Garrett, Agnew win 8th annual Texas Marathon in Kingwood
On a record pace through the first three loops that would have smashed the course record set last year by Ohio's Chuck Engle, Houston's Terry Garrett, 43, didn't let a sub-par fourth loop keep him from winning the 8th annual Texas Marathon in Kingwood on Monday in a time of 2:56:17.
Garrett, a HARRA member who runs for the Bayou City Road Runners, said that he started running into problems early in the fourth loop today. He was forced to drop out of last month's Wellstone's Dallas White Rock Marathon after about mile 18.
After building a 9-minute lead through the first half, Garrett, whose PR came seven (7) years ago at White Rock when he finished 16th in 2:40:59, passed through the 19.65-mile point in 2 hours, 1 minute and had increased the lead to 12 minutes over runnerup Jorge Alvarado from Houston (who runs for Al Lawrence Running Club.)
Alvarado, 41, who came in at 3:04:20, barely held off a fast-charging member of the Terlingua Track Club, 50-year-old David Washburn.
Washburn, who has recovered from an injury that sidelined him all of the HARRA Fall Series, used the Texas Marathon and his 3:04:40 third-place finish to post his Boston-qualifying time so that he can run Boston for the first time in his career.
Eighth at the halfway point in an unofficial one hour and 33 minutes, Washburn finished the third loop - at 19.65 miles - in fifth place with a time of 2:19 by passing Andrew Flynn (6th), Jake Fox (DNF), and Phil Henry (7th, from Jena, Louisiana.)
In the last loop, Washburn made up four minutes on fourth-place finisher Andy Gardner, 26, of Kingwood (3:05:49) and two minutes on fifth-place finisher Eric Swope, 32, of Colorado Springs, Colorado (3:08:48.)
The men recorded 11 sub-3:20 performances today, including Henry's 3:14:59 effort. Henry, who is now in his 15th consecutive month of running at least one marathon, is 55.
In the event's first seven (7) years, only 20 sub-3:20 marathons had ever been run.
And never before by a woman. That is, until today.
Houston's Christine Agnew, 36, who had finished fourth just three weeks ago in 3:09:40 at the Tucson (Ariz.) Marathon, posted a career-best 3:06:12 to win the women's event and smash Kimberly Simmons' course record of 3:29:27 of a year ago.
Agnew was never challenged as she churned through the halfway point in 1:30 and a 10-minute lead over three-time winner Jacqueline O'Brien-Nolen, 41, of Kingwood.
31-year-old Jessica Zavidil of Houston was just two minutes behind in third place in 1:42 at the halfway point and moved in to second after the third lap in 2:42. However, Agnew hardly lost a step and opened up a commanding 26-minute advantage.
Agnew's last lap was approximately 50 minutes (45, 45, 46, 50) as O'Brien-Nolen finished in second in her course-best 3:25:40. Zavidil, who ran the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon in 3:39:18 in October, did not finish the race.
Alpharetta, Georgia's Susanna Rains, 34, bettered the time of all five (5) of her 2006 marathons and finished third in 3:37:44. She had won the Tupelo (Mississippi) Marathon in September in 3:48:51.
The Texas Marathon had its first wheelchair competitor ever in 48-year-old Hants, United Kingdom native Michael Marten.
Wearing bib #116 (the number of races he has finished), Marten, a disabled British military veteran, covered the course in 4:33 (or 4:48 as the wheelchair participant reportedly got started at 7:45 a.m.)
Garrett, a HARRA member who runs for the Bayou City Road Runners, said that he started running into problems early in the fourth loop today. He was forced to drop out of last month's Wellstone's Dallas White Rock Marathon after about mile 18.
After building a 9-minute lead through the first half, Garrett, whose PR came seven (7) years ago at White Rock when he finished 16th in 2:40:59, passed through the 19.65-mile point in 2 hours, 1 minute and had increased the lead to 12 minutes over runnerup Jorge Alvarado from Houston (who runs for Al Lawrence Running Club.)
Alvarado, 41, who came in at 3:04:20, barely held off a fast-charging member of the Terlingua Track Club, 50-year-old David Washburn.
Washburn, who has recovered from an injury that sidelined him all of the HARRA Fall Series, used the Texas Marathon and his 3:04:40 third-place finish to post his Boston-qualifying time so that he can run Boston for the first time in his career.
Eighth at the halfway point in an unofficial one hour and 33 minutes, Washburn finished the third loop - at 19.65 miles - in fifth place with a time of 2:19 by passing Andrew Flynn (6th), Jake Fox (DNF), and Phil Henry (7th, from Jena, Louisiana.)
In the last loop, Washburn made up four minutes on fourth-place finisher Andy Gardner, 26, of Kingwood (3:05:49) and two minutes on fifth-place finisher Eric Swope, 32, of Colorado Springs, Colorado (3:08:48.)
The men recorded 11 sub-3:20 performances today, including Henry's 3:14:59 effort. Henry, who is now in his 15th consecutive month of running at least one marathon, is 55.
In the event's first seven (7) years, only 20 sub-3:20 marathons had ever been run.
And never before by a woman. That is, until today.
Houston's Christine Agnew, 36, who had finished fourth just three weeks ago in 3:09:40 at the Tucson (Ariz.) Marathon, posted a career-best 3:06:12 to win the women's event and smash Kimberly Simmons' course record of 3:29:27 of a year ago.
Agnew was never challenged as she churned through the halfway point in 1:30 and a 10-minute lead over three-time winner Jacqueline O'Brien-Nolen, 41, of Kingwood.
31-year-old Jessica Zavidil of Houston was just two minutes behind in third place in 1:42 at the halfway point and moved in to second after the third lap in 2:42. However, Agnew hardly lost a step and opened up a commanding 26-minute advantage.
Agnew's last lap was approximately 50 minutes (45, 45, 46, 50) as O'Brien-Nolen finished in second in her course-best 3:25:40. Zavidil, who ran the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon in 3:39:18 in October, did not finish the race.
Alpharetta, Georgia's Susanna Rains, 34, bettered the time of all five (5) of her 2006 marathons and finished third in 3:37:44. She had won the Tupelo (Mississippi) Marathon in September in 3:48:51.
The Texas Marathon had its first wheelchair competitor ever in 48-year-old Hants, United Kingdom native Michael Marten.
Wearing bib #116 (the number of races he has finished), Marten, a disabled British military veteran, covered the course in 4:33 (or 4:48 as the wheelchair participant reportedly got started at 7:45 a.m.)
posted by WalkSports.com | 6:20 PM
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