Two-time Olympian and Saucony athlete Molly Huddle broke the American record for the half marathon by running 1:07:25 to finish in seventh place at the 2018 Houston Half Marathon on Sunday. The 33-year-old had previously run 1:07:41 in 2016, the second-fastest mark in U.S. history behind Deena Kastor, whose 1:07:34 standard for American women had stood since 2006. Huddle’s splits on the way to her 13.1 mile American record unofficially broke the U.S. records for 10 miles and 20K in 50:52 and 1:03:48, respectively. The race was won by Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga in 1:06:39.
Huddle, who has earned 25 U.S. national championship titles on the track and roads, set the American 10,000-meter record (30:13.17) with a sixth-place finish in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She became the first person to win three straight NYC Half Marathons with her victory there last March. In her highly anticipated first race at the marathon distance, Huddle ran 2:28:13 to place third at the 2016 New York City Marathon. She will make her Boston Marathon debut at the 122nd edition of the race on April 16, 2018.
“Molly absolutely crushed it out there today, taking 9 seconds off the previous American half marathon record and 16 seconds off her personal best,” said Mark Bossardet, head of sports marketing for Saucony. “Molly showed her courage and determination, going out hard with the leaders from the gun. She’s incredibly motivated for Boston and today’s performance punctuates that her preparation and focus are right on track. All of us at Saucony congratulate Molly; we are so excited for her and her continued accomplishments.”
“I really think the women’s marathoners and half-marathoners in the United States are so good right now,” said Huddle. “It’s an exciting time for women’s running and the American women’s field at Boston is testament to that. Leading into today’s race we focused on a soft marathon build up but now it’s time to begin the real grind for Boston. Today tested my limits; I was lucky to have a lot of really fast women to run with and breaking the record gives me a lot of confidence in my fitness level.”
The last American woman to win the Boston Marathon was Saucony sponsored athlete Lisa Larsen Weidenbach (now Rainsberger) in 1985.
Huddle lives and trains in Providence, RI and is coached by Ray Treacy, who is also the Cross Country and Track and Field coach at Providence College in Rhode Island.
