Weini Kelati broke the American record at the Houston Half Marathon on Sunday, lowering the time to 1:06:09 at the same race she broke the mark last year.
Senayet Getachew took the win in 1:06:05 as Kelati finished second, in a race that nearly came down to both runners before Getachew surged headed with just under a mile remaining. Buze Diriba was third in 1:06:48.
By shaving 16-seconds off of her own record in Houston, where she made her half marathon debut, Kelati continues to display why she is an emerging force in a crowded field of American distance runners.
After the race, Kelati said during the television broadcast that she was dealing with stomach issues near the halfway point and considered stopping. Kelati stuck with a pack that drastically got smaller to only include her, Getachew and Diriba.
“The goal was just to run hard from the beginning and try what I could do — how fast I can go,” she said. “And it worked.”
Kelati began the race at sub-1:06 pace and eased off of the mark in the earlier stages as she held a tight formation with the pacers. Getachew and Diriba stuck with the group that included other male competitors and just after the 5k mark, all three opened a 20-plus second gap over Amanda Vestri and Natosha Rogers trailed in the distance.
Well past the halfway mark, Kelati and Getachew made it clear that it would be a showdown between both of them, but Getachew settled into a lead right after the 20k that she would not surrender and cruised in for the win.
Kelati took home $8,000 prize for the second place finish along with a $10,000 bonus for breaking the American record.
“We have amazing distance runners and it’s great to be among them,” she said.
Elite Women’s field
1. Senayet GETACHEW (Ethiopia) – 1:06:05
2. Weini KELATI (USA) – 1:06:09
3. Buze DIRIBA (Ethiopia) – 1:06:48
4. Amanda VESTRI (USA) – 1:07:35
5. Natosha ROGERS (USA) – 1:08:35
6. Lauren RYAN (Australia) – 1:08:43
7. Emily VENTERS (USA) – 1:08:48
8. Taylor ROE (USA) – 1:08:48
9. Mercy CHELANGAT (Kenya) – 1:08:57
10. Susanna SULLIVAN (USA) – 1:08:59
11. Jessica WARNER-JUDD (Great Britain) – 1:09:07
12. Miriam DATTKE (Germany) – 1:09:09
13. Lindsay FLANAGAN (USA) – 1:09:17
14. Paige WOOD (USA) – 1:09:20
15. Diana CHEPKORIR (Kenya) – 1:09:24
16. Jessica GOCKLEY-DAY (USA) – 1:09:37
17. Aubrey FRENTHEWAY (USA) – 1:09:42
18. Molly BOOKMYER (USA) – 1:09:44
19. Makena MORLEY (USA) – 1:10:04
20. Megan HASZ (USA) – 1:10:13
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