Keira D’Amato set an American record in the marathon at the 2022 Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday. The 37-year-old crossed the finish line in 2:19:12, breaking the previous mark set by Deena Kastor at the London Marathon in 2006 (2:19:36). Her running journey included years away from the road, the birth of two children and an injury letdown at last year’s U.S. Track and Field Olympic qualifiers.
“I’ve never won a marathon before, so that’s a big goal of mine,” D’Amato told “Women’s Running” last month. “Right now I think I’m in sub-2:22 shape, which is really exciting. I know the American record. I know what that is. If I’m around 2:20 shape, we’ll definitely go for it. If I’m close enough I’ll go for it and see what happens — if everything goes well this month, if I’m in a position where I think that’s a good goal.”
D’Amato now works as a real estate agent and lives in the Richmond, Virginia.
In addition to D’Amato’s record, Sara Hall, 38, ran the fastest half marathon for an American women ever in 1:07:15. Running on the same course in Houston where her husband Ryan Hall set the American half marathon record 15 years ago, Sara Hall ran 67:15 at the Houston Half Marathon on Sunday to take 10 seconds off Molly Huddle’s American record (also set in Houston in 2018). On a sunny, chilly (35 degrees) and slightly windy (11 mph) day in Houston, Hall ran fairly even 5k splits of 16:03-15:51-15:57 to hit 15k in 47:51.