USATF Half-Marathon Championship

One of the great things about being a runner in Houston is watching some of the USA's greatest men and women runners at the 2011 USATF Half-Marathon Championship. While both the Chevron Houston Marathon and the Aramco Half Marathon will be held tomorrow, the official USATF 2011 Half-Marathon Championship was held this morning, and was comprised of approximately 90 elite men and 50 elite women athletes.


For this event I was one of many spectators in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, many of whom like myself will be lining-up for our own races tomorrow. Using my handy iPod Nano I recorded the following video of the race's start, mile 5 (which very conveniently crosses near the starting area), and the finish for both the men and the women.


Both when I saw Ryan Hall briefly during his 2007 record-shattering run and this morning it was a bit surreal reflecting upon his unbelievably smooth and relaxed running gait. While he continues to knock down some great splits, it's clear by comparison to his former finish times - and his inability to kick hard in answer Mo Trafeh's last-minute surge - that he and his Flagstaff support team have much work ahead. I truly hope that they're successful, as it would be great to see Ryan bring home a medal from London!



And finally, here's a better angle of the men's and women's finishers, and some good post-race interviews: