First time something of a charm for Hasay
4th-place woman sets all-time mark among event’s American runners
In running her first halfmarathon Sunday, Jordan Hasay couldn’t believe it when on mile 8, she caught up with defending champion Mary Wacera, who a year ago in Houston ran the fastest women’s half-marathon in North America.
For some time, Hasay, a former star at Oregon, stayed with Wacera. But Wacera broke away from Hasay to secure third place over fourth-place finisher Hasay, whose 1:08:40 is the fastest by an American woman in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon by more than a minute.
“When I caught up to her, I saw she was (bib) No. 101, and so I was like, ‘OK, well, this is a little bit intimidating.’ But it gave me excitement for those middle miles,” said Hasay, 25, who won her first national title at the Junior Olympics in 2004. “In a way I was like, ‘You’ve got the defending champion just sitting on you.’
“I was kind of pressing the pace because I wanted to run a fast time and I knew she ran out too quick and was struggling.
“But she’s obviously very tough and experienced and hung on well at the end. I was outkicked, but I can’t be too upset.”
Kenyan woman coasts
Veronicah Nyaruai Wanjiru of Kenya won Sunday’s race in 1:07:58, followed by 20-year-old Dera Dida Yami of Ethiopia in 1:08:06.
At the 15K mark, Wanjiru had a 12-second lead, and she increased it to 18 seconds at 20K. She spent most of the race, which started and finished at the George R. Brown Convention Center, running alone.
The men’s race was closer and provided a fantastic sprint at the end. Leonard Korir, 30, slipped past and outleaned Feyisa Lilesa, 26, just in front of the finish line for the win. Both runners finished in 1:01:14. The time was well off Lilesa’s Houston-record 59:22.
“Today, it didn’t go as planned. We were expecting fast times,” said Korir, who was born in Kenya and moved to the United States in 2009. “But I told myself I have to win. I ran as fast as I can, and hopefully, I get to the finish line first. In competition, you can’t predict the weather.”
Korir and Wanjiru each earned $20,000.
Hasay’s fourth-place run shows her potential in the longer distances. She has been coached the past three seasons in Portland, Ore., by Alberto Salazar, winner of marathons in New York and Boston.
The Beaverton, Ore., resident started the race conservatively but came on strong at the end.
Late push
At the 15K mark, Hasay was fifth among American women before starting her assault on the competition.
“It was a little confusing because I wasn’t sure what place I was in,” said Hasay, who will run her first full marathon in April in Boston. “Mary and I ran together into the city for a while. We caught more women coming into the city.
“I was just trying to focus on whoever I could and beat as many people as possible down the finishing stretches.”
Wanjiru, 27, ran the fourth-fastest women’s half-marathon in Houston. She went out fast but didn’t reach her desired time due to the heat and humidity.
Sunday’s 7 a.m. race started under a yellow caution flag, indicating a moderate risk for participants. Temperature for the start of the half-marathon and marathon was 64 degrees, and humidity was 96 percent.
“I was expecting to run a 66 (minutes), but I couldn’t make it because of the humidity,” said Wanjiru, who trains at high altitude and its thin air. “It was very warm for me. I couldn’t make it to 66, but I knew I had to have a good finish.”
For Korir, it’s been a productive eight days. He came into Houston coming off a cross country win in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and he leaves with a win over Lilesa, a two-time Aramco Houston Half Marathon champion and the 2016 Olympic silver medal winner in the men’s marathon. Both runners wanted and pushed for the victory. At 20K, Korir and Lilesa broke out of a pack of four and put on a dazzling sprint to the finish. There was slight elbowing going on down the stretch.
“With 400 meters to go, I tried to leave him, but I couldn’t,” Lilesa said. “He’s a very tough athlete.”
At the 10K mark, Korir knew he wouldn’t come close to his personal record of 1:01:06, which came when he won the 2015 New York City Half Marathon.
“Houston is usually a fast course,” said Korir, whose time here was the sixth-fastest in race history. “I was hoping to run faster than my personal best.
“It was a little humid. Maybe my best time will come next time.”