Sunday, January 13, 2008



HOUSTON - James Carney (Boulder, Colo.) and Kate O'Neill (Palo Alto, Calif.) 

took the respective men's and women's titles at the USA Half Marathon Championships 

in Houston, Texas. Carney's time of 1:02:21 earned him his first USA championship win 

while O'Neill also won her first national title in 1:11:57. The men's and women's 

championships were hosted for the second consecutive year by the Aramco Houston Half

Marathon.



Though the 36th annual event started under ideal conditions with clear skies and a 

temperature of 48 degrees, the leaders passed the first mile in a relaxed 5:05 before 

Carney, Jason Lehmkuhle (Minneapolis, Minn.), and Ryan Kirkpatrick (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 

took charge of the field, leading the field through the second mile in 4:33.



The trio gradually extended a lead over the chase pack that included two-time champion 

Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.) and Steve Sundell (Redwood City, Calif.). As they approached 

six miles, Carney and Lehmkuhle opened a gap on Kirkpatrick, and just past seven miles 

Carney took command of the lead and steadily pulled away from Lehmkuhle.



Passing 10 miles in 47:11, Carney had built the 11-second lead that he would maintain 

to the finish. Sundell would go on to catch Kirkpatrick for a third-place finish in 1:03:21. 

Fernando Cabada (Boulder, Colo.) and Patrick Gildea (Knoxville, Tenn.) completed the top 

five, running 1:03:41 and 1:03:43 respectively.



In the women's race, O'Neill wasted no time staking her claim to the title, taking 

the lead at 5 km and holding on for a 13 second win.  Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, 

Mich.) steadily worked her way through the top women, moving from seventh place at 

eight miles to take the runner-up spot in 1:12:10. Serena Burla (Columbia, Mo.) finished 

in third, running 1:12:22, and Nicole Aish (Gunnison, Colo.) and Kristen Nicolini 

Lehmkuhle rounded out the top-five in 1:12:30 and 1:12:58 respectively. 



The championships featured a total prize purse of $59,500 with $12,000 going to the 

respective men's and women's champions. 



About the USARC 

The Aramco Houston Half Marathon was the first race on the 2008 USA Running Circuit 

(USARC). The USA Track & Field road series features USA Championships from 5 km to 

the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The fourteenth edition for 

the men and thirteenth for the women, the 2008 USARC has seven events for men and 

nine events for women.



The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 

10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, 

$4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC 

points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.



The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. 

runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over 

$4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.



For more information on the 2008 USA Half-Marathon Championships visit USATF. 

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