FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chevron Houston Marathon Event
Prize Purse Tops $170,000 for 2008 Races
Marathon offers $10,000 bonus for course record;
USA Half-Marathon Championship host again
HOUSTON - (September 25, 2007) - The fastest men and women running the
Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday,
January 13, 2008, could take home more than $170,000 in prize money for
crossing the finish line ahead of the pack.
The man and woman to break the tape in the marathon will pocket $25,000
each, and they can add another $10,000 to that by setting a course record.
For men, that means a sub-2:10:04, the record set by Richard Kaitany in
1989; women must come in under 2:26:52, the record set by Dire Tune in
2007.
Winners in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, again host of the USA
Half-Marathon Championships, will take home $12,000 each for leading the
13.1-mile event. Men can earn an extra $4000 by breaking the course (and
U.S.) record of 59:43 set by Ryan Hall in 2007. Women must run under
1:10:55, the record set by Colleen De Reuck in 2004, to earn the bonus. A
U.S. record (59:43 for men, 1:07:34 for women) nets each another $5000.
"If you're fast and looking to make your mark, Houston is the place to be,"
says Race Director Brant Kotch. "We have just what a runner needs to set a
record. Ryan Hall and Dire Tune proved that in January. Our course is
almost pancake flat and the weather is usually ideal for racing. A generous
prize purse and bonus money make the Houston marathon and half marathon a
runner's dream."
The $170,000 prize and bonus purse pays out more than $100,000 to top
runners in the marathon and over $60,000 to the fastest half-marathoners.
In the marathon, prize money will be awarded to the top five finishers:
1st = $25,000
2nd = $12,000
3rd = $7000
4th = $4000
5th = $2000
The bonus for runners coming in under the time standards are:
Men's Time Bonuses / Women's Time Bonuses
Sub 2:13 = $2000 Sub 2:30 = $2000
Sub 2:12 = $3000 Sub 2:29 = $3000
Sub 2:11 = $5000 Sub 2:28 = $5000
Race Record = $10,000 Race Record = $10,000
In addition to the $10,000 offered to the first runner to beat the course
record, the next two runners under the course record each earn a $3000
bonus.
The top three male and female Masters winners in the marathon pick up
$1500, $1000 and $500, while the male and female wheelchair winners take
home $500 each.
In the half-marathon, the top 10 men and women take home prize money:
1st = $12,000
2nd = $6500
3rd = $4000
4th = $2000
5th = $1500
6th = $1250
7th = $1000
8th = $750
9th = $500
10th = $250
The top three Masters men and women in the half-marathon will pocket $750,
$500 and $250, and the top wheelers in the half earn $300.
Prize money also is paid to the top three local men and women and top local
male and female Masters runners in both races.
Participation in the professional division of the 2008 Chevron Houston
Marathon is by invitation only.
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