Courtesy: event press release

The Houston Marathon Committee has been awarded both the 2007 and 2008 USA men's and women's Half Marathon National Championship races. Many of America's top distance runners are expected to run in Houston over the next two years to vie for more than $100,000 in prize money.

The USA Half Marathon Championships will be staged as part of the annual Aramco Houston Half Marathon, which has been run on Chevron Houston Marathon weekend for the past five years. The 2007 race is scheduled for Sunday, January 14th.

"The Chevron Houston Marathon has a rich history of hosting USA Championship races, and we are very pleased to extend our commitment to U.S. distance running," said race director Brant Kotch. "We began our support by hosting the 1979 USA men's and women's marathon championships and more recently, we've served as the site for the men's national half marathon title races. Having the country's top male and female runners in Houston is important to our event and the city, and we look forward to hosting the races the next two years."

As part of its commitment to hosting the championship races in 2007 and 2008, the Houston Marathon Committee has allocated a prize purse of $51,500 for each race. Men and women will compete for a top prize of $10,000, with prize money awarded to the top ten finishers. The race also will serve as a qualifier for two athletes from the top three U.S. finishers for the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships to be held in Udine, Italy in October 2007.

The 2007 USA Half Marathon Championships will open next year's USA Running Circuit road-road series. While the fields for the races will be determined closer to the event, past half marathons in Houston have featured several elite Americans, including Dan Browne, Brian Sell, Colleen DeReuck and Jen Rhines.

The Chevron Houston Marathon, a Running USA founding member, is the nation's premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and more than 30 foreign countries. The race will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2007. The marathon offers the only closed marathon course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. More than 5,000 volunteers organize the race, which is Houston's largest single-day sporting event. More information is available online at www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or 713-957- 3453.