Courtesy: event press release

Crossing the finish line first in the 2007 Chevron Houston Marathon just got a whole lot more lucrative.

In a continuing effort to attract more of the world's elite marathoners to Houston, the Chevron Houston Marathon has increased its prize purse for the 2007 race to $100,000. Winners of the men's and women's races will take home half of that total, with $25,000 going to each winner. Prize money also will be given to the next four finishers, with $12,000, $7,000, $4,000 and $2,000 being award, respectively.

As an added incentive, the marathon has established an enhanced bonus structure that will reward runners for the quality of their performances. A non-cumulative bonus pool has been established for athletes running times under 2 hours, 13 minutes for men and sub 2 hours, 31 minutes for women. Additionally, a course record award is part of the bonus prize money pool, which appears below.

Men's Time Bonuses
Sub 2:13 - $ 2,000
Sub 2:12 - $ 3,000
Sub 2:11 - $ 5,000
Race Record - $10,000

Women's Time Bonuses
Sub 2:31 - $ 2,000
Sub 2:30 - $ 3,000
Sub 2:29 - $ 5,000
Race Record - $10,000

In addition to the $10,000 being offered to the first runner under the course record (men's 2:10:04; women's 2:27:51), the next two runners under the existing course standard will each win a $3,000 bonus.

"Prize money for the 2007 Chevron Houston Marathon is nearly double the amount we offered at the 2006 race," said Race Director Brant Kotch. "This is a significant commitment to supporting world-class running in Houston, and we expect the increased prize purse to attract strong men's and women's fields to the event."

Runners in the accompanying 2007 USATF Half Marathon Championships, being held in conjunction with the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, will vie for a prize purse of $62,500. The prize structure will offer a $12,000 first-place award and provide winnings to the top 10 finishers in each race.

USATF Half Marathon Championships
Prize/Bonus Money

Men/Women
First - $12,000
Second - $ 6,500
Third - $ 4,000
Fourth - $ 2,000
Fifth - $ 1,500
Sixth - $ 1,250
Seventh - $ 1,000
Eighth - $ 750
Ninth - $ 500
Tenth - $ 250

Masters - Men/Women
First - $ 750
Second - $ 500
Third - $ 250

The race also is offering a cumulative bonus structure for breaking existing race and U.S. records.

Bonus Pool
Race Record - Men 1:02:07 (2006) - Women 1:10:55 (2004) - Bonus $4,000
U.S. Record - Men 1:00:55 (1985) - Women 1:07:34 (2006) - Bonus $5,000

Nearly 20,000 runners are expected to participate in the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Houston Press/Smart Financial Credit Union 5K, all scheduled for Jan. 14, 2007.

Early registration discounts are still available, with entry fees of $75 for the marathon, $50 for the half marathon and $20 for the 5K.

More information is available online at www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or (713) 957- 3453.