Weini Kelati Lowers Her American Record At 2025 Houston Half Marathon

Weini Kelati Lowers Her American Record At 2025 Houston Half Marathon

For the second year in a row, Weini Kelati sets the American record in the women's half marathon at the Houston Half.

Jan 19, 2025 by Ashley Tysiac
Weini Kelati Lowers Her American Record At 2025 Houston Half Marathon

When Weini Kelati charged to a 1:06:25 American record in her first-ever half marathon race at the Houston Half Marathon last year, it was a debut that put the U.S. distance community on notice.

Now a year later, the record still belongs to Kelati -- but now it's a little faster.

On Sunday morning at the 2025 edition of the Houston Half, Kelati ran 1:06:09 for second place overall in the women's field, lowering her own American half marathon record by 16 seconds.

Leading into the race, it was no mystery that Kelati planned on aiming for another record-breaking mark. Under Armour Mission Dark Sky Coach Stephen Haas reportedly said sub-1:06 would potentially be on the table for Kelati ahead of race day.

That's the pace Kelati went out in on Sunday, settling into mid-65-minute pace and working with a pacer and other men racing the Houston Half. 19-year-old Ethiopian Senayet Getachew also stuck with Kelati in the pack.

Around 20k, Getachew pulled ahead into first, but Kelati fought to stick not too far off of her. In an interview afterward on the ABC 13 broadcast of the race, Kelati said she began battling some stomach issues during the latter stages of the race. Getachew went on to win the race in 1:06:05, just four seconds ahead of Kelati.

There's certainly a pattern that's developed over the years when it comes to breaking the American record in Houston. Since 2018, the U.S. women's half marathon record has been set four times at the Houston Half, beginning with Molly Huddle's 1:07:25 mark, seven years ago.

Since her half marathon debut in Houston in 2024, Kelati has developed into one of the top distance talents in the country, winning the 10,000m at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June and placing eighth in the event at the Paris Olympics. She also finished 14th as the top American at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships last March.

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