Alex Rudd
Media Relations Department
Houston Marathon Committee
(425) 891- 4986
arudd@houstonmarathon.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 2, 2026
Top Americans to Battle Up and Coming Global Stars in Houston
Fields Announced for Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon
HOUSTON, TX – Debutantes and up and coming stars will battle American and global veterans at the 2026 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon. The Houston Marathon Committee, which organizes the annual event, announced this year’s full professional athlete field for both distances today, which will take place on Sunday, January 11.
The women’s half marathon is led by Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama, the 12th fastest woman in history. In 2025, Gebreselama won the Lisbon Half Marathon in 1:04:21 by nearly two minutes. Later in the year, she competed in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. Gebreselama won the junior race at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships and was the silver medalist in the senior race in 2023.
Kenya’s Veronica Loleo comes to Houston looking to better her 1:05:46 third place finish in the Valencia Half Marathon last October. Loleo saw success in the United States last year winning both the Boilermaker 15K and Lilac Bloomsday 12K.
Buze Diriba of Ethiopia is the top returning runner, having finished third in the last two editions of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. Diriba, who also placed fourth in the 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon, is coming off a fall racing season in which she won the Frankfurt Marathon in a new personal best of 2:19:34.
Other top contenders in the women’s race include Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir (1:06:01) and 2025 Chevron Houston Marathon champion Sichala Kumeshi (1:10:56) of Ethiopia. Reigning U.S. half marathon champion Taylor Roe (1:07:22); last year’s fourth place finisher Amanda Vestri (1:07:25); Olympic marathoner Dakotah Popehn (1:07:42); 2025 World Championship Marathon fourth place finisher Susanna Sullivan (1:08:59) and 2025 Chevron Houston Marathon runner-up Erika Kemp (1:09:10) are among the top Americans in the field.
Houston will also mark the half marathon debut of two-time U.S. 5K champion Annie Rodenfels.
“Moving up and testing out the further distances on the roads has always been in the back of my mind and Houston seemed like the perfect place and time to finally give it a go,” said Rodenfels, a three-time NCAA Division III Champion at Centre College. “I’ve been putting in a few months of consistent work at altitude in preparation and hope to be competitive with the best on January 11th!”
The men’s race will feature the debut of 2025 NCAA Cross Country champion Habtom Samuel of Eritrea. Samuel, a student at the University of New Mexico, is also the 2024 NCAA 10,000m champion. He holds Eritrean national records in the 3,000m and 5,000m indoors, setting the latter at Boston University last month. The Aramco Houston Half Marathon will be his first road race of any distance.
“I wanted to test myself on the roads and see how I stack up against top professional athletes outside of track and XC,” said Samuel, a two-time bronze medalist at the World U20 Championships. “Houston felt like the right place to take that next step and challenge myself in a new beginning.”
Samuel will race accomplished veterans in his first race including six of the 15 fastest men in American history and the two fastest Canadians all-time. Leading the Americans is four-time Olympian Galen Rupp (59:47). At 39, Rupp is one of the United States’s most decorated runners with two Olympic medals and 12 U.S. titles from the road and track. Other top Americans include two-time Olympian Hillary Bor (59:55); 2024 Aramco Houston Half Marathon fourth-place finisher Biya Simbassa (1:00:37) and reigning U.S. Half Marathon champion Alex Maier (1:00:48). Canadian national record holder Cam Levins (1:00:18) will try to keep Rory Linkletter (1:00:57) from taking his spot in the history books. Linkletter was sixth here last year. Former Brigham Young University standout Casey Clinger will make his official half marathon debut. Despite not racing in a half marathon, Clinger has experience at the longer distances. He holds the American record in the 25K (15.5 miles) and ran in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last fall.
Vincent Ngetich is the fastest man in the field with a personal best of 59:09. Ngetich, who represented Kenya in the 2025 World Athletics Championship Marathon has four top-five finishes in Abbott World Marathon Major races in the last two years. Haimro Alame of Israel, the 2025 Chevron Houston Marathon winner, will return to H-Town this year to try his luck in the half marathon distance.
The Chevron Houston Marathon will still be led, however, by a past champion. As previously announced, 2024 winner and course record holder Zouhair Talbi (2:06:39) who previously competed for Morocco is now an American citizen and will try to be the first American to win the men’s race since 2002. Last year’s runner-up Yemane Haileselassie (2:08:25) of Eritrea will attempt to better his position just one month after placing second in the Honolulu Marathon. Last year’s third place finisher, Shadrack Kimining (2:08:29) of Kenya will also return. 2023 Cape Town Marathon champion Adane Kebede (2:06:54) is also among the top contenders. American Teshome Mekonen (2:10:16), who finished third in the 2023 Houston Marathon will also join the marathon field this year.
Three-time Houston champion Biruktayit Degefa (2:21:34) will return to Houston for the first time since 2022. In seven finishes, she’s never placed lower than fourth. Degefa, now an American citizen, won here in 2019, 2018 and 2016. She finished 11th in the California International Marathon last month. Great Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery (2:21:24) will make a quick turnaround too. As previously announced, Hauger-Thackery, who is second on the British all-time list, will be just four weeks removed from winning the Honolulu Marathon. Hauger-Thackery and Degefa will have competition from Kenya’s Janet Ruguru. Ruguru set her marathon personal best in Beijing in 2023 when she finished second in the marathon with a time of 2:23:00.
“Runners come to Houston to become stars of the sport, run fast times and face incredible competition from around the world,” said Carly Caulfield, Race Director of the Houston Marathon Committee. “This year’s roster of professional athletes represent the recent history of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Chevron Houston Marathon as well as introduce the future that will be coming here to compete for years to come.”
The Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Chevron Houston Marathon will welcome 30,000 runners to downtown Houston on Sunday, January 11. It will be broadcast live on ABC13, abc13.com, and ESPN+.
Women’s Marathon
| Calli Hauger-Thackery | GBR | 2:21:24 |
| Biruktayit Degefa | USA | 2:21:34 |
| Janet Ruguru | KEN | 2:23:00 |
| Tejinesh Tulu | ETH | 2:24:37 |
| Dot McMahan | USA | 2:31:48 |
| Erin Mawhinney | CAN | 2:36:14 |
| Shannon Smith | USA | 2:34:24 |
| Sara Hall | USA | PACE |
| Fiona O’Keeffe | USA | PACE |
| Carolin Garrett | USA | DEBUT |
Men’s Marathon
| Zouhair Talbi | USA | 2:06:39 |
| Adane Kebede | ETH | 2:06:54 |
| Yemane Haileselassie | ERI | 2:08:25 |
| Shadrack Kimining | KEN | 2:08:29 |
| Teshome Mekonen | USA | 2:10:16 |
| Emad Bashi Mohamed | USA | 2:17:33 |
| Awet Beraki | USA | 2:19:32 |
| Wesley Robinson | USA | 2:16:07 |
| Nick Hauger | USA | PACE |
| Josh Izewski | USA | PACE |
| Hendrik Pfieffer | GER | PACE |
| Frank Lara | USA | PACE |
| Ethan Gregg | USA | DEBUT |
Women’s Half Marathon
| Tsigie Gebreselama | ETH | 1:04:21 |
| Evaline Chirchir | KEN | 1:06:01 |
| Buze Diriba | ETH | 1:06:24 |
| Veronica Loleo | KEN | 1:06:40 |
| Taylor Roe | USA | 1:07:22 |
| Amanda Vestri | USA | 1:07:25 |
| Fentaye Belayneh | ETH | 1:07:31 |
| Annie Frisbie | USA | 1:07:34 |
| Dakotah Popehn | USA | 1:07:42 |
| Honami Maeda | JPN | 1:08:28 |
| Makenna Myler | USA | 1:08:28 |
| Natosha Rogers | USA | 1:08:35 |
| Nell Rojas | USA | 1:08:52 |
| Susanna Sullivan | USA | 1:08:59 |
| Erika Kemp | USA | 1:09:10 |
| Maggie Montoya | USA | 1:09:26 |
| Jessica Gockley Day | USA | 1:09:37 |
| Lauren McNeil | GBR | 1:10:10 |
| Sichala Kumeshi | ETH | 1:10:56 |
| Ms Seema | IND | 1:11:23 |
| Alice Wright | GBR | 1:11:38 |
| Olivia Borowiak | USA | 1:13:41 |
| Laura Galvan | MEX | DEBUT |
| Annie Rodenfels | USA | DEBUT |
| Eva Jess | USA | DEBUT |
Men’s Half Marathon
| Vincent Ngetich | KEN | 0:59:09 |
| Galen Rupp | USA | 0:59:47 |
| Hillary Bor | USA | 0:59:55 |
| Cam Levins | CAN | 1:00:18 |
| Biya Simbassa | USA | 1:00:37 |
| Sam Chelanga | USA | 1:00:37 |
| Andrew Colley | USA | 1:00:47 |
| Alex Maier | USA | 1:00:48 |
| Marcelo Laguera | MEX | 1:00:53 |
| Reed Fischer | USA | 1:00:54 |
| Rory Linkletter | CAN | 1:00:57 |
| Ryan Ford | USA | 1:00:59 |
| Alberto Mindez | GUA | 1:01:03 |
| Alex Masai | KEN | 1:01:04 |
| Peter Lynch | IRL | 1:01:15 |
| Patrick Kiprop | KEN | 1:01:19 |
| Aaron Bienenfeld | GER | 1:01:39 |
| Mohamed El Youssfi | MAR | 1:01:47 |
| Kengo Suzuki | JPN | 1:01:53 |
| Haimro Alame | ISR | 1:02:02 |
| William Amponsah | GHA | 1:03:15 |
| Daniel Michalski | USA | 1:03:41 |
| Bran Barraza | USA | 1:04:29 |
| Aaron Gruen | AUT | 1:04:35 |
| Robert Warner-Judd | GBR | 1:04:44 |
| Habtom Samuel | ERI | DEBUT |
| Casey Clinger | USA | DEBUT |
| Isai Rodriguez | USA | DEBUT |
| Graydon Morris | USA | DEBUT |
| Dylan Schubert | USA | DEBUT |
| Merga Gemeda | USA | DEBUT |
| Hunter Christopher | USA | DEBUT |
Media Information: Additional media resources and information can be found at https://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/blog/media-center/
Interview/Photo Requests: Please contact Alex Rudd via email at media@houstonmarathon.com to make specific interview and photography requests.
About Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC) – Founded in 1972, the HMC is a founding member of Running USA and organizes the nation’s premier winter marathon, half marathon, and 5K hosting over 300,000 participants, volunteers, and spectators on race day. Recognized by World Athletics as Gold Label long-distance running events, the Chevron Houston Marathon has hosted the 1992 Women’s and the 2012 Men’s and Women’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathons, while the Gold Label Aramco Houston Half Marathon has hosted 16 U.S. Half Marathon Championships. The HMC also received Gold Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport from 2011 to 2020 and garnered the 2015 AIMS Green Award for industry-leading sustainability initiatives. Race weekend generates over $50+ million in economic impact for the region annually and has raised nearly $41 million through the Run for a Reason Charity Program since its inception in 1995. The event is broadcast and streamed Live on ABC13, ESPN+ and Disney + (with Disney Bundle Trio).
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