New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel won the Houston Half Marathon with a new course record in his debut at the distance and UNM alum Calli Thackery won the Women’s Full Marathon to highlight a standout day for Lobos past and present Sunday morning in Houston.
Samuel crossed in 59:01 – the fastest time ever run by any current or former NCAA athlete – to win the Houston Half against a field that included six of the 15 fastest men in American history and the two fastest Canadians all-time. He hasn’t lost a race of any distance since finishing second in the 5,000m final at NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Samuel's time also ranks as the fourth-fastest half marathon ever ran on American soil.
This is the second year in a row that the race record has been broken. Prior to last year, the record hadn't been broken since 2012.
After Patrick Kiprop of Kenya took an eight-to-nine second lead over a pack of eight behind him that included Samuel, the Eritrean responded with a blistering finish and kept pushing, closing the final stretch at 4:15 mile pace to win by 13 seconds. He averaged a 4:31 mile for the entirety of the race.
.@aramco half marathon winner
— Joe Gleason (@joeagleason) January 11, 2026
@HabtomSamuel31 finishes at 59:01
@abc13houston @HoustonMarathon pic.twitter.com/sjJoWPAKcF
In the women’s Marathon race, Lobo Alum Calli Thackery – a 2024 Paris Olympian in the event – won with a 2:24:17 time, her second marathon win in the last month. She won the Honolulu Marathon in 2:30:43 on Dec. 14.
Fellow UNM alum Alice Wright crossed 20th overall in the women’s half marathon as well, finishing in 1:11:04.