Posted: January 13, 2005

Athletics: Olympians, Top Americans Lead Strong Elite Fields for Houston Marathon, Half-Marathon

Rogers, Young, Gilmore, Lane to Challenge Browne for Half-Marathon National Title

HOUSTON - (Jan. 12, 2005) - With more than $118,000 in prize money up for grabs, Sunday's HP Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon are attracting deep and talented elite fields led by Olympians and top Americans.

Some 16,000 runners are expected to compete in three HP Houston Marathon weekend races, with the fastest competitors lining up in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, which also serves as the USA Men's Half-Marathon Championship, the kick-off event of the 2005 USA Running Circuit. Several top Americans are scheduled to participate, including 2004 Olympian Dan Browne.

At last year's Athens Olympics, Browne, 29, became the first U.S. runner since Frank Shorter in 1972 to compete in both the marathon and 10,000 meters at the same Games. The 1997 graduate of West Point took 65th in the marathon and 12th in the 10,000. Browne - who has won 13 U.S. titles including the 10 mile and 25K last year - is no stranger to the Aramco Houston Half Marathon course, finishing second in 2004 in a brisk 1:03:09. Nick Rogers, Matt Lane, Justin Young, Teddy Mitchell, Peter Gilmore, Scott Strand and David Morris are expected to provide Browne with plenty of competition this year.

While they won't figure in the championship picture, first seed Julius Kibet, of Kenya, along with countrymen Sammy Nyamongo and Daniel Cheruiyot, and Canada's Calvin Staples all have a shot to lead their American rivals to the finish line.

The top contenders in the women's half-marathon are defending champion Colleen De Reuck of Colorado, Lyubov Denisova of Russia, who finished third in the 2004 New York City Marathon, and Kenya's Emily Samoei. Canada's Nicole Stevenson, second in the HP Houston Marathon last year, makes a return trip to Houston, this time to run the half-marathon.

Runners in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon are vying for $48,900 in prize money, including $17,500 for the men's national championship.

Headliners in the HP Houston Marathon include returning champion Marek Jaroszewski of Poland. He will be challenged by three Ethiopians, including Tesfaya Eticha, the #2 seed, who won the 2003 Lusanne Marathon in 2:10:04 - the Houston Marathon's record time. Other contenders include Russian Olympic marathoner Dmitry Burmakin. The 24-year-old won Russia's marathon championships in 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 19 seconds in May and represented his country at the Athens Games.

Among the women in the marathon, Kelly Keane, of The Woodlands, Texas, is the first seed with a 2:36:26 marathon best from 2002. Tatiana Boirsova of Krygyzstan, Wioletta Kryza of Poland and Valentyna Poltavska of the Ukraine are expected to make it a tight race.

The marathon will have a prize purse of $69,500.

Both the HP Houston Marathon and the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, along with the Houston Press 5K, take place Sunday in downtown Houston. All three races start and finish in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. The two longer races start at 7:00am, while the 5K begins at 7:20am.

The HP Houston Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, is the nation's premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and nearly 20 foreign countries. In 2004, more than 18,000 runners took part in four marathon weekend events (marathon, half marathon, 5K and children's run). The HP Houston Marathon offers the only closed marathon course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. More than 5,000 volunteers organize the race, which is Houston's largest single-day sporting event.

More information is available online at www.hphoustonmarathon.com or by calling (713) 957-3453.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.