Courtesy: event press release

The 33rd running of the HP Houston Marathon is poised to be the biggest and best ever, with record weekend participation of more than 16,000 runners expected.

Registration for the HP Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon is up 10 percent compared to this time last year. Both races, along with the Houston Press 5K, are scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 16.

"The interest from Houston's running community and around the world continues to grow," said Brant Kotch, race director of the marathon. "We are expecting runners from all 50 states and 20 foreign countries. This is the fourth consecutive year that we have seen an increase in participation."

Among this year's participants are a Nobel Prize honoree and a Grammy-award winning singer. Dr. Louis Ignarro, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Medicine, will join the 7,000-plus runners expected for the HP Houston Marathon. Dr. Ignarro received the highest honor in medicine for his discovery concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. An avid runner, the California resident will be running his first Houston Marathon.

Grammy winner Shawn Colvin will be running her first half marathon when she toes the starting line for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. Colvin, best known for the 1998 Grammy-winning Song of the Year "Sunny Came Home," lives in Austin, Texas and competes in both road races and triathlons. She will sing the national anthem before the race and then take her place among 6,000 runners anticipated to compete in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

The Aramco Houston Half Marathon also will be hosting the 2005 USA Men's Half Marathon National Championship, featuring several of America's top distance runners. They will be competing for $48,900 in prize money, $17,500 of which is reserved exclusively for Americans.

A spectacular F-16 fly-by will kick off race morning with two F- 16 fighter jets from the 147th fighter wing at Ellington Air Force Base taking to the Houston sky. Following the patriotic liftoff, Houston Mayor Bill White will fire the starting gun to begin the marathon and half marathon at 7 a.m. The Houston Press 5K begins at 7:20 a.m.

The traditional Hoopla Brigade will greet runners as they make their way through Houston. Hoopla volunteers outfit the various water stops with themes, music and cheering sections to encourage participants. New to the race this year will be the "Elvis Mile," mile 24 in the marathon, which will be manned by 10 Elvis impersonators who will be rocking runners to the finish line.

This year's record participation is expected to result in a windfall for the race's Run for a Reason program, which raises money for several Houston-area charities. More than $700,000 is projected to be raised in 2005, compared to approximately $600,000 last year.

The HP Houston Marathon, a Running USA founding member, is the nation's premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and nearly 20 foreign countries. In 2004, more than 18,000 runners took part in four marathon weekend events (marathon, half marathon, 5K and children's run). The HP Houston 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.hphoustonmarathon.com or by calling 713- 957-3453.