Kleppin, Meb & Burla All the Talk in Houston

By Scott Bush

A wonderful Sunday morning in Houston at the USA Half Marathon Championships saw a lot go down in the first USA Running Circuit race of the season. Inspired racing and a deep list of terrific performances put the 2014 pro road race season off on a good foot. From Meb’s big win, to Lauren Kleppin’s surprise runner-up performance, here are eight things we learned from the USA Half Marathon Championships.

1. Mammoth Track Club is Legit: Last year, Deena Kastor and her husband repurposed the Mammoth Track Club, as coach Terrence Mahon left for a coaching post in the UK. Hitting the restart button gave the group a chance to redefine themselves and did it pay off big in Houston. Women’s runner-up Lauren Kleppin ran inspired, smashing her half marathon PR by over three minutes with her 1:12:12 finishing time and was the talk of the town afterward. On the men’s side, Josphat Boit finished third and earned some big points at the start of his USARC season. Boit’s been a consistent force on the circuit and seems ready to take another big step forward.

View our own Kevin Ullman interviewing Kleppin (USARC)

2. Meb Keflezighi is Unbelievable…Again: It’s time for American distance running fans to start getting VERY excited about the Boston Marathon. Meb has struggled with injury and consistency (in training), but that seems to be behind him now. Fingers crossed! The wily veteran won with a decisive move at the 10 mile mark, simply running away to a 15 second win in 1:01:23. His confidence is certainly there, his fitness is strong and if he can just stay healthy between now and April, Meb could very well give us a U.S. champion at the Boston Marathon. Dream big!

3. Serena Burla Takes Flight: While Meb dominated the men’s race, Burla simply laid it down and destroyed the women’s field. Her confidence came through big time and winning by nearly a minute and a half is huge! 1:10:48 is legit and it’s easy to tell she’s running at a different level now after her runner-up performance at the Amsterdam Marathon last fall. She’s running the Boston Marathon and if she continues to progress like this, note that there will be another American fighting for a top three finish.

4. Aaron Braun’s Marathon Focus: Finishing second on Sunday, Braun ran a terrific race, pulling away from the chase pack over the last two miles and running a new PR of 1:01:38. His race must give him confidence as he heads towards his spring marathon (announced soon). Braun is shifting his focus this spring to the roads, which we’re extremely excited about and he seems to be adapting very well. Remember, Braun just moved to Alamosa, home of Adams State College (where he competed) and sits at 7,500 feet elevation. This should give him a great chance to get some extra strength in the coming weeks and months.

Rapid Fire Thoughts

5. Clara Santucci is Awesome: The West Virginia runner set a new PR by 15 seconds in Houston, finishing fourth in 1:12:58. She finished top ten in Chicago last fall and seems confident and ready for a big 2014. She’ll be announcing her spring marathon plans soon, but don’t be surprised if she goes out sets a new PR and runs a top five U.S. time this season.

6. The American Distance Project: This squad, led by coach Scott Simmons, continues to show itself as one of the better training groups in the country. Wendy Thomas and Mattie Suver finished top six in Houston, with fourth and sixth place finishes and proved that this group is only getting stronger.

7. Training Groups Work: Two examples of athletes improving through group training are men’s fourth and fifth place finishers Tyler Pennel and Matt Llano. Pennel, who trains with ZAP Fitness just edged Llano, who trains with Northern Arizona Elite, as the two finished in 1:01:44 and 1:01:47 respectively. These two gained a bunch of momentum at the tail end of 2013 and I’d bet they both have big-time 2014 seasons.

8. Houston Does It Better: Once again, the folks in Houston put on a great USA championship event. With the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials site still up in the air, Houston had a chance to showcase their strengths to the USATF staff one more time before a decision is made in what will hopefully be the next few weeks. The buzz on Sunday had the vast majority of pros saying great things about Houston, which has to make their group feel better about their chances for the Trials bid.