FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Steven Karpas
(713) 957-3453
Tiffany Cullum
(713) 752-1900
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.comg or by
calling (713) 957-3453.
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