Records fell on Sunday as Zouhair Talbi set a new course record at the Houston Marathon while Calli Hauger-Thackery powered her way to a commanding win.
Talbi took the men’s race in 2:05:45 in a late battle with Adane Gebre and became the first American to win the men’s title since 2002 — and topping his own previous course record (2:06:39) from 2024.
By the halfway point at 1:03:04, Talbi and Gebre were locked in battle with a lead pack of seven men before pushing forward and eventually opening a lead by 35k. Talibi kicked his way into a three second lead at that point and surged at the 40k mark at 1:59:14 as Gebre quickly caught up. But Talibi saw that as his opportunity and bolted past Gebre just at two-hours as he crossed the line to seal the win.
“This is a special moment for me,” Talbi said after the race. “This is a country that gives me a lot of opportunity as a citizen and it was great to represent America in the big city. Today was my first time winning a race and carrying the flag and it felt like such a special moment.”
Gebre took second in 2:06:16 while Shadrick Kimining finished third in 2:07:25.
Talbi previously ran for Morocco and is a member of the U.S. Army reserve and also noted that he hoped to compete at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in 2028 as he looks to grab a spot on Team USA.
Meanwhile Hauger-Thackery was simply dominant in the women’s race and made a decisive move just after the halfway point as she soared to the win in 2:24:17, her second marathon victory in a month.
Hauger-Thackery struck gold at the Honolulu Marathon in December in 2:30:43 despite the rain and humidity and carried that momentum in to Houston with her husband Nick Hauger on pacer duties.
With Janet Ruguru sticking with her early on and crossing the halfway mark at 1:11:15, Hauger-Thackery stayed consistent and soon was only keeping pace with her husband for the remainder of the race. Ruguru later faded and was dropped by the chase group. Hauger-Thackery’s margin if victory was more than two minutes head of second place finisher Sara Hall — who took second in 2:26:26 as Biruktayit Degefa was third in 2:28:07.
“I don’t recommend doing two marathons in a month-span,” Hauger-Thackery said after the reace. “Today I underestimated how hard it was going to be,” she said with a laugh. “I just had to grind it out and just move forward. I was like ‘Forward momentum, don’t look back, you’re committed now, there’s nothing you can do.’ Just get to the finish and hopefully get the job done and get the win.”
In the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, which was also on Sunday, Habtom Samuel was on a mission of his own as he roared to a 59:01 course record in his debut at the distance in the men’s race while Fentaye Belayneh locked in for a late sprint to take the women’s event.
Samuel continues to raise his profile on and off the track but emerged with the win after cruising through the 10k mark at 28:17 with a dozen other competitors. But by the 15k point at 42:20, the group began to loosen one by one as Samuel stuck to his plan with Patrick Kiprop aggressively looking to make a move. Still, Samuel was patent and began to press ahead with just under 2k remaining as he opened a lead that he would not surrender.
Kiprop took second in 59:14 as Mohammed El Youssfi was third in 59:21.
“I was working hard and believing in myself,” Samuel said. “I just decided to do something new and wasn’t expecting to win the race. But I am glad I won the race and it was really, really, really amazing. To get the course record, I am so happy.”
In the women’s race, Belayneh and Tsigie Gebreselama traded blows through 15k at 45:58 with neither showing any signs of fading or making a significant move too soon. By the 20k at 1:01:33 it was clear that the title would come down to a late sprint, with Belayneh speeding ahead with just over 200 meters remaining for the win.
Gebreselama was second in 1:04:52 and Buze Diriba took third place in 1:05:57.
“That did make the race tough,” Belayneh said afterward. “She [Gebreselama] is a very strong competitor and I was able to overcome in the end. But yes, at times I would lead and other times she would surge ahead. We kept racing like that until the end and praise God I was able to win.”
