Emily Sisson Runs Another American Record at the Houston Half Marathon

Emily Sisson finished second in the Houston Half Marathon in 1:06:52, and she broke her own American record of 1:07:11, which she ran in Indianapolis last May.

Sisson, 31, averaged 5:06.1 pace for 13.1 miles.

Hiwot Gebremaryam of Ethiopia won the race in 1:06:28. She was out alone in front after a blistering opening 5K of 15:14 (4:54 per mile). But as the race went on, Gebremaryam’s pace slowed and in the latter stages of the race, she looked over her shoulder several times. Sisson closed the gap from 29 seconds in the middle of the race to 24 seconds at the finish—but she never came close to Gebremaryam.

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Sisson has been on a record-breaking tear. She set the American record in the marathon in Chicago on October 9, 2022, running 2:18:29 and taking 43 seconds off the record Keira D’Amato ran at the Houston Marathon last year.

The half marathon record has long been considered slow compared to American records at other distances. Last fall, Ray Treacy, Sisson’s coach, told Runner’s World, “I would love for her to have another crack at the half marathon during the wintertime, some kind of really fast half marathon, because she has the record but it’s kind of a soft record, I think. I think she can go a lot faster.”

Sisson got her chance in Houston, taking 19 seconds off her old mark. But Sisson, like Gebremaryam, went out at a very fast pace for 5K (15:31) and slowed throughout the race, raising the question of what she could do if she ran a more evenly-paced effort, as she did at the Chicago Marathon. Some race calculators estimate that based off her marathon time, Sisson’s half marathon should be around 1:06:00.

She told ABC-13 in Houston after the race that she was really excited about her performance. “I really wanted to break 67 minutes and I’m happy I did,” Sisson said. “I actually think I could have run a little more evenly so I’m already hoping to run another half and even try to run faster.”