Houston Marathon

USA Today reports
Bekana Daba set a Houston Marathon record in the rain Sunday — and that included a bathroom stop.
Daba covered the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 4 seconds, breaking the mark of 2:07:37 set by fellow Ethiopian Teshome Gelana last year. Gelana was unable to defend his title this year because visa problems.

Daba took the outright lead in the 18th mile as steady rain began to fall. With no competitors in sight, Daba briefly left the course in the 25th mile, just before he entered downtown.

"I was a little bit in need of going to the restroom," Daba said through an interpreter. "Somehow, I managed it."

The 22-year-old Daba glanced at his wristwatch as he made the final turn. He lifted his right arm to acknowledge the cheering crowd near the finish line in front of the city's convention center.

Daba shaved seven minutes off his debut marathon in Amsterdam last year (2:14:39), where he finished 12th. He thinks he could've run at least a minute faster Sunday, if he had been challenged toward the end by another runner.

"If somebody was with me, I could've increased my speed," he said. "But I was by myself, alone. I was keeping the pace."

American Nick Arciniaga was second in a personal-best 2:11:30 and Kenya-born Wilfred Murgor was third (2:11:41).

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