Photo above: Brian Sell won the 2006 US Men's Half Marathon Championship in Houston, TX

Defending USA Half-Marathon champions Brian Sell (Rochester Hills,MI) and Annie Bersagel (Minneapolis, MN), along with U.S. Olympians Meb Keflezighi (San Diego,CA) and Elva Dryer (Gunnison, CO) headline the field for the 2007 USA Half- Marathon Championships this Sunday, January 14. The championship, hosted by the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon, is the first race of the 2007 USA Running Circuit (USARC).

Samia Akbar, American University Alumna
A local runner figures to play a major role in the women's championship race. RRCA Roads Scholar (R) Samia Akbar of Herndon, VA dazzled running enthusiasts in 2006 with personal bests in the half marathon (1:13:13 at the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run on September 17) and track 10K (32:42 for third place female at the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 23). She debuted in the marathon at the ING New York City Marathon on November 5 with a time of 2:34:14 (3rd American woman, 12th among all females). This met the "A" qualifying standard for 2008 USA Women's Marathon Olympic Trials.

Joining Sell and Keflezighi in the hunt for the first U.S. championship of 2007 will be the American record holder and 2006 USA champion at 20 km, Ryan Hall (Woodside, CA).

The men's championship holds intrigue as the build-up begins to choose the American Olympic Marathon team in November at Central Park in New York City. Brian Sell of Hansons-Brooks Distance Project is a legitimate contender to make the team with two sub-2:11 marathon performances in the Boston Marathon and LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon after winning the 2006 USA Half Marathon Championship. Since 2004, Sell has grown from obscurity and frustration at the Men's Olympic Trials in Alabama (13th place). He is modest about his achievements and has a burning desire to make the 2008 Olympic team; a top three finish in Houston would further establish his consistent record to succeed in that mission.

Meb Keflizighi is best known for that gray coin in his back pocket, the Athens Men's Olympic Marathon silver medal, that acts as a token of self-confidence for the UCLA graduate coached by Bob Larsen of Running USA. Meb ran the 2006 ING New York City Marathon with 37,000 other runners last November but one bad chicken dinner threw a monkey wrench in his plans (21st among men, 2:22:02). He will be running the Boston Marathon in April and has a personal best of 2:09:53 for 26.2 miles (2004 ING New York City).

A field of more than 40 of the top U.S. men will include two-time USA half- marathon champions Dan Browne (2001 and 2005) and Ryan Shay (2003 and 2004) as well as returning top-five finishers from 2006; Max King (Bend, OR), Brandon Leslie (Albuquerque, NM) and Andrew Carlson (White Bear Lake, MN).

Fasil Bizuneh (Bristol, VA), who won the Dallas White Rock Half-Marathon in December with a time of 1:02:59, will also be in contention for the title. He is a member of the American Distance Project (ADP) and trains with another incredible local athlete, Fernando Cabada, with coach Scott Simmons of Virginia Intermontl College.

In the women's championship, Bersagel will travel from Oslo, Norway where she is a Fulbright Scholar studying Political Science at the University of Oslo, in an effort to repeat the her 2006 title run. Bersagel will face a field that includes two-time U.S. Olympian Dryer, who was the runner-up at the 2006 USA 20 km Championships, and Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va.), who finished third in the 10,000 meters at last summer's AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The championships will feature a total prize purse of $59,500 with $12,000 going to the respective men's and women's champions. The Aramco Houston Half Marathon will also offer a bonus of $4,000 for breaking the existing race records of 1:02:07 and 1:10:55 for men and women, respectively, plus an additional $5,000 for breaking the existing American records of 1:00:55 (men ) and 1:07:34 (women).

Two of the top five U.S. male and female finishers will also qualify for the IAAF World Road Running Championships to be held in Udine, Italy, October 14, 2007.

About the USARC
The USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners, including Olympians Deena Kastor, Meb Keflezighi, Marla Runyan and Anthony Famiglietti. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2007 USARC has nine events for men and seven events for women.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.For more information on the 2007 USA Half-Marathon Championships see www.usatf.org.

The Field of Runners in the USA Half Marathon Championships

as of 1/9/07, subject to change
Women
Samia Akbar        Herndon VA 
Ann Alyanak        Bellbrook OH 
Linda Barnhart     Omaha NE 
Alvina Begay       Ganado AZ 
Annie Bersagel     Minneapolis MN 
Kate Brun          Marietta GA 
Desiree Budd       Mankato MN 
Stephanie Bylander Alamosa CO 
Melisa Christian   Dallas TX 
Christine Clifton  Long Branch NJ 
Jenny Crain        Milwaukee WI 
Elva Dryer         Gunnison CO 
Sopagna Eap        Eugene OR 
Brett Ely          Cambridge MA 
Kasie Enman        Huntington VT 
Kristin Fryburg    Boulder CO 
Ann Gaffigan       Lincoln NE 
Erika Holroyd      St Louis MO 
Kelsey Jones       Meridian ID 
Emily LeVan        Wiscasset ME 
Michelle Lilienthal Philadelphia PA 
Heather May        West Lafayette IN 
Sara Mitchell      Flagstaff AZ 
Kate O'Neill       Milton MA 
Casey Owens        Des Moines IA 
Michelle Paxton    Lincoln NE 
Kristin Price      Raleigh NC 
Melissa Rittenhouse Wadsworth OH 
Kara Roy           Fort Collins CO 
Joy Smith          Sugar Land TX 
Tara Storage       Beavercreek OH 
Suzanne Weeder-Einspahr Seward NE 



Men
Fasil Bizuneh      Bristol VA 
Dan Browne         Portland OR 
Trent Briney       Rochester Hills MI 
Tim Callinan       Audubon NJ 
Ed Callinan        Haddonfield NJ 
Andrew Carlson     Minneapolis MN 
Joe Driscoll       Blowing Rock NC 
Josh Eberly        Rochester Hills MI 
Dave Ernsberger    Rochester Hills MI 
Jeff Gaudette      Rochester Hills MI 
David Gramlich     Boardman OH 
Adberrazek Haki    Albuquerque NM 
Ryan Hall          Big Bear Lake CA 
Jason Holroyd      St. Lous MO 
Luke Humphrey      Rochester Hills MI 
Chad Johnson       Rochester Hills MI 
Dan Kahn           Durham NC 
Meb Keflezighi     San Diego CA 
Max King           Bend OR 
Travis Laird       Rochester Hills MI 
Jason Lehmkuhle    Minneapolis MN 
Matt Levassiur     Alamosa CO 
Dylan Mason        Bend OR 
James McGown       Omaha NE 
Teddy Mitchell     Albuquerque NM 
Josh Moen          Rochester Hills MI 
Mike Morgan        Rochester Hills MI 
Kyle O'Brien       Rochester Hills MI 
Sergio Reyes       Los Osos CA 
Pat Rizzo          Rochester Hills MI 
Martin Rosendahl   Rochester Hills MI 
Brian Sell         Rochester Hills MI 
Ryan Sheenan       Rochester Hills MI 
Nicholas Stanko    Haslett MI 
Clint Verran       Rochester Hills MI 
Paul Wilson        Keizer  OR 

See the Web site for the host event www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com