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USA HALF-MARATHON RECORDS UNDER SERIOUS THREAT IN HOUSTON ON SUNDAYBy David Monti, @d9monti(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly all rights reserved, used with permission.
HOUSTON (18-Jan) — Ryan Hall’s USATF half-marathon record of 59:43 was set here in 2007 at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon, and despite the introduction of “super shoes” in 2016, which use carbon plates to help propel runners forward, Hall’s record has yet to be broken. Hall, now 42, set that mark as a 24 year-old while making his half-marathon debut.
“My plan was to just see how I felt,” Hall told Race Results Weekly that day. “I was just going with the race pace I could maintain.”
America’s best road runners of the last decade –Dathan Ritzenhein, Galen Rupp, Leonard Korir, and Hillary Bor– have been unable to break the record giving Hall’s mark a mythical quality. But a new crop of athletes are ready to try on the streets of Houston on Sunday, including Olympians Conner Mantz, Joe Klecker and Morgan Pearson. For them Hall’s record is definitely top of mind.
“There were a lot of races to pick from, but the most exciting one for me was always Houston,” Klecker said at a press conference yesterday. The 28 year-old, who is coached by 2009 World Half-Marathon Championships bronze medalist Dathan Ritzenhein, is trying the distance for the first time and wants to run fast. “I’ve seen the field and there’s people in this race who have run faster than that record. So, if I go in there and try to win, and if I feel good push for it, it’s possible. From the stuff I’ve done in training I believe it indicates that it’s a doable goal.”
Klecker did his build-up with Pearson, an Olympic silver medalist in the triathlon mixed relay, who is a gifted runner. Pearson, 31, ran a 1:01:08 half-marathon in Valencia last October a week after he wrapped up his triathlon season in Malaga. He was clearly excited by the chance to run fast here. He called his result in Valencia an “OK race” and would like to go faster.
“I was left wanting more,” Pearson said of his run in Valencia. He added: “After Valencia, I hope to improve my time.”
Mantz, 28, the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon champion who won the 2021 USATF Half-Marathon Championships in a personal best 1:00:55, was motivated to run here based in part on the strength of the field. He had a terrific year in 2024 culminating in an eighth place finish at the Paris Olympic Marathon and a sixth place showing at the TCS New York City Marathon. His time at New York of 2:09:00 was the fastest ever by an American on New York’s tough course.
“With this elite field there’s a ton that’s possible,” Mantz said. “With a field like this you can definitely get fast times and the American record could go down. Part of the reason I wanted to come here was it’s a fast course, and you have Morgan and Joe and plenty of other elite Americans running here. I want to be in that race whether I’m ready or not.”
The other top Americans include Olympians Clayton Young (1:01:18 PB) and Hillary Bor (1:01:20), Diego Estrada (1:00:49), Frank Lara (1:01:00), and Futsum Zienasellassie (1:01:21). The fastest international athletes are Jemal Yimer of Ethiopia (58:33 PB), Gabriel Geay of Tanzania (59:42), Abe Gashahun of Ethiopia (59:46), and Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya (1:00:43). Yimer has won the race twice.
Not to be overlooked is the possibility of a USA record on the women’s side. Last year, Weini Kelati came to this race and ran a national record 1:06:25 in her debut. She’s back this year and is ready to run fast.
“It was my first half-marathon last year and I didn’t know how it was going to be,” said Kelati, whose last race was a 4:29 road mile in Hawaii in December. She continued: “I’m just really excited, and we’ll see how well I can race because training has been really, really good. And I’m just excited to be here.”
Amanda Vestri, who ran 1:08:12 in her half-marathon debut in Orlando last month, is also running here, but doesn’t expect to be challenging Kelati, she said. Other top Americans include Natosha Rogers (1:09:36 PB), Lindsay Flanagan (1:09:37), Lauren Hagens (1:09:41), and Susanna Sullivan (1:09:42). The fastest international women are Buze Diriba of Ethiopia (1:06:24) and Jessica Warner-Judd of Great Britain (1:07:07).
Cold and windy conditions are expected here for Sunday, which may slow the race down. At the 6:45 a.m. start, the temperature should be about 35F/2C.
The Aramco Houston Half-Marathon is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. Race winners will receive $15,000 in prize money, and breaking the course records (59:22 for men and 1:04:37 for women, respectively) is worth a $15,000 bonus. American record breakers can earn a bonus of $10,000.
“I really don’t know what’s possible,” said Mantz. “It’s a blast. I love competing.”
