Houston Running: Kastor Sets American Half Marathon Record in Phily

Houston Running

One of the leading sources for the discussion of Houston-area (and Texas as well) road racing. Focus and attention will be given to Houston-area runners, specifically HARRA members, that compete in outside-of-the-area events as well as those who do interesting things that aren't captured in the various media outlets, such as Inside Texas Running, Runner Triathlete News and Roberta MacInnis' Running Notebook in the Houston Chronicle (all fine publications and columns but with limitations too).

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Name: WalkSports.com

Location: Spring, Texas, United States

I'm a mid-to-the back of the pack runner who probably enjoys promoting runners more than I do running myself ... I've completed 21 marathons (with a 4:47:32 PR! in Austin) and 52 half marathons (with a 2:09:58 PR! in Oregon) since November 2003 ... I've done a marathon in 12 states, half marathon in 23 and an event in 30 states and one Canadian province ... I have a 13-year-old daughter, Waverly Nicole, who completed her first half marathon in January 2006, made only two B's each of the last two years, was the only sixth grader to sing a solo (Carrie Underwood's Don't Forget To Remember Me) in their choir program (adding Taylor Swift's Tim McGraw in '08) and scored a 19 on the ACT in December 2007 as a seventh grader ... Waverly and I are members of the following clubs -- the Seven Hills Running Club, HARRA and The Woodlands Running Club ... I'm Marathon Maniac #308 ... I edit HARRA's Footprints in Inside Texas Running and write a column for Runner Triathlete News called, "Talking the Talk" ... I'm also the running columnist for the Courier of Montgomery County ... I'm a three-time winner of TAPPS' Sportswriter of the Year Award as well as TABC's Golden Hoops Award.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Kastor Sets American Half Marathon Record in Phily

Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor added yet another American record to her resume on Sunday, winning the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 53 seconds. Her time over the half-marathon distance shattered Joan Benoit Samuelson's 21-year-old mark of 1:08:34, set in at the same race in Philadelphia in 1984.

Already the American record holder in the marathon (2:21:16) and the 10,000 meters on the track (30:50.32), Kastor also owns American road bests over 5 km (14:54), 8 km (24:36) and 15 km (47:15).

Her race in Philadelphia was a tune-up of sorts for the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, which Kastor will run October 9.

"I'm ecstatic," Kastor said of her latest history-making run. "I couldn't ask for a better race. It was a little harder than I expected and I knew it was going to hurt a little. I wasn't sure I would run that fast and I was starting to tire at the end."

http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUid=USATF_2005_09_18_14_39_19

2 Comments:

Syd said...: This woman is amazing. There is a great article about her in the newest runner's world. Dedication and focus, and truly talented.; 8:56 AM
WalkSports.com said...: I think it made reference to her attempting to join the sub-2:20 club (in Chicago), of which there are only five women in the world to do so.; 9:01 AM