Olympic Hopefuls to Test Drive 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon Course in Houston

The Houston Marathon Committee, in conjunction with presenting sponsor Aramco Services Company, has announced that the country’s best distance runners and Olympic hopefuls will compete at
the 2011 USA Half Marathon Championships on Saturday, January 29, 2011, one day prior to the 39th Chevron Houston Marathon. The championships will give athletes a chance to preview the course for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, which will be held on January 14, 2012.

“We had some very basic information about early versions of the proposed Olympic course in London that proved beneficial to our course design,” said Brant Kotch, Race Director and President of the Houston Marathon Committee. “Of course, the confluence of the already-awarded 2011 USA Half Marathon Championships together with the awarding of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon was just too great an opportunity to pass up.

This preview should bring out the country's strongest Olympic marathon hopefuls en masse.”
The eight-mile loop route will give U.S. athletes a “test drive” of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials course which is similar to the 2012 Olympic marathon multi-loop eight-mile course in London. The national championships will also allow athletes to experience the Houston Marathon Committee’s operating plans for the 2012 Trials.

“Getting a preview of the course while in race mode will be an invaluable experience for anyone hoping to run in the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials,” said 2009 USA Half Marathon champion and 2008 Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet. “There’s no better way to begin to mentally prepare for a race than to actually race it. I’m excited to return to Houston to run another USA Half Marathon Championship.”

The 2011 USA Half Marathon Championships will mark Houston’s seventh and fifth year to host the men’s and women’s national half marathon championships respectively. Last January, Antonio Vega and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan won U.S. titles in 1:01:54 and 1:09:41, respectively.
Houston will host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon on Saturday, January 14, 2012, a first for a single city to host both the men’s and women’s events at the same Olympic Trials. To-date, 93 U.S. men and 111 U.S.

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