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.
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.
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 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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