ATHLETES HOPE FOR FAST TIMES IN HOUSTON ON SUNDAY
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2023 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.
HOUSTON (13-Jan) — Like most things in Texas, Marathon Weekend here is big. Really big. The Houston Marathon Committee expects a total of 33,000 runners between the We Are Houston 5-K on Saturday (6,000) and the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half-Marathon on Sunday (27,000). City officials confirmed that it will be the largest sporting event in Houston this year.
“What a way to start 2023!” Mayor Sylvester Turner exclaimed at a press conference here this morning. “When you have 27,000 runners, that’s a pretty big number. They’re coming from every single state in the United States. All 50 states are represented this year. In addition to that, 47 countries are represented.” He added: “This is indeed an international event.”
That is definitely true for the elite fields which have been assembled for both the half-marathon and the marathon where there is a good chance that several records will be broken. Temperatures will be about 56F/13C at the 07:00 start time, rise to 63F/17C by 09:00, then reach about 71F/22C by noon. Surely, it will be on the warm side for the race’s recreational runners, but right in the sweet spot for the elites, especially in the half-marathon.
Indeed, it is in that race where hopes are highest for fast times, and much of the pre-race buzz centers around Emily Sisson’s chances for breaking her own USA record of 1:07:11. She didn’t say that it was her goal, but by extension it must be because she wants to win the race. She’ll likely need to run faster than that to get the win here. Over the last four editions, the women’s winning times have been 1:06:39, 1:05:50, 1:06:38 and 1:05:03.
“I plan to be competitive,” said Sisson who is also the USA marathon record holder (2:18:29). “I think going into the race if I can be competitive… then a fast time will follow. “I’ll talk to Ray (Treacy, her coach) later this afternoon, or tomorrow probably.” She continued: “I’m going for the win and a fast time will follow.”
Sisson, 31, who recently relocated to Flagstaff, Ariz., ran an excellent 1:08:21 in her half-marathon debut in New York City back in 2017, and two years later began to chase Molly Huddle’s national record of 1:07:25 set here in Houston in 2018. Sisson ran 1:07:30 in Houston in 2019, 1:07:26 in Valencia in 2020, then finally 1:07:11 in…
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