Course record holder Teshome Gelana shut out of Houston due to Visa problems

Chron reports
Visa problems will keep defending Chevron Houston Marathon champion and course record-holder Teshome Gelana from defending his title Sunday, but that has opened the door for a possible oddity in the race.
An American champion.
The new top seed is 26-year-old Brett Gotcher, who finished seventh in 2:10:36 last year in his first marathon. The third-best time posted by a U.S. runner in 2010 and the fourth-fastest debut by an American in history, it positions him as the Houston favorite with Gelana unable to make the trip. The Ethiopian finished in 2:07:37, 15 seconds better than what countryman Deriba Merga ran the previous year.

READ ON...