Houston_Marathon

Houston Marathon

Houston Marathon

Held every January in Houston, Texas, US

The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently with a half marathon and a 5 km race. The 2007 race included the first-ever satellite running of the event, run simultaneously in Fallujah, Iraq.[2]

Quick Facts Date, Location ...
Marathon runners in 2007
A shadow run of the half marathon, held at Forward Operating Base Ghazni in Afghanistan in 2011

The races bring crowds of nearly one half million to view the runners.[3][clarification needed]

History

The first marathon, run on December 30, 1972, featured 113 runners and a crowd of approximately 200 people.[3] The course was a loop of 5 mi (8 km), and runners were served beef stew after the race.[3]

The 1979 edition of the competition hosted the national marathon championship race for men and women.[3] Houston was selected for the women's Olympic Trials in 1992 and held the USATF women's marathon championship in 1998.[3] The half marathon course hosted the USATF Men's Half Marathon Championship from 2005 to 2008, and also hosted the women's event in 2007 and 2008.[3][4] The 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials for both men and women were held the Saturday prior to the Sunday races.[citation needed]

George W. Bush ran in the Houston Marathon at age 46 in 1993, finishing with a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes, 52 seconds.[5]

The 2014 edition included a 5K event run on Saturday, January 18th and the marathon and half marathon run on Sunday, January 19th. The 5K event had close to 5,000 runners while the marathon and half marathon had nearly 13,000 runners each.[citation needed]

The 2021 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually (and receiving a discount for the race in 2022), or transferring their entry to 2022 or 2023.[6] The virtual marathon was planned for January 2021.[7]

Course

Quick Facts External image ...

The fast and flat course starts in the downtown area near Minute Maid Park and takes runners past scenic Houston areas and communities—including Houston Heights and Neartown, past Hermann Park and Rice University, over to Uptown, and then through Memorial Park and Allen Parkway, finishing at the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown. The course is USATF certified and is popular with runners seeking to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The race time limit is 6 hours and a limit of 27,000 entries is enforced, divided evenly between the full and half marathons.[9]

The course was changed for 2014. Changes included starting on Congress St. downtown, eliminating a section of the course through the Heights, and adding 2 miles along Kirby Dr.[10]

Community impact

The event supports many charities, including CanCare, Texas Children's Hospital, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Sponsorship

The current corporate sponsor of the marathon is Chevron Corporation. Aramco sponsors the half marathon and Chevron and Aramco co-sponsor the 5K run.

Winners

Key:

   Course record
† = Time was a record mark for the state of Texas

Multiple Winners

For the men,  Bazu Worku (ETH),  David Cheruiyot (KEN) and  Stephen Ndungu (KEN) all won the marathon 3 times.

 Birhanu Gedefa (ETH),  Ron Tabb (USA) and  Clent Mericle (USA) won the marathon twice, a performance done by  Meb Keflezighi (USA) and  Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) on the half.


For the women,  Biruktayit Degefa (ETH),  Tatyana Pozdnyakova (UKR) and  Véronique Marot (ENG) all won the marathon 3 times.

 Teyba Erkesso (ETH),  Dire Tune (ETH),  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) and  Dorothy Doolittle (USA) won the marathon twice, a performance done by  Colleen De Reuck (USA) on the half.


 Mamitu Daska (ETH) is the only athlete who won both the marathon (2011) and the half-marathon (2013) in Houston.

Marathon

Holly Koester, winner of the 2007 marathon, approaching Mile 10
Paul Cummings after winning the marathon in 1986
More information Ed., Year ...

Half marathon

Meb Keflezighi, winner of the 2009 half marathon, on the race course
More information Year, Men's winner ...

National Records

The current National Records were established during the Houston Marathon:

See also

Notes

  1. h:m:s
  2. North American all-comers’ half marathon record

References

  1. [1]
    "Register for the 2021 Houston Marathon and watch the 2020 finish line below". 20 February 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Houston Marathon detours to Fallujah". Houston Chronicle. January 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  3. [3]
    "Our History". Houston Marathon. Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  4. [4]
    "USATF - Events - 2008 USA Half Marathon Championships". Archived from the original on 2020-10-06.
  5. [5]
    "Stars Who've Run Marathons". That's fit. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  6. [6]
    "2021 Chevron Houston Marathon Event Update". 10 July 2020.
  7. [7]
    Ponder, Erica (October 5, 2020). "2021 Chevron Houston Marathon canceled because of coronavirus pandemic". Click2Houston.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Course Info". Archived from the original on 2019-02-08.
  9. [9]
    "Chevron #HouMarathon Registration Info". Chevron Houston Marathon. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  10. [10]
    "Houston Marathon changes course for 2014". 11 June 2013.
  11. [11]
    Birhanu Gedefa Declared 2016 Men’s Marathon Winner. Houston Marathon. Retrieved on 2017-05-25.
Lists of winners
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