Kelly Keane at the 2004 Marathon Olympic Trials (© Getty Images)
In perfect running weather, hometown sweetheart Kelly Keane, 32, achieved her personal best and took home the Houston Marathon title with a time of 2:32:30, breaking her record by nearly four minutes.
Newcomer and last-minute race addition, David Cheruiyot, 34, took the lead at mile nine and never looked back en route to his first victory in the Unites States.
Top women’s finisher Kelly Keane felt phenomenal, having won her first marathon. Previous injuries have kept her from achieving her best. “I trained hard and ran this race to win. I felt very good and comfortable through the first 20 miles; I felt so good that I broke in the 21st mile and finished strong,” she said.
Keane moved to the Houston area from New England a year and a half ago. “Being a hometown runner here was incredibly motivating; the fans and spectators were fantastic cheering me on,” she said.
Kenyan Julius Kibet, 22, took the Houston Half Marathon title with a finish time of 1:03:17. He was less than one minute ahead of second-place finisher and U.S. Olympian Dan Browne, 29, who successfully defended his title as the first U.S. male finisher.
Browne wins Half Marathon and qualifies for Edmonton Worlds
As the USA Half Marathon national champ, Browne led Matt Gabrielson, 26, by 50 seconds, and Jason Lehmukuhle, 27, by 52 seconds.
Browne and Gabrielson’s effort earned them a spot on the US team for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
Bothered with stomach troubles early on, Browne said, “It was a very tough and competitive race, and I had to fight my way through to the finish.”
Olga Romanov, 24, from Russia was the top woman in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon with a time of 1:12:36. Fellow countrymen Lioudmila Kortchaguina and Firaya Sultonova-Zhdanova finished in second and third place, respectively.
