Ethiopians Yebrgual Arage And Birhanu Gedefa Win 2015 Chevron Houston Marathon As American Kellyn Taylor (2:28:40) Has Nice Debut
by: Race Organizers
January 18, 2015
HOUSTON (January 18, 2015) – Near-perfect conditions yielded speedy performances Sunday at the 43rd Chevron Houston Marathon as Yebrgual Arage ran the second fastest time ever by a woman at Houston and Birhanu Gedefa outkicked Gebo Burka to take the men’s race. It was the seventh straight sweep of the titles by Ethiopia.
Yebrgual Arage After Winning 2015 Houston
Arage made a late race surge and passed early leader Biruktait Degefa before fighting off the challenge of Guteni Imana on the way to a 2:23:23 that was a personal best by almost three minutes. Imana finished at 2:23:32, the third-fastest time ever at Houston and a seven minute improvement on her previous best, and Degefa also dipped under 2:24 with a 2:23:51 that moved her to fifth on the all-time race performance list.
Kellyn Taylor had an impressive debut to place sixth at 2:28:40 as the top American, three minutes ahead of 2014 half marathon champion Serena Burla, who crossed the line at 2:31:46 in seventh. Lindsay Flanagan and Taylor Ward were the other Americans in the top 10, taking ninth (2:33:12) and 10th (2:38:30) respectively.
Birhanu Gedefa Wins Houston 2015
Gedefa was content to run with the pack for the early part of the race, cruising through the halfway point at 1:03:20. He stayed with the leaders through 30K at 1:31:06 and was six seconds behind Debebe Tolossa with just over four miles to go. Burka made a strong push and pulled away from the pack, opening up a 14-second lead by 40K, but Gedefa fought back and passed Burka in the final 400 meters to win at 2:08:03, a lifetime best and the eighth-fastest time ever at Houston.
Burka’s 2:08:12 made him the ninth-fastest in race history, while Tolossa was third at 2:09:07. Kenya’s Dominic Ondoro was also under 2:10, taking fourth at 2:09:40.
Last year’s half marathon runner-up, Aaron Braun, moved up in distance to great effect, finishing as the top American at 2:12:54 in seventh. Braun passed the halfway point at 1:06:53 and picked up the pace over the final 13 miles to chop almost seven minutes off his personal best. Craig Leon also nabbed a top-10 finish for the U.S. with his ninth-place 2:14:43.
Top Americans Kellyn Taylor and Aaron Braun
Top Results
Full results here. Photo Gallery here.
On The Boards: Also at Houston – Aaron Braun 2:12:54; Kellyn Taylor 2:28:40
| Place Overall | Name | Gender | State | BIB | Division | Age | Finish Net | Finish Gun | Prize |
| 1 | » Gedefa, Birhanu (ETH) | Men | 8 | 30-34 | 30 | 02:08:03 | 02:08:03 | $40,000 | |
| 2 | » Burka, Gebo (ETH) | Men | 1 | 25-29 | 27 | 02:08:12 | 02:08:12 | $20,000 | |
| 3 | » Tolossa, Debebe (ETH) | Men | 2 | 30-34 | 34 | 02:09:07 | 02:09:07 | $10,000 | |
| 4 | » Ondoro, Dominic (KEN) | Men | 5 | 25-29 | 26 | 02:09:40 | 02:09:40 | $6000 | |
| 5 | » Limo, Silah (KEN) | Men | 3 | 20-24 | 22 | 02:10:37 | 02:10:37 | $4000 | |
| 6 | » Mose, Erick (KEN) | Men | 7 | 25-29 | 27 | 02:12:52 | 02:12:52 | $3000 | |
| 7 | » Braun, Aaron (USA) | Men | CO | 11 | 25-29 | 27 | 02:12:54 | 02:12:54 | $7000(A) |
| 8 | » Shumie, Gadisa (ETH) | Men | 4 | 20-24 | 22 | 02:14:03 | 02:14:03 | ||
| 9 | » Leon, Craig (USA) | Men | OR | 10 | 30-34 | 30 | 02:14:43 | 02:14:43 | |
| 10 | » Ndhlovu, Pardon (USA) | Men | GA | 301 | 25-29 | 27 | 02:16:51 | 02:16:52 | |
| 11 | » Migliozzi, Tony (USA) | Men | OH | 22 | 25-29 | 25 | 02:17:27 | 02:17:27 | |
| 12 | » Stuetzel, Simon (GER) | Men | 16 | 25-29 | 28 | 02:17:51 | 02:17:51 | ||
| 13 | » Mott, Jonathan (USA) | Men | FL | 15 | 25-29 | 27 | 02:18:12 | 02:18:12 | |
| 14 | » Grimes, Bennett (USA) | Men | WA | 19 | 25-29 | 26 | 02:18:47 | 02:18:47 | |
| 15 | » Mcaneney, Lucas (CAN) | Men | 302 | 25-29 | 28 | 02:20:41 | 02:20:43 | ||
| 16 | » Davis, Jesse (USA) | Men | IN | 14 | 30-34 | 33 | 02:22:37 | 02:22:37 | |
| 17 | » Chu, Steve (USA) | Men | CO | 312 | 30-34 | 32 | 02:22:43 | 02:22:43 | |
| 18 | » Neff, Calum (CAN) | Men | 215 | 30-34 | 30 | 02:22:59 | 02:22:59 | ||
| 19 | » Martins, Cesar (BRA) | Men | 315 | 40-44 | 43 | 02:23:14 | 02:23:16 | ||
| 21 | » Wardian, Michael (USA) | Men | VA | 18 | 40-44 | 40 | 02:23:32 | 02:23:32 | |
| 24 | » Poulios, Konstantinos (GRE) | Men | 29 | 35-39 | 37 | 02:24:09 | 02:24:09 | ||
| 25 | » Pizzonia, Chase (USA) | Men | NY | 304 | 25-29 | 28 | 02:24:39 | 02:24:41 | |
| 26 | » Filipek, Tony (USA) | Men | MI | 303 | 25-29 | 26 | 02:25:46 | 02:25:48 | |
| 28 | » Abrar (Pacer), Suleman (ETH) | Men | 54 | 20-24 | 21 | 02:27:16 | 02:27:16 | ||
| 31 | » Kuhlmann, Patrick (USA) | Men | DC | 317 | 40-44 | 43 | 02:29:41 | 02:29:42 |
Women:
| Place Gender | Name | Gender | State | BIB | Division | Age | Finish Net | Finish Gun | Prize |
| 1 | » Arage, Yebrgual (ETH) | Women | 105 | 20-24 | 24 | 02:23:23 | 02:23:23 | $40,000 | |
| 2 | » Imana, Guteni (ETH) | Women | 103 | 20-24 | 23 | 02:23:32 | 02:23:32 | $20,000 | |
| 3 | » Degefa, Biruktait (ETH) | Women | 102 | 20-24 | 24 | 02:23:51 | 02:23:51 | $10,000 | |
| 4 | » Dalasa, Sechale (ETH) | Women | 106 | 20-24 | 23 | 02:27:12 | 02:27:12 | $6,000 | |
| 5 | » Sado, Fatuma (ETH) | Women | 101 | 20-24 | 23 | 02:28:27 | 02:28:27 | $4,000 | |
| 6 | » Taylor, Kellyn (USA) | Women | AZ | 109 | 25-29 | 28 | 02:28:40 | 02:28:40 | $8000 (A) |
| 7 | » Burla, Serena (USA) | Women | VA | 108 | 30-34 | 32 | 02:31:46 | 02:31:46 | $2000 |
| 8 | » De La Rosa, Vianey (MEX) | Women | 117 | 25-29 | 28 | 02:32:01 | 02:32:01 | ||
| 9 | » Flanagan, Lindsay (USA) | Women | MD | 111 | 20-24 | 23 | 02:33:12 | 02:33:12 | |
| 10 | » Ward, Taylor (USA) | Women | AL | 333 | 20-24 | 24 | 02:38:30 | 02:38:32 | |
| 11 | » Jin, Lingling (CHN) | Women | 112 | 25-29 | 28 | 02:39:14 | 02:39:14 | ||
| 12 | » Pallardy, Kate (USA) | Women | NY | 334 | 25-29 | 29 | 02:40:13 | 02:40:15 | |
| 13 | » Miller, Danielle (USA) | Women | MI | 114 | 20-24 | 23 | 02:41:32 | 02:41:32 | |
| 14 | » Watkins, Catherine (CAN) | Women | 116 | 40-44 | 43 | 02:44:59 | 02:44:59 | ||
| 15 | » Camp, Nicole (USA) | Women | CO | 113 | 25-29 | 29 | 02:46:52 | 02:46:52 | |
| 16 | » Apolonio, Paula (MEX) | Women | 324 | 35-39 | 36 | 02:46:54 | 02:46:55 | ||
| 17 | » Riga, Sofia (GRE) | Women | 130 | 25-29 | 26 | 02:47:17 | 02:47:17 | ||
| 18 | » Pirtle-Hall, Jackie (USA) | Women | MO | 338 | 30-34 | 32 | 02:48:56 | 02:48:57 | |
| 19 | » Duhon, Madeline (USA) | Women | MA | 1088 | 25-29 | 25 | 02:49:34 | 02:49:41 | |
| 20 | » Urick, Ashley (USA) | Women | WA | 1033 | 30-34 | 30 | 02:54:33 | 02:54:38 | |
| 21 | » Roth, Meghan (USA) | Women | MN | 115 | 25-29 | 27 | 02:54:56 | 02:54:56 | |
| 22 | » Howard, Elizabeth (USA) | Women | TX | 1062 | 40-44 | 42 | 02:56:35 | 02:57:03 | |
| 23 | » Mills-Honarvar, Donna (USA) | Women | TX | 1254 | 40-44 | 40 | 02:57:02 | 02:57:06 | |
| 24 | » Skinner, Ashley (USA) | Women | TX | 5206 | 30-34 | 30 | 02:57:18 | 03:00:34 | |
| 25 | » Longoria, Monica (USA) | Women | TX | 1158 | 25-29 | 25 | 02:58:42 | 02:59:19 |
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