Like Meskerem Assefa, American half-marathoner Jordan Hasay distinguishes herself.
According to Dr. John Cianca, medical director of the Chevron Houston Marathon, eight runners were transported to local hospitals Sunday with three of them described as being “critical transports.”
Privacy issues prevent the marathon’s medical staff from disclosing names or the destination hospitals, race director Brant Kotch said.
Cianca reported 500 medical-related issues total with 207 additional “quick encounters.”
On Friday, he had stressed to the 27,000 amateur runners who were going to run the marathon and half-marathon that they needed to “slow down, slow down, slow down” and not shoot for personal bests because of the unseasonably high temperatures and almost 100 percent humidity that was forecast for Sunday.
To prepare for same, the marathon ordered a record amount of bottled water and disposable cups and rented many additional tables to set that up.
Kotch said he was confident his staff and volunteers did “everything they possibly could have” to prevent healthrelated problems.
The elite runners competed in 60-degree weather. The field had to endure sporadic rain and temperatures in the 70s.
Race director a ‘dinosaur’
After presiding over his 15th Chevron Houston Marathon weekend, race director Brant Kotch reflected how much the event has changed.
When he took on the task for the first time in 2003, the race employed two full-time staffers. It now has 14. But one thing hasn’t changed. Kotch, an attorney by day, remains a volunteer himself.
“I’m a dinosaur, the dumbest guy in the room when (race directors) get together,” he said, laughing. “They’ll ask, ‘Who’s still (working for free)?’ and I’m the only one who raises my hand.”
Muggy conditions impact times
In large part because of the muggy conditions, Sunday’s winning times harkened back to a day when the Chevron Houston Marathon event couldn’t afford to bring in top-drawer runners.
Dominic Ondoro’s 2:12:05, the fastest of the day, fell well out of the top 25 all-time and there hasn’t been a slower first-place clocking since Kenyan David Cheruiyot won in 2:14:50 in 2005. Meskerem Assefa’s 2:30:18 was 27 seconds better than any other woman, but was the slowest since Russian Firaya SultanovaZhdanova won in 2:32:25 in 2006.
Ondoro’s time was even slower than the 2:11 minimum required for receiving an elite men’s invitation. The women’s cutoff had been set at 2:32, which was surpassed by just two runners Sunday.
The respective men’s and women’s course records of 2:06:51 set by Tariku Jafar and 2:23:14 by his Ethiopian countrywoman Alemito Abera have stood through five subsequent races.
Mary Wacera, who broke the women’s half record last year with a 1:06:29, came in third Sunday at 1:08:38, 40 seconds slower than the new champion, Veronicah Nyaruai, posted.
Finish-line area fine this time
Despite the pedestrian times, race director Brant Kotch had something huge to celebrate: No construction around the George R. Brown Convention Center for the first time in several years.
Upgrading the GBR for Super Bowl LI had made a mess of things and required numerous finishline changes. This year the course ran through Discovery Green.
Chevron executives and VIP guests loved being able to take over the Grove Restaurant adjacent to the finish but it required a fairly sharp bend near the finish that Kotch wasn’t crazy about. He said there’s a chance a long closing straightaway directly in front of the GRB could return in 2018.
“I thought the finish was a little tight for the number of runners we had,” he said. “We’ll take a look at it in the months ahead. We’ll take a look at everything, like we always do. The planning for next year starts now.”