Aramco Houston Half Marathon Awarded Bronze Label
HOUSTON (November 23, 2016) - The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) awarded the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon IAAF label status for 2017 in recognition of meeting and exceeding the criteria for the respective labels in the 2016 races. The Chevron Houston Marathon has been elevated to IAAF Silver Label Road Race status for 2017, while the Aramco Houston Half Marathon was awarded Bronze Label Road Race status. The 45th running of the Chevron Houston Marathon will be conducted on January 15, 2017, and elite fields will be announced next month.
Each year, the IAAF awards a designation referred to as an IAAF Road Race Label to leading road races around the world. With three different levels - gold, silver and bronze - status is determined on a number of factors, including the elite field, anti-doping policies, IAAF competition rules, broadcast services and timing.
For the third year in a row, the Chevron Houston Marathon has earned an IAAF Label. In 2014 and 2015, the marathon was awarded the bronze label. Following two years hosting American-only fields in the 2014 and 2015 men's and women's U.S. Half Marathon Championships, this year was the first year that the Aramco Houston Half Marathon was eligible to apply for a road race label and has attained the highest possible label status as a first year applicant, Bronze.
The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon are the only races staged on the same day to be awarded IAAF label status in the Unites States. There are only four other races in the U.S. to earn an IAAF Label - the Boston Marathon, the BAA 10K, the Chicago Marathon and the NYC Marathon.
The current Chevron Houston Marathon course records are held by Ethiopia's Tariku Jufar (2:06:51) and Alemitu Abera (2:23:14), while the current course records in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon are held by 2016 Olympic marathon silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa (59:22) and 2016 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Mary Wacera (1:06:29). Wacera's time at the 2016 Aramco Houston Half Marathon remains the fastest time ever run by a woman on American soil.
For more information on the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon, visit ChevronHoustonMarathon.com.
About the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC) annually organizes the nation's premier winter marathon, half-marathon, and 5K. Over 250,000 participants, volunteers and spectators make Chevron Houston Marathon Race Day the largest single-day sporting event in Houston. A founding member of Running USA, the HMC is an IAAF bronze level event that retained Gold Certification from the Council of Responsible Sport and was awarded the AIMS Green Award for industry-leading sustainability initiatives. Race Weekend generates over $50 million in economic impact for the region annually. In 2016, the Run for a Reason Charity Program raised $2.3 million, while the Houston Marathon Foundation supported youth and community running initiatives. Televised annually by broadcast partner ABC13, 2016 was the first time that the event was syndicated live nationally and internationally on ESPN3 and the Longhorn Network. Host to 16 U.S. Half Marathon Championships since 2005 and the 1992 women's Olympic Trials Marathon, the HMC also conducted the 2012 men's and women's U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.
For more information, visit ChevronHoustonMarathon.com or call 713.957.3453.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
