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2019 LEGACY REGISTRATION REMINDERS
You are our Legacy! And that means your dedication and loyalty have earned you a few extra perks. Here are a few things to note:
  • If you ordered Legacy Merchandise you should receive it next week
  • You have until Nov. 1, 2019*, to register for the Chevron Houston Marathon or the Aramco Houston Half Marathon and keep your Legacy status
  • As a Legacy member you have access to register now through March 31. Registration will re-open on June 5, 2019 to all participants; however, Legacy runners will have a guaranteed discounted entry through the Nov. 1 deadline.
*Please be advised that after Nov. 1, you will no longer receive your guaranteed discounted registration. After November 1, if general registration is still open, you may register for 2020 at the regular participant rate, or through the Run for a Reason charity program, provided entries are still available.
WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY?
We know every runner has a story. And we're confident our Legacy Runners have some of the best! We're looking to share your story with our dedicated runners for inspiration and motivation So share with us why you choose to run each year and keep your Legacy streak alive by emailing muffy@houstonmarathon.com - you may even be featured in our ABC13 broadcast!.
2019 LEGACY RUNNERS
WELCOME CLASS OF 2019 MARATHON LEGACY

LEGACY MARATHON QUICK STATS
556 active legacy runners, 178 are streaking
91 NEW Legacy Members crossed the finish line in 2019
119 active legacy runners with 20+ finishes, 41 are streaking
22 active legacy runners with 30+ finishes, 10 are streaking
1 active legacy runner with 40+ finishes
Average age of active legacy runners is 54
1395 inactive legacy runners
Average number of completed Houston Marathons for active legacy runners is
15.77
147 legacy women and 409 legacy men finished the 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon
21 active 70+ year old legacy runners
HOUSTON MARATHON EVENT STATS
To download and print individual statistic charts click on the corresponding image below. 
Click image to view entire event history.

 
2019 HOUSTON MARATHON LEGACY MEDALS


 
2019 TOP 25 LEGACY MARATHON TIMES
MALE


FEMALE
TOP FEMALE LEGACY RUNNERS - MARATHON

 
TOP MALE LEGACY RUNNERS - MARATHON

 
NEW MILESTONES FOR LEGACY MARATHON
Runners With a 5-Year Milestone in 2019 with 20 or more Finishes
to view complete milestone list please click image

 
Fastest Male Runner for each Number of Finishes in 2019
 
 
Fastest Female Runner for each Number of Finishes in 2019
 
DOUBLE LEGACY RUNNERS
WELCOME CLASS OF 2019 HALF MARATHON LEGACY

LEGACY HALF MARATHON QUICK STATS
290 active legacy runners, 56 are streaking
103 NEW Legacy Members crossed the finish line in 2019
Average age of active legacy runners is 55.88
120 inactive legacy runners
Average number of
completed Houston Half Marathons for active legacy runners is 11.56
159 legacy women and 131 legacy men finished the 2019 Houston Half Marathon
26 active 70+ year old legacy runners
HALF MARATHON EVENT STATS
2019 HOUSTON HALF MARATHON LEGACY MEDALS
Legacy runners who placed in the top three in their respective age groups
2019 HOUSTON TOP 25 LEGACY HALF MARATHON TIMES
FEMALE

 
MALE
TOP FEMALE LEGACY RUNNERS HALF MARATHON
TOP MALE LEGACY RUNNERS HALF MARATHON
2019 ELITE RACE RECAP
HOUSTON (January 20, 2019) - The 47th Chevron Houston Marathon and 17th Aramco Houston Half Marathon again lived up to their reputation for being flat and fast, with Brigid Kosgei running the fastest half marathon ever on U.S. soil and 44 American athletes running times that qualify them to compete in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.

A total of 6,930 runners finished the marathon, while 12,986 completed the half marathon on a day that saw runners brave an unseasonable start temperature of 33 degrees with a 12 mph wind.

In winning the women’s half marathon in 1:05:50, Kosgei shattered the previous course record of 1:06:29, set by Mary Wacera at this race in 2016. Although pleased with her 45-second personal best, the 24-year-old Kenyan, winner of the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, said she had been hoping to clock an even-faster time.

“If not for the coldness, I would have run 64 (minutes, or 1:04),” she said. The world record is 1:04:51.

By 15K, Kosgei and compatriot Fancy Chemutai had a 17-second lead over defending champion Ruti Aga of Ethiopia and Kosgei soon pulled ahead for good. Chemutai, who owns the second-fastest half marathon time in history, would finish second in 1:06:48, the fifth-fastest time ever run in the U.S., and Aga third in 1:06:56, the eighth-fastest – giving the Aramco Houston Half Marathon the eight fastest times ever run on U.S. soil.

It almost saw another American record, as well, with Emily Sisson just missing the mark of 1:07:25 set here last year by her training partner, Molly Huddle. Nonetheless, Sisson’s 1:07:30, good for fifth place, makes her the second-fastest American woman in history.

“I’ve got some mixed feelings,” said Sisson, who ran without a watch. “I was a little disappointed at first, just to come so close to Molly’s record. But I think tomorrow I’ll be pretty happy with it.”

In the men’s half marathon, Shura Kitata of Ethiopia outlasted Jemal Yimer, the third-fastest half marathoner in history, surging ahead in the final kilometer to win by three seconds, in 1:00:11. Behind Yimer (1:00:14) was Bedan Karoki of Kenya in 1:00:18.

“The weather was not friendly,” said Kitata, of an early slow pace. “I couldn’t relax. But later on … I was very confident that I would finish it well.”

The top American finisher was Reed Fischer, 10th in a personal best of 1:02:06.

“When you come to run Houston, you come to run fast,” said Fischer, 23, of Boulder.

For the win, Kosgei and Kitata each earned $20,000. Kosgei also took home a bonus of $10,000 for running faster than 1:09, while Kitata nabbed an extra $5,000 for running under 1:00:30.

Winning the Chevron Houston Marathon in opposite fashion were newcomer Albert Korir, racing in America for the first time, and Biruktayit Degefa, who became the third woman in Houston history to win the marathon three times.

In a resounding three-minute victory, Degefa set a personal best of 2:23:28, the second-fastest winning time in race history, only 14 seconds shy of Alemitu Abera’s 2012 record of 2:23:14.

“When I prepare to come here to Houston, I really get excited,” said Degefa, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M. but trained for this race in Ethiopia. “I come to win.”

It was her sixth-consecutive appearance here, and she became only the third woman to win three times.

Degefa, was challenged through 30K by Meseret Belete, the 19-year-old world junior record-holder in the half marathon who was making her debut at the distance. But Belete couldn’t respond when Degefa picked up the pace just after 30K, and would be passed near the finish by Belaynesh Fikadu, who finished as runner-up in 2:26:41. Belete was third in 2:26:51, for an Ethiopian sweep of the podium.

Korir, meanwhile, had never been to this country before and had to battle until the final kilometer, when he slowly pulled ahead of Ethiopia’s Yitayal Atnafu to win in 2:10:02, six seconds ahead of the man who would become runner-up here for an astonishing fourth year in a row – on his 26th birthday, no less. Finishing third was Justus Kimutai of Kenya in 2:10:25.

Korir, a 24-year-old Kenyan who worked cutting down trees early in his career to supplement his meager race earnings, said: “I am grateful to win this race for the first time in America.”

The victors each took home $45,000 for the win, with Degefa earning an extra $10,000 in time bonuses for running sub-2:24.

Leading the Americans in the marathon were Tyler Jermann of St. Paul, Minnesota, ninth in 2:13:29, and Kelsey Bruce of Dallas, sixth in 2:31:53. View winner photo gallery here.
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Copyright © 2019 Houston Marathon Committee, Inc., All rights reserved.


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