Defending Champions Return to Mark 50th Anniversary of Chevron Houston Marathon
HOUSTON (Jan. 6, 2022) – With 194,039 finishers having run 5,083,822 miles since the first Chevron Houston Marathon, the race will mark its 50th anniversary on January 16.
“When 113 runners lined up in 1972 to run loops in Memorial Park, no one would have predicted the marathon would have a Golden Anniversary at all, much less with a field of 28,000 celebrating on the streets of Houston,” said Houston Marathon Committee Executive Director Wade Morehead. “Led by some of the top marathoners and half marathoners in the world, we’re looking forward to a great day in the history of the race and the city.”
Returning to defend their Chevron Houston Marathon titles from 2020 – only a virtual race was held last year because of Covid – are Askale Merachi and Kelkile Gezahegn, both of Ethiopia. Making her seventh-consecutive appearance will be three-time champion Biruktayit Eshetu Degefa, who will renew her quest to become the race’s first four-time winner after finishing as runner-up to Merachi last year.
Among the Americans worth watching are Keira D’Amato and Frank Lara. D’Amato comes to Houston with a personal best of 2:22:56 and could challenge the 10-year-old course record of 2:23:14, while Lara – the 2014 Gatorade Boys’ High School Cross Country Runner of the Year out of Strake Jesuit College Prep – returns home to Houston to make his marathon debut.
Dan Green, the first winner in 1972, will serve as honorary starter, along with other members of the race’s Hall of Fame. In addition to marking its 50th anniversary, the race will serve as the first qualifier for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, with its newly-toughened standards of 2:18 for men and 2:37 for women.
The Aramco Houston Half Marathon, run concurrently with the marathon, will be headlined by Kenya’s Vicoty Chepngeno and American Sara Hall. Chepngeno set her personal best of 1:07:22 in winning the Philadelphia Half Marathon last November, while Hall is the sixth-fastest woman in U.S. history at the half marathon and second-fastest in the marathon. On the men’s side, the fastest time in the field belongs to Shadrack Kimining Korir, who returns to Houston after finishing third here in 2020 in a personal best of 59:27.
This year, the elite fields for the two races will feature athletes representing 16 countries: the U.S., Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, Great Britain, Japan, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Peru, Eritrea, South Africa, Morocco, New Zealand, Canada, Israel and Australia.
The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will be broadcast on ABC-13 from 7 a.m.-10 a.m., with a race day recap at 10:35 p.m. Joining ABC-13’s Greg Bailey and Gina Gaston as expert commentator will be Des Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon winner and 50K world-record holder. Linden made the first of her two U.S. Olympic Marathon teams in Houston in 2012.
The full fields:
CHEVRON HOUSTON MARATHON – MEN
Name |
Citizenship |
Personal Best |
Kelkile Gezahegn |
ETH |
2:05:56 |
John Langat |
KEN |
2:07:11 |
Kenta Uchida |
JPN |
2:08:12 |
Abdi Abdo |
BHR |
2:08:32 |
Elisha Barno |
KEN |
2:09:32 |
Tariku Bekele |
KEN |
2:09:33 |
Augustus Maiyo |
USA |
2:10:47 |
Jesus Arturo Esparza |
MEX |
2:11:04 |
Birhanu Kemal Dare |
ETH |
2:12:21 |
Tyler Jermann |
USA |
2:12:40 |
Mike Sayenko |
USA |
2:13:00 |
Josh Izewski |
USA |
2:13:15 |
Mike Chesire |
KEN |
2:13:28 |
Carlos Trujillo |
GTM |
2:14:21 |
Frank Lara |
USA |
Debut |
James Ngandu |
KEN |
Debut |
Luke Caldwell |
GBR |
Debut |
CHEVRON HOUSTON MARATHON – WOMEN
Name |
Citizenship |
Personal Best |
Atsede Baysa |
ETH |
2:22:03 |
Biruktayit Eshetu Degefa |
ETH |
2:22:40 |
Keira D’Amato |
USA |
2:22:56 |
Askale Merachi |
ETH |
2:23:29 |
Roberta Groner |
USA |
2:29:09 |
Kathya Mirell Garcia Barrios |
MEX |
2:34:46 |
Militsa Mircheva |
BGR |
2:35:03 |
Grace Gonzales |
USA |
2:41:55 |
Molly Bookmyer |
USA |
2:44:07 |
Tsige Haileslase |
ETH |
Debut |
Maggie Montoya |
USA |
Debut |
Emily Kearney |
GBR |
Debut |
Alice Wright |
GBR |
Debut |
ARAMCO HOUSTON HALF MARATHON – MEN
Name |
Citizenship |
Personal Best |
Shadrack Kimining Korir |
KEN |
0:59:27 |
Wilfred Kimitei |
KEN |
0:59:40 |
Milkesa Mengesha |
ETH |
0:59:48 |
Raymond Magut |
USA |
1:00:00 |
Bayelign Teshager |
ETH |
1:00:31 |
Tsegay Tuemay |
ERI |
1:00:50 |
Patrick Tiernan |
AUS |
1:01:22 |
Reed Fischer |
USA |
1:01:37 |
Rory Linkletter |
CAN |
1:01:44 |
Reid Buchanan |
USA |
1:01:45 |
Colin Mickow |
USA |
1:01:47 |
Matt Llano |
USA |
1:01:47 |
Harvey Nelson |
USA |
1:01:48 |
John Raneri |
USA |
1:01:51 |
Brogan Austin |
USA |
1:01:52 |
Zouhair Talbi |
MAR |
1:02:00 |
John Korir |
KEN |
1:02:21 |
Andrew Colley |
USA |
1:02:24 |
Daniel Kemoi |
KEN |
1:02:27 |
David Bett |
KEN |
1:02:31 |
Sydney Gidabuday |
USA |
1:02:32 |
Kevin Lewis |
USA |
1:02:48 |
Lawi Lalang |
USA |
1:02:49 |
Matthew Leach |
GBR |
1:02:57 |
Scott Fauble |
USA |
1:02:18 |
Ben Flanagan |
CAN |
1:03:19 |
Biya Simbassa |
USA |
1:03:28 |
Zachary Hine |
USA |
1:03:54 |
Josh Lunn |
GBR |
1:04:26 |
John Dressel |
USA |
Debut |
Kirubel Erassa |
USA |
Debut |
ARAMCO HOUSTON HALF MARATHON – WOMEN
Name |
Citizenship |
Personal Best |
Vicoty Chepngeno |
KEN |
1:07:22 |
Monicah Ngige |
KEN |
1:07:29 |
Sara Hall |
USA |
1:08:58 |
Caren Maiyo |
KEN |
1:09:20 |
Sarah Pagano |
USA |
1:09:41 |
Emily Durgin |
USA |
1:09:47 |
Maegan Krifchin |
USA |
1:09:51 |
Andrea Ramirez Limon |
MEX |
1:10:20 |
Dominique Scott |
ZAF |
1:10:42 |
Elaina Tabb |
USA |
1:10:44 |
Nell Rojas |
USA |
1:10:45 |
Julia Griffey |
USA |
1:11:04 |
Emily Setlack |
CAN |
1:11:41 |
Dakotah Lindwurm |
USA |
1:11:43 |
Maor Tiyouri |
ISR |
1:11:50 |
Paige Stoner |
USA |
1:11:53 |
Kelsey Bruce |
USA |
1:12:16 |
Bridget Belyeu |
USA |
1:12:31 |
Maddie Van Beek |
USA |
1:12:51 |
Bria Wetsch |
USA |
1:14:24 |
Maya Weigel |
USA |
1:14:38 |
Isgah Cheruto |
KEN |
1:14:48 |
Tristin Van Ord |
USA |
1:15:44 |
Annie Frisbie |
USA |
1:15:48 |
Whitney Macon |
USA |
1:16:29 |
Andrea Guerra |
USA |
1:17:31 |
Jessica Judd |
GBR |
Debut |
Fiona O’Keeffe |
USA |
Debut |
Maddie Alm |
USA |
Debut |
Hannah Miller |
NZL |
Debut |
About the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC) is a founding member of Running USA and annually organizes the nation’s premier winter marathon, half-marathon and 5K. Over 300,000 participants, volunteers and spectators make Chevron Houston Marathon Race Day the largest single-day sporting event in Houston. Recognized by World Athletics, the Elite Label Chevron Houston Marathon has been the race site for three U.S. Olympic Trials Marathons and the Elite Label Aramco Houston Half Marathon has held 16 U.S. Half Marathon Championships. For eight consecutive years, the events have garnered Gold Certification from the Council of Responsible Sport and were also awarded the 2015 AIMS Green Award for industry-leading sustainability initiatives. Race Weekend generates over $50 million in economic impact for the region annually. In addition to its economic impact, the HMC facilitates social responsibility through its Run for a Reason Charity Program which has raised over $33 million since its inception and the Houston Marathon Foundation, which serves the greater Houston area through support of youth and community organizations that promote access to and participation in running. The event is televised annually with 2016 being the first time the race received national and international syndication airing on ESPN3 and the Longhorn Network.
For more information, visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.