Bekana Daba, an Ethiopian national, won the Houston Marathon held on Sunday in record time, according to The Associated Press and other media reports.
Daba ran the just-over 26-mile-long race in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 4 seconds, breaking the previous record of 2:07:37, held by compatriot Teshome Gelana, who didn’t run this year.
“I was a little bit in need of going to the restroom,” Daba said through a translator, according to the AP report. “Somehow, I managed it.”
Mamitu Daska, also from Ethiopia, won the women’s marathon in Houston at a time of 2:26:33, becoming the fifth Ethiopian woman to win the race.
Daba added that he “could have ran faster” if there was no rain, according to Runnersweb.com, a site dedicated to running news. For finishing the race, he won $35,000.
Daska also won $35,000 for finishing first.
Nick Arciniaga from the United States came in second in the men’s race at 2:11:30. Two other runners from the United States, Jesse Davis and Brett Gotcher, came in fifth and sixth, respectively.
“But I felt good early on, (for) about 15 miles,” Gotcher told the Houston Chronicle. “I was focused. I did the same training as last year. Right now it’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong.”
Daba ran the just-over 26-mile-long race in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 4 seconds, breaking the previous record of 2:07:37, held by compatriot Teshome Gelana, who didn’t run this year.
“I was a little bit in need of going to the restroom,” Daba said through a translator, according to the AP report. “Somehow, I managed it.”
Mamitu Daska, also from Ethiopia, won the women’s marathon in Houston at a time of 2:26:33, becoming the fifth Ethiopian woman to win the race.
Daba added that he “could have ran faster” if there was no rain, according to Runnersweb.com, a site dedicated to running news. For finishing the race, he won $35,000.
Daska also won $35,000 for finishing first.
Nick Arciniaga from the United States came in second in the men’s race at 2:11:30. Two other runners from the United States, Jesse Davis and Brett Gotcher, came in fifth and sixth, respectively.
“But I felt good early on, (for) about 15 miles,” Gotcher told the Houston Chronicle. “I was focused. I did the same training as last year. Right now it’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong.”
