "It was my first half-marathon last year and I didn't know how it was going to be," said Kelati, whose last race was a 4:29 road mile in Hawaii in December.  She continued:  "I'm just really excited, and we'll see how well I can race because training has been really, really good.  And I'm just excited to be here." Amanda Vestri, who ran 1:08:12 in her half-marathon debut in Orlando last month, is also running here, but doesn't expect to be challenging Kelati, she said.  Other top Americans include Natosha Rogers (1:09:36 PB), Lindsay Flanagan (1:09:37), Lauren Hagens (1:09:41), and Susanna Sullivan (1:09:42).  The fastest international women are Buze Diriba of Ethiopia (1:06:24) and Jessica Warner-Judd of Great Britain (1:07:07). Cold and windy conditions are expected here for Sunday, which may slow the race down.  At the 6:45 a.m. start, the temperature should be about 35F/2C. The Aramco Houston Half-Marathon is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.  Race winners will receive $15,000 in prize money, and breaking the course records (59:22 for men and 1:04:37 for women, respectively) is worth a $15,000 bonus.  American record breakers can earn a bonus of $10,000. "I really don't know what's possible," said Mantz.  "It's a blast.  I love competing." PHOTO: Four of the top athletes entered in the 2025 Aramco Houston Half-Marathon (left to right): Conner Mantz, Joe Klecker, Morgan Pearson and Jemal Yimer (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. (15-Jan) -- The reigning Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, the 2021 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir, and current world record holder Ruth Chepngetich have all been contracted to run the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, April 27, organizers announced last night. Hassan, a Dutchwoman, won the Paris 2024 Olympic Marathon in a Games record 2:22:55.  She out-sprinted then world record holder Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia  who finished three seconds behind.  Hassan also won bronze medals in the 5000m and 10,000m at the Paris Games, an unprecedented triple for a woman. "Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5000 and 10,000," Hassan admitted that day.  "I was telling myself if I hadn't done that, I would feel great today. From the beginning to the end, it was so hard." Hassan won the TCS London Marathon in 2023, also in a sprint finish, in her debut marathon.  She has a personal best of 2:13:44, the European record and the third-fastest of all time. Jepchirchir, a Kenyan, won the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Marathon (held in Sapporo in 2021), and is the reigning London Marathon champion (she was also third in 2023).  Her 2024 winning time of 2:16:16 was a women-only world record, surpassing the 2:17:01 that compatriot Mary Keitany had run in London in 2017.  Jepchirchir was also the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon champion and the 2023 World Half-Marathon gold medalist. Chepngetich, also from Kenya, won last October's Bank of America Chicago Marathon in a jaw-dropping 2:09:56, a world record.  Chepngetich, the 2019 world marathon champion, would have finished 11th had she been entered in the men's division.  Unlike Hassan and Jepchirchir, Chepngetich has yet to win the London Marathon, finishing third in her only appearance in the special COVID-safe edition held in October, 2020, in St. James's Park. "The TCS London Marathon always brings together the best athletes in the world and I am sure this year will be as competitive as ever," Chepngetich said through a statement.  "Myself, Peres and the other women are strong, so it will be a competitive one and I want to prepare as best as I can and we will see if we can lower Peres's world record of 2:16:16 from last year. With the strength of the field, I think we can support each other and maybe the world record will fall." Certainly, the three women will have Paula Radcliffe's absolute London Marathon women's record of 2:15:25 in mind, a mark set in a mixed-sex race in 2003. "Ruth's world record at the Chicago Marathon last year was an incredible performance that re-defined what is possible in women's marathon running," said Spencer Barden, the TCS London Marathon elite athletes chief.  "So, we are delighted to welcome her back to the TCS London Marathon and are very excited to see her take on the Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, plus last year's champion and women's only world record holder Peres Jepchirchir here in London in what will be one of the great marathon contests." The TCS London Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, the premiere series of global marathons.  The race reported a record 53,790 finishers in 2024 making it the fourth-largest marathon in the world. PHOTO: Ruth Chepngetich after setting her world record at the 2024 Bank of America Chicago Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

  Running USA is pleased to introduce a recent addition to the organization's Board of Directors, Jarod Matheney. Jarod is the Director of Experiential Event Operations & Logistics for ALSAC/ST. Jude and shares with our marketing director Leah Etling why you won't want to miss the upcoming 2025 Industry Conference presented by haku. Check out their conversation in the video below!

Get to know new Running USA member findarace.com in a new Five Questions interview with account executive Rosie Hislop (click the video to view). The UK-based platform has expanded to the United States and race organizers can find out how to claim their events on the site in this conversation. Welcome to Running USA!