Photo above: Magdalena Lewy-Boulet won her first ever U.S. championship in 1:11:47.

2004 Olympic Silver medalist Meb Keflezighi (San Diego, CA) made an early move to stake his claim on the men's title Sunday (January 18) at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston, TX, running 1:01:25 for his first U.S. half-marathon championship. 2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy- Boulet of Oakland, CA won her first ever U.S. championship in 1:11:47.

The championships were hosted for the fifth time by the Aramco Houston Half Marathon with more than 100 of the top American men and women joined by a record field of 11,000 entrants for the eighth annual event.

Photo below: Californian Meb Keflezighi won his first title of 2009 in 1:01:25.

Top local women placing in the USA Half Marathon race were Katherine Newberry (photo below) of Williamsburg, VA in 14th (1:14:31), Susannah Kvasnicka of Great Falls, VA in 29th (1:17:54), and Renee High of Virginia Beach, VA in 31st (1:18:29). The best local men were Steven Crane of Arlington, VA in 23rd (1:05:27), and Nathan Brigham of Washington, DC in 46th (1:10:18).

Katherine Newberry lives in Williamsburg, VA with husband Ed Moran; she is head coach of the women's Track and Cross Country teams at the College of William & Mary.

After passing the first mile in a somewhat relaxed 4:44, Keflezighi and 2008 Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein (Eugene, OR) began to pull away from the fieldl by two miles, Keflezighi had opened a ten meter lead on Ritzenhein.

Going through the 5K mark on American Record pace in 14:07, Keflezighi held an eight-second lead on Ritzenhein. By mile five, Keflezighi had fallen off record pace but had opened a 12 second lead.

Reaching 10 miles in 46:27, Keflezighi had extended his lead to 19 seconds; Ritzenhein rallied and closed the gap gradually. As Keflezighi started to suffer from tightening hamstrings over the final two miles, Ritzenhein pulled within 10 seconds at the finish line.

Former All-American at Stanford University Bret Gotcher (Flagstaff, AZ) ran a personal best by nearly two minutes to finish third in 1:02:09, 12 seconds ahead of his McMillan Elite teammate Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, AZ). 2006 Half Marathon champion Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, MI) rounded out the top five in 1:02:36.

Photo below: Arlington, VA resident Steven Crane, Pacers/Brooks Racing Team, finished 23rd (1:05:27) in the men's race.

In the women's race, Magdalena Lewy-Boulet took a more patient approach within a leading pack of five women: 2004 U.S. Olympian and Houston course record holder Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, CO), two-time Olympian Amy Rudolph (Providence, RI), Kelly Jaske (Portland, OR), and Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, MI).

Lewy-Boulet made her move after mile nine, and steadily opened a gap for victory; Jaske surprised with a strong second place performance (1:12:06). Masters standout De Reuck finished third in 1:12:36; Davila (1:12:23) and Rudolph (1:12:34) followed in fourth and fifth.

"I'm thrilled to win my first national title," said Lewy-Boulet after the race. "I was a little nervous since I hadn't been doing much specific training yet, but I felt better as the race progressed. It was great to run a big personal best, but it was even sweeter to win the race, which to me is always more important than the time," said Lewy-Boulet.

Magdalena Lewy-Boulet became an American citizen on the morning of September 11, 2001. She earned her bachelor's degree in human biodynamics from U.C. Berkley in 1997, and a master's degree in exercise physiology from Cal State Hayward. She lives in Oakland, CA with her husband Richie, a top American miler in the 1990s, and their three-year-old son Owen. In 2003, Lewy- Boulet returned to her alma mater as a coach for the Golden Bear cross country program, where she has been ever since. She is coached by Jack Daniels, Ph.D., a world-renowned authority on distance running.

About the USARC
The Aramco Houston Half Marathon was the first stop on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon. The half marathon championship offered a prize purse of $59,500.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote American runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC has paid over $6 million to U.S. distance runners. For more information, including video coverage, on the 2009 USA Half-Marathon Championships, see www.usatf.org

About Saucony, Inc.
Saucony, Inc., a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc., is a leading global supplier of performance athletic footwear and apparel. For more information, see www.saucony.com

Read more about Katherine Newberry

Read more about Steve Crane

USA Men's Half Marathon Top Finishers

Place Bib   Name                               City              St Time    Pace  
===== ===== ============================= ================= == ======== ===== 
    1    3M Meb Keflezighi                     San Diego         CA  1:01:25  4:42 
    2    1M Dathan Ritzenhein                  Eugene            OR  1:01:35  4:42 
    3   12M Brett Gotcher                      Flagstaff         AZ  1:02:09  4:45 
    4    6M Andrew Carlson                     Flagstaff         AZ  1:02:21  4:46 
    5    2M Brian Sell                         Rochester Hills   MI  1:02:36  4:47 
    6    7M Fasil Bizuneh                      Flagstaff         AZ  1:02:40  4:47 
    7   22M Antonio Vega                       St.Paul           MN  1:02:55  4:49 
    8    4M Ian Dobson                         Mammoth Lakes     CA  1:03:12  4:50 
    9   38M Justin Young                       Superior          CO  1:03:25  4:51 
   10    8M Fernando Cabada                    Boulder           CO  1:03:31  4:51 
   11   10M Max King                           Bend              OR  1:03:49  4:53 
   12   11M Luke Watson                        State College     PA  1:03:51  4:53 
   13   35M Mike Sayenko                       Bellevue          WA  1:03:52  4:53 
   14   25M Joel Hamilton                      Lakewood          CO  1:03:57  4:53 
   15   23M Jeffrey Eggleston                  Greece            NY  1:03:59  4:53 
   16   18M Mike Morgan                        Rochester Hills   MI  1:04:09  4:54 
   17   32M Sergio Reyes                       Palmdale          CA  1:04:19  4:55 
   18   14M Nicholas Arciniaga                 Rochester Hills   MI  1:04:24  4:55 
   19   27M Trent Briney                       Flagstaff         AZ  1:04:55  4:58 
   20   37M Josh Glaab                         Superior          CO  1:05:01  4:58 
   21   16M Chad Johnson                       Rochester Hills   MI  1:05:16  4:59 
   22   15M Luke Humphrey                      Rochester         MI  1:05:17  4:59 
   23   26M Steven Crane                       Arlington         VA  1:05:27  5:00 
   24   29M Jesse Armijo                       Albuquerque       NM  1:05:38  5:01 
   25   24M Thomas Morgan                      Blowing Rock      NC  1:05:50  5:02 

USA Women's Half Marathon Top Finishers

Place Bib   Name                               City              St Time    Pace  
===== ===== ================================== ================= == ======== ===== 
    1    3F Magdalena Boulet                   Oakland           CA  1:11:47  5:29 
    2   13F Kelly Jaske                        Portland          OR  1:12:06  5:31 
    3    4F Colleen De Reuck                   Boulder           CO  1:12:16  5:31 
    4    2F Desiree Davila                     Rochester Hills   MI  1:12:24  5:32 
    5   10F Amy Rudolph                        Providence        RI  1:12:35  5:33 
    6   11F Melissa White                      Rochester Hills   MI  1:12:40  5:33 
    7    5F Kristen Nicolini                   Minneapolis       MN  1:12:41  5:33 
    8   18F Lindsey Anderson                   South Ogden       UT  1:13:11  5:36 
    9    6F Sara Slattery                      Mammoth Lakes     CA  1:13:23  5:37 
   10    7F Tara Storage                       Beavercreek       OH  1:13:51  5:39 
   11    1F Kate O'Neill                       Palo Alto         CA  1:14:05  5:40 
   12   15F Kara Storage                       Beavercreek       OH  1:14:18  5:41 
   13   12F Paige Higgins                      Flagstaff         AZ  1:14:24  5:41 
   14    9F Katherine Newberry                 Williamsburg      VA  1:14:32  5:42 
   15   38F Alissa McKaig                      Fort Wayne        IN  1:14:39  5:42 
   16   19F Meghan Armstrong                   Minneapolis       MN  1:14:57  5:44 
   17   21F Alvina Begay                       Flagstaff         AZ  1:15:39  5:47 
   18   17F Nicole Hagobian                    Hadley            MA  1:15:42  5:47 
   19    8F Michelle Lilienthal                Minneapolis       MN  1:15:46  5:47 
   20   47F Alisha Williams                    Manitou Springs   CO  1:16:33  5:51 
   21   14F Rachel Kinsman                     Archbold          OH  1:16:45  5:52 
   22   36F Sarah Shepard                      Glenwood Springs  CO  1:16:51  5:52 
   23   30F Amy Hastings                       Mammoth Lakes     CA  1:17:13  5:54 
   24   31F Allison Dublinski                  Atlanta           GA  1:17:14  5:54 
   25   34F Allison Kerr                       Vacaville         CA  1:17:14  5:54 
   26   53F Danielle Korb                      Fort Collins      CO  1:17:15  5:54 
   27   28F Abby Dean                          Philadelphia      PA  1:17:32  5:56 
   28   29F Melissa Todd                       Kansas City       MO  1:17:52  5:57 
   29   24F Susannah Kvasnicka                 Great Falls       VA  1:17:56  5:57 
   30   25814 Christine Hoffman                New York          NY  1:18:17  5:59
   31   35F Nicole Blaesser                    Oxford            PA  1:18:23  5:59 
   32   33F Renee High                         Virginia Beach    VA  1:18:32  6:00