OTC Elite’s Puskedra, Kipyego take aim at Houston Half Marathon

By Curtis Anderson | Jan 17, 2019

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon Track Club Elite’s Luke Puskedra and Sally Kipyego are both scheduled to open the 2019 road racing season by competing in the Chevron Houston Half Marathon on Sunday. The race begins at 7 a.m. (CST).

Puskedra, the former All-American standout from Oregon, is no stranger to the Houston Half Marathon. This will be his seventh appearance in the past eight years at the 13.1-mile race, dating back to 2012.

Puskedra, who turns 29 in February, set his lifetime best in the half marathon at the 2016 race in Houston. He placed fourth overall and was the top American finisher in 1 hour, 1 minute, 29 seconds.

Kipyego, 33, will be making her Houston Half Marathon debut. The Olympic and World Championships silver medalist in the 10,000 meters has a half marathon PR of 1:08:31.

After taking 2017 off for the birth of her daughter, Emma, Kipyego was slated to run the New York City Marathon last November, but was forced to withdraw due to illness.

Kipyego, who became a U.S. citizen in 2017, is also entered in the women’s elite field for the 2019 Boston Marathon on April 15.