The 22nd Aramco Houston Half Marathon, scheduled for January 15, will feature the return of one of the greatest distance runners of all time: Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia.
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A three-time Olympic and five-time World champion, Dibaba has not competed in over four years. Her personal best time is 66:50, set in 2017. She will be joined in the women’s race by Emily Sisson of the US (personal best time of 67:11), who will be competing for the first time since setting a US record in the Chicago marathon in October, and Ethiopian Hiwot Gebrekidan (personal best time of 66:47).
Other notable contenders in the women’s race include Dominique Scott of South Africa (personal best time of 67:32), Jessica Warner-Judd of the UK (personal best time of 67:52), Molly Huddle of the US (personal best time of 67:25), and former 1500m Olympic medallist and World champion Jenny Simpson, who will be making her half marathon debut.
In the men’s race, three sub-1 hour runners will be competing:
- Ethiopians Leul Gebrselassie (personal best time of 59:18)
- Shura Kitata (personal best time of 59:47), the former London marathon champion
- Morocco’s Mohamed Reda El Aaraby (personal best time of 59:44)
