Molly Huddle sets American record in women’s half marathon.
Rhode Islander shaves 9 seconds off 12-year-old mark
In a women’s field viewed as one of the deepest in American history, Molly Huddle unofficially broke Deena Kastor’s U.S. record in the half-marathon in Sunday’s Aramco Half Marathon, running 13.1 miles in 67 minutes, 25 seconds.
Huddle, 33, also set unofficial American women’s marks for 10-mile (50:52) and 20K splits (63:48), records formerly held by Kastor, and finished seventh overall.
“We were going really well for 10 miles, and I felt good about the record. I was worried then — once I dropped off the pack — (because) I wasn’t with anyone or next to anyone,” Huddle said. “I was actually worried the last three miles that I would lose it.”
The men’s half-marathon ran simultaneously, so Huddle used the men to push her pace and held on, toppling Kastor’s 12-year-old half-marathon record (67:34).
“I definitely was dragged,” Huddle said jokingly. “It was a really great opportunity, though. I just kept reminding myself that this has to be one of the deepest, fastest races in the country for women ever. To be in that race and to be fit to run for it is lucky. It’s awesome.”
The race included Mary Wacera, a Kenyan who won Houston’s 2016 half-marathon; Helah Kiprop, Kenya’s 2015 world marathon silver medalist; and American Serena Burla, the 2014 Houston Half Marathon winner. Ethiopian Ruti Aga won Sunday’s race in 66:39.
Huddle and American Jordan Hasay were expected to vie for Kastor’s record and a potential top finish. Last year, Hasay ran the second-fastest debut in U.S. history (68:40) in Houston. On Sunday, she finished a minute behind Huddle (68:38) for eighth.
“I think her recent marathon success is going to spark a good rivalry. She’s just at another level of running right now,” Huddle said of Hasay. “Rivalries are good for the sport. I think we’re going to be finishing close to each other in Boston.”
Huddle, a Rhode Island native, made her Houston Half Marathon debut Sunday and plans to run in April’s Boston Marathon. She sees her finish not only as a step toward her preparation for Boston but a sign of the wider evolution of American women’s distance running.
“It’s exciting. I don’t know where it came from, but I go back to Deena,” Huddle said. “We were all freshmen in college when she was doing that, and now we’re all professionals. So I’d say maybe that’s the byproduct of that great career. I think it’s just iron sharpening iron at this point.”
Huddle, of Providence, R.I., broke her previous personal best of 67:41 (which was second on the all-time U.S. list), a benchmark she set in her marathon debut in New York in 2016. The two-time Olympian holds American records at 5K on the road and 10K on the track.
Looking ahead, she intends to rest and recover before working toward the Boston Marathon.
“I’d say our buildup starts after this,” she said. “We were trying to get a few faster workouts in beforehand to get ready for this race, so it’ll be the marathon grind from now on.
“I really think with all of us, we bring something different to the (Boston) marathon. Jordan is rising — she’s run so fast her last two races. Shalane (Flanagan) is kind of the hometown hero in Boston and has run the course so many times. … That course is made for her.
“I guess I bring the speed component to it, so you just don’t know. That’s why it’s interesting.”