For the second consecutive year, Weini Kelati improved on the American record at the Houston Half Marathon. On January 19, the 28-year-old finished second in 1:06:09, 16 seconds faster than the time she ran at the race last year.
After battling alongside Kelati for most of Sunday’s race, Senayet Getachew of Ethiopia, who is only 19 years old, pulled away in the last mile to win the women’s title in 1:06:05. Her Ethiopian countrywoman Buze Diriba finished third in 1:06:48, replicating her podium finish from last year. In her second half marathon ever, American Amanda Vestri finished fourth in 1:07:35.
Between the frigid conditions and blazing early pace, it was a tough way for Kelati to achieve the record on Sunday. After the race, the 2024 Olympian told ABC13 her stomach started to bother her around the halfway mark, and it almost stopped her from running. In the end, she persevered and still improved on her 1:06:25 debut from last year.
“The goal was just to run hard from the beginning and try to see how fast I can go, and that’s what I did,” Kelati said.
From downtown Houston, competitors battled 30-mile-per-hour wind gusts and 34-degree temperatures. But that didn’t stop Kelati from running aggressively from the start. Led by a massive team of pacemakers, Kelati, Getachew, and Diriba blazed through the first 5K in 15:30. Already well on pace to shatter the American record, Kelati, and her two rivals were over 20 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor, Vestri, after the first three miles.
The trio accelerated before settling into a rhythm heading into the later sections. The quick early splits started to cause separation around the 15K mark. While Kelati was on pace to run a minute faster than the American record she set last year, Diriba started to fall off the lead pack.
Before she even crossed the finish line, Kelati broke another U.S. record. When she reached mile 10 in 50:05, Kelati lowered the previous 50:52 American record set by Molly Huddle in 2018 (when she was on her way to breaking the American record in the half marathon in Houston).
With about a mile remaining, Getachew pulled away from Kelati for good. Though Kelati started to falter off the brisk pace, she still held strong to take 16 seconds off her own American record.
Kelati continues a streak of record-breaking performances on the Houston course, known for being flat and fast. In 2022, Sara Hall ran 1:07:15, 10 seconds faster than the previous American record, also set in Houston, by Huddle in 2018. The following year, Emily Sisson ran 1:06:52 in Houston. The record was broken later that same year by Keira D’Amato when she ran 1:06:39 at the Gold Coast Half Marathon. At the 2024 Houston Half Marathon, Kelati improved the time once again, running 1:06:25 in her 13.1 debut.
In the last year, Kelati has reached another level in her running career. After achieving her first national record, the University of New Mexico alum ran personal bests in the 5,000 (14:35) and 10,000 meters (30:33) before winning the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Last summer, Kelati finished eighth in the event at the Paris Olympic Games, her first global championship.
On Sunday, she earned $8,000 for second place and a $10,000 bonus for breaking the American record.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
