Posted: November 26, 2005

Athletics: USA Men's Half Marathon Championship, Lucrative Purse Lure Strong Fields for 2006 Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon

HOUSTON - Attracting elite runners to the Jan. 15 running of the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon is $172,900 in prize money and the title of USA Men's Half-Marathon national champion.

A significant prize purse increase, time bonuses in the Chevron Houston Marathon and deeper prize money for the USA Men's Half Marathon Championship - as well as the event's reputation as a flat, fast course with excellent support - are proving attractive to runners.

"While we are still finalizing the fields, already the competitive slates are very strong," said David Chester, elite athlete coordinator. "With the Olympics on the horizon, we have a number of runners who are hoping to qualify for their respective country teams in January."

Kenya's David Cheruiyot, 35, returns to defend his Chevron Houston Marathon title. Last year, he led the race from mile 9 to claim victory in 2:14:50. Challenging him again this year will be the men who took second, third and fourth in 2005: Andrej Naumov, 32, Ukraine; Marek Jaroszewski, 30, Poland (and 2004 Houston Marathon winner) and Russian Olympian Dmitry Burmakin, 25, Russia, respectively. Also competing will be Sisay Bezabeh of Australia, who ran a 2:11:08 at the 2003 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

In the women's race, headliners include two Russians: Tatiana Borisova, with a 2:30:37 personal record in the marathon, and champion at the Freestyle Austin Marathon the past two years, and Julia Vinokurova, who ran a 2:32:29 at Frankfurt in 2004. Returning for her third Houston appearance will be Nicole Stevenson. She competed in the half here last year and placed second in the 2004 marathon at 2:33:37, the year's fastest performance for a Canadian woman.

The Aramco Houston Half Marathon, held in conjunction with the Chevron Houston Marathon, will host the USA Men's Half Marathon Championship for the second consecutive year. With a national title at stake and $52,100 in prize money - of which $21,000 will be reserved for the national championship purse - the race is attracting a deep field of some 50 U.S. men.

Early registrants include Team USA Minnesota members Matt Gabrielson, 27, and Jason Lehmukuhle, 28, who finished in third and fourth last year, only two seconds apart. Peter Gilmore, who finished 11th in Houston in the 2005 half, will compete, coming off a 10th place - and second American - Boston Marathon 2005 finish and a 2:16 time in New York.

Defending champion Russian Olga Romanova, 25, will attempt to better last year's 1:12:36 winning performance.

Registration for the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Houston Press/Smart Financial 5K is underway on the Chevron Houston Marathon website at: ChevronHoustonMarathon.com

The Chevron 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 2005, some 20,000 runners took part in four marathon weekend events (marathon, half-marathon, 5K and children's run). The Chevron 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 ChevronHoustonMarathon.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.