USA Half Marathon Championships

Flanagan blazes to course record, Vega takes men's title at USA Half Marathon Championships
By Jim Estes

HOUSTON - Olympic Bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) smashed the course record at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon to win the women's USA Half Marathon Championship. Running 1:09:41, Flanagan broke the previous record by one minute, 14 seconds. Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) won the men's race in 1:01:54 to win the first U.S. title of his career.

Running her debut for the distance, Flanagan lived up to her status as pre-race favorite, taking control of the race from the first mile with defending champion Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.), Serena Burla (Ellisville, Mo.), Renee Metivier Baillie (Boulder, Colo.) and Kelly Jaske (Portland, Ore.) trying to keep pace.

Just before four miles, Boulet began to drop off the pack and Jaske and Baillie began to fade just after four. Running a pair of 5:16 miles for the sixth and seventh miles, Flanagan and Burla continued to pull away from the field. As Flanagan churned out a third 5:16 for mile eight, Burla missed a water bottle and faltered briefly, allowing Flanagan to gain a 15 meter advantage.

Over the final miles, Flanagan extended her lead to win the championship by 28 seconds. Amy Hastings (Flagstaff, Ariz.) overtook Baillie to take third place in 1:11:19. Baillie was fourth in 1:11:51 and Boulet took fifth in 1:12:22.

In the men's race, a pack of about twenty men passed the first mile in a leisurely 4:53 before Vega and his Team USA Minnesota teammates, Matt Gabrielson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Josh Moen (Saint Louis Park, Minn.) and Patrick Smyth (Minneapolis, Minn.) pushed the pace to 4:38 for the second mile.

As Vega, Smyth and Moen continued to control the pace, Tim Nelson (Portland, Ore.), Stephan Shay (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Brent Vaughn (Black Hawk, Colo.) began to open a gap on the field.

By eight miles, Vega and Smyth were running side by side with Vaughn trailing by about five meters. Shortly after the eighth mile, Vega made his break and by ten miles, had a 20 meter lead as Vaughn rejoined Smyth and looked to close the gap slightly but Vega held on to win the title by seven seconds.

Smyth won the duel for second, running 1:02:01 to Vaughn's 1:02:04. Nelson rallied to take fourth in 1:02:11 as Shay rounded out the top-five in 1:02:26.

About the USARC

The Aramco Houston Half Marathon is the first stop on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC), and featured a total championship prize purse of $59,500 plus potential bonuses. Flanagan and Vega each earned $12,000 for their championship victories.

The 2010 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners, including Olympians Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, Shalane Flanagan and Anthony Famiglietti. The 2010 USARC has ten events each for men and women.

The 2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize money for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered by host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2010 USA Half-Marathon Championships visit www.usatf.org

About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.

For more information on the Aramco Houston Half Marathon - http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com

Top 25 Men

4MH Vega, Antonio R Saint Paul MN USA M25-29 26 M 1:01:54 1:01:54 1 1 1 Half
7MH Smyth, Patrick G Salt Lake City UT USA M20-24 23 M 1:02:01 1:02:01 2 1 2 Half
15MH Vaughn, Brent L black hawk CO USA M25-29 25 M 1:02:04 1:02:04 3 2 3 Half
3MH Nelson, Tim D Portland OR USA M25-29 25 M 1:02:11 1:02:11 4 3 4 Half
17MH Shay, Stephan A Flagstaff AZ USA M20-24 23 M 1:02:26 1:02:26 5 2 5 Half
6MH Moen, Joshua G St. Louis Park MN USA M25-29 27 M 1:02:53 1:02:53 6 4 6 Half
18MH Arciniaga, Nicholas A Rochester Hills MI USA M25-29 26 M 1:03:22 1:03:22 7 5 7 Half
24MH Simpson, Josh A morgantown WV USA M25-29 25 M 1:03:27 1:03:27 8 6 8 Half
11MH Gabrielson, Matthew E Minneapolis MN USA M30-34 31 M 1:03:44 1:03:44 9 1 9 Half
13MH Meyer, Lucas C Ridgefield CT USA M25-29 26 M 1:03:51 1:03:51 10 7 10 Half
16MH Gilmore, Peter San Mateo CA USA M30-34 32 M 1:03:52 1:03:52 11 2 11 Half
2MH Rohatinsky, Josh Beaverton OR USA M25-29 27 M 1:04:04 1:04:04 12 8 12 Half
14MH Curley, Craig Tucson AZ USA M20-24 21 M 1:04:13 1:04:14 13 3 13 Half
23MH Baillie, Austin G Boulder CO USA M25-29 27 M 1:04:17 1:04:18 14 9 14 Half
25MH Chavez, Chris Menlo Park CA USA M20-24 23 M 1:04:34 1:04:35 15 4 15 Half
36MH Clark, Christopher D West Brownsville PA USA M20-24 24 M 1:04:37 1:04:38 16 5 16 Half
30MH Stanko, Nicholas A Haslett MI USA M25-29 28 M 1:04:42 1:04:43 17 10 17 Half
49MH Grunewald, Justin Merrifield MN USA M20-24 24 M 1:04:49 1:04:50 18 6 18 Half
32MH Batres, Mark G Rowland Heights CA USA M25-29 25 M 1:05:51 1:05:51 19 11 19 Half
20MH Schweikert, Nikolaus V Dayton OH USA M20-24 23 M 1:05:52 1:05:53 20 7 20 Half
44MH Davis, Jesse L Indianapolis IN USA M25-29 28 M 1:05:55 1:05:56 21 12 21 Half
37MH Tapia, Daniel castroville CA USA M20-24 23 M 1:05:56 1:05:57 22 8 22 Half
22MH Fasulo, Jon Ardmore PA USA M25-29 28 M 1:06:13 1:06:13 23 13 23 Half
38MH Scribner, Robert L Starkville MS USA M20-24 24 M 1:06:15 1:06:16 24 9 24 Half
52MH Ryan, Paul Belmont MA USA M25-29 29 M 1:06:47 1:06:48 25 14 25 Half

Top 25 women

2FH Flanagan, Shalane G Portland OR USA F25-29 28 F 1:09:41 1:09:41 41 1 1 Half
4FH Burla, Serena L Ellisville MO USA F25-29 27 F 1:10:08 1:10:08 42 2 2 Half
10FH Hastings, Amy E Mammoth Lakes CA USA F25-29 25 F 1:11:19 1:11:19 44 3 3 Half
8FH Metivier Baillie, Renee Boulder CO USA F25-29 28 F 1:11:51 1:11:51 46 4 4 Half
1FH Boulet, Magdalena Oakland CA USA F35-39 36 F 1:12:22 1:12:22 47 1 5 Half
11FH Moody, Tera Colorado Springs CO USA F25-29 29 F 1:12:52 1:12:52 49 5 6 Half
5FH Westover, Heidi Walpole NH USA F25-29 28 F 1:12:59 1:12:59 51 6 7 Half
6FH Jaske, Kelly M Portland OR USA F30-34 33 F 1:13:03 1:13:03 52 1 8 Half
14FH Newberry, Katherine Williamsburg VA USA F30-34 31 F 1:13:07 1:13:07 53 2 9 Half
7FH White, Melissa A Rochester Hills MI USA F25-29 28 F 1:13:18 1:13:18 54 7 10 Half
16FH Armstrong, Meghan Richfield MN USA F20-24 24 F 1:13:54 1:13:56 57 1 11 Half
20FH Minty, Jessica Blowing Rock NC USA F25-29 25 F 1:14:22 1:14:23 58 8 12 Half
22FH Blaesser, Nicole R Seattle WA USA F20-24 24 F 1:14:30 1:14:32 59 2 13 Half
32391 LeFlore, Monique C Houston TX USA F40-44 41 F 1:14:31 1:14:31 60 1 14 Half
18FH Storage, Kara M Beavercreek OH USA F25-29 28 F 1:14:52 1:14:54 62 9 15 Half
15FH McKaig, Alissa Blowing Rock NC USA F20-24 23 F 1:15:14 1:15:15 66 3 16 Half
29FH Houck, Jennifer Duluth MN USA F25-29 25 F 1:15:53 1:15:55 68 10 17 Half
3FH De Reuck, Colleen S Boulder CO USA F45-49 45 F 1:16:28 1:16:30 74 1 18 Half
33FH White, Caroline M Sheppard AFB TX USA F20-24 24 F 1:16:58 1:17:00 77 4 19 Half
21FH Frey, Michelle K Minneapolis MN USA F25-29 27 F 1:17:09 1:17:11 79 11 20 Half
30FH Antablin, Abbi New York NY USA F25-29 28 F 1:17:20 1:17:21 80 12 21 Half
17FH Storage, Tara M Beavercreek OH USA F25-29 28 F 1:17:36 1:17:39 81 13 22 Half
25FH Ordway, Becki D Kettering OH USA F25-29 26 F 1:17:48 1:17:49 83 14 23 Half
19FH Andersen, Kathryn Provo UT USA F25-29 26 F 1:18:01 1:18:02 84 15 24 Half
27FH Moran, Amber Arden NC USA F30-34 31 F 1:18:05 1:18:06 85 3 25 Half

Top Ohio Men

20MH Schweikert, Nikolaus V Dayton OH USA M20-24 23 M 1:05:52 1:05:53 20 7 20 Half
19MH Kienzle, Ryan S Canton OH USA M20-24 24 M 1:07:49 1:07:50 31 11 31 Half
25493 Ealy, John Columbus OH USA M20-24 24 M 1:18:42 1:19:29 87 14 61 Half
25539 Embury, Michael C Cincinnati OH USA M35-39 36 M 1:26:48 1:26:55 143 7 111 Half
21204 Overly, Dan Westerville OH USA M40-44 44 M 1:35:43 1:36:01 294 26 240 Half
25628 Leow, Warren J Toledo OH USA M45-49 48 M 1:39:25 1:39:52 372 26 304 Half
26434 McHugh, Shaun M Cincinnati OH USA M40-44 44 M 2:09:19 2:10:42 2586 239 1653 Half
7540 Shinn, Mike Medina OH USA M35-39 39 M 2:51:36 2:52:48 7613 566 3614 Half
33820 Schmidt, W. Warren Cincinnati OH USA M60-64 64 M 2:55:58 2:57:35 8129 108 3749 Half

Top Ohio Women

18FH Storage, Kara M Beavercreek OH USA F25-29 28 F 1:14:52 1:14:54 62 9 15 Half
17FH Storage, Tara M Beavercreek OH USA F25-29 28 F 1:17:36 1:17:39 81 13 22 Half
25FH Ordway, Becki D Kettering OH USA F25-29 26 F 1:17:48 1:17:49 83 14 23 Half
22824 Marks, Mackenna R Akron OH USA F12-15 15 F 1:56:11 1:59:05 1541 9 463 Half
26447 McHugh, Beth Cincinnati OH USA F40-44 44 F 2:08:57 2:10:19 2550 152 912 Half
25934 Tallman, Theresa M Fairborn OH USA F45-49 46 F 2:18:23 2:19:26 3437 143 1361 Half
23006 Swickrath, Amber Galena OH USA F25-29 29 F 2:45:25 2:45:25 7344 718 3821 Half
8976 Shinn, Tina L Medina OH USA F40-44 42 F 2:51:37 2:52:48 7614 559 4000 Half
32542 Egler, Rachel A Cleveland Heights OH USA F35-39 39 F 3:12:50 3:14:21 8901 898 4950 Half
32614 Charvat, Jacqueline North Olmsted OH USA F30-34 33 F 3:23:09 3:24:31 9340 909 5273 Half
32471 Broom, Kathy Worthington OH USA F60-64 62 F 3:25:45 3:36:06 9401 73 5324 Half

Top West Virginia Runners

24MH Simpson, Josh A Morgantown WV USA M25-29 25 M 1:03:27 1:03:27 8 6 8 Half

Top Indiana Runners

44MH Davis, Jesse L Indianapolis IN USA M25-29 28 M 1:05:55 1:05:56 21 12 21 Half
21881 Christiansen, Jack Zionsville IN USA M35-39 38 M 1:55:05 1:55:27 1229 138 876 Half
21832 Murphy, Sean D Indianapolis IN USA M30-34 33 M 2:01:14 2:03:59 2094 227 1405 Half
28481 Suding, Dorothy Southport IN USA F50-54 52 F 2:32:18 2:34:11 5823 188 2805 Half
29531 GiaQuinta, Phil K Fort Wayne IN USA M45-49 45 M 2:32:28 2:39:09 6034 370 3105 Half
31065 Rockenbaugh, Roger F Crawfordsville IN USA M55-59 58 M 2:47:38 2:49:28 7343 219 3521 Half
34465 Frost, Seren Muncie IN USA F30-34 30 F 3:23:27 3:33:05 9345 910 5277 Half
34466 Frost, Kendra Muncie IN USA F25-29 25 F 3:23:28 3:33:06 9348 937 5280 Half
32178 Ferguson, Marilyn M West Lafayette IN USA F60-64 60 F 3:33:55 3:34:14 9641 87 5503 Half

Top Kentucky Runners

28295 Terry, Jessica A Lexington KY USA F30-34 32 F 1:29:42 1:29:42 197 8 43 Half
27347 Schneider, Michael P Richmond KY USA M25-29 28 M 2:18:19 2:19:33 4054 305 2331 Half
29489 Gavenonis, Michael Lexington KY USA M25-29 26 M 2:34:17 2:39:58 6208 425 3157 Half
28294 Terry, NtJessica A Lexington KY USA F30-34 32 F 2:55:02 2:59:10 8056 763 4326 Half
28081 Walthall, Lacy J Louisville KY USA F40-44 43 F 3:40:36 3:50:33 9778 769 5618 Half

Check out the Running National News on RUNOHIO National News page - http://www.runohio.com/national-news

Running Network LLC Partners are:

American Track & Field
Athletes Only
Athletics (Canada)
Austin Runner
California Track & Running News
Club Running
Coaching Athletics Quarterly
Colorado Runner
Get Active!
Greater Long Island Running Club's Footnotes
Latinos Corriendo
Michigan Runner
Missouri Runner & Triathlete
New York Runner
Running Journal
Racing South
RunMinnesota
RUNOHIO
Track & Field News
USATF's Fast Forward
USATF/New England's Exchange Zone
The Winged Foot (NYAC)
The Winged M (MAC)
Youth Runner

http://www.runohio.com/home_national