Talbi Breaks American Drought, Sets Houston Marathon Course Record
Zouhair Talbi, now a U.S. citizen and Army reservist, became the first American man to win the Chevron Houston Marathon since 2002, finishing in a course-record 2:05:45 and edging Ethiopia's Adane Kebede Gebre. In the women's race, Calli Hauger-Thackery won in 2:24:17. Eritrea's Habtom Samuel took the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in 59:01, a course record, while Fantaye Belayneh won the women's title in 1:04:49. Sara Hall set a new masters (40+) record by about two minutes. About 30,000 athletes competed before roughly 250,000 spectators, with the oldest runner at 88; cooler conditions helped pacing and times.
