On his debut at the distance, Eritrea’s Habtom Samuel broke the course record at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday, November 11, 2026, winning the World Athletics Gold Label road race in 59:01.
Less than five months after winning the Diamond League 3000m title, Ethiopia’s Fantaye Belayneh showed her versatility by winning the women’s race with a huge PB of 1:04:49.
A large lead pack went through 5km in 14:13 in the men’s race, and 13 men were still together at 10km, which was reached in 28:17. Samuel still had nine other men for company at 15km, reached in 42:20, with Kenya’s Patrick Kiprop and Morocco’s Mohammed El Youssfi pushing the pace.
Approaching the 10-mile point, Kiprop tried to make a break, but it was relatively short lived and he was reeled in by Samuel, El Youssfi and USA’s Isai Rodriguez. With little more than a kilometre to go, Samuel had carved out a lead, which he managed to maintain until the finish, crossing the line in 59:01 to become the first Eritrean winner in Houston.
Kiprop held on for second place in 59:14, ahead of El Youssfi (59:21) and USA’s Alex Maier (59:23).
In the women’s race, Belayneh ran alongside fellow Ethiopians Tsigie Gebreselama and Buze Diriba through 5km (15:12). Diriba drifted off the swift pace, but Belayneh and Gebreselama maintained it through 10km, reached in 30:35.
They continued to run shoulder-to-shoulder through 15km (45:58) and 20km (1:01:33). It was only in the closing stages that Belayneh, the African 5000m champion, managed to pull clear, crossing the line in 1:04:49 to take more than two minutes off her PB.
Gebreselama was second in 1:04:52 and Diriba held on to third place in 1:05:57 ahead of USA’s Taylor Roe (1:06:20).
In the Chevron Houston Marathon – also a World Athletics Gold Label road race – USA’s Zouhair Talbi (2:05:45) and Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery (2:24:17) took top honours.
Talbi was part of a seven-man group to go through half way in 1:03:04, but he picked up the pace and dropped his remaining opponents in the second half to win in a PB of 2:05:45.
Hauger-Thackery, who had won the Honolulu Marathon just four weeks prior, ran with Janet Ruguru through 10km (33:23) and the half-way point (1:11:15) before the Kenyan’s challenge faded in the second half. The Briton went on to win in 2:24:17, finishing more than two minutes ahead of USA’s 42-year-old Sara Hall (2:26:26)
SOURCE: WORLD ATHLETICS
