HONOLULU CHAMP HAUGER-TUCKER TO REOPEN IMMEDIATELY FOR CHEVRON HOUSTON MARATHON
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used by permission.
(December 31) — Calli Hauger-ThackeryBritain’s second-fastest female marathoner, behind Paula Radcliffe, with a personal best of 2:21:24, will compete in the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 11 just four weeks after winning the JAL Honolulu Marathon on December 14, race organizers announced today. Lobo, a 32-year-old former University of New Mexico standout, had planned to run Houston in 2025, but an illness just before the race derailed those plans.
“I’ve been aiming to do the full 26.2 for a while (and) this year feels perfect,” Hauger-Tuckery said in a statement. “I can’t wait to roll the dice and go fast!”
In Honolulu, Hauger-Tucker won a tough, late-race battle against two-time defending champion Cynthia Limo of Kenya and two-time Olympic marathoner Younis Chumba of Bahrain. In hot and rainy conditions with near 100% humidity, Hauger-Tuckery dropped his bottle at the 30-K fluid station and had to return to retrieve it.
“It was just unfortunate, it happens everywhere,” he told reporter Rich Sands, writing for Race Results Weekly. “But to be honest, I think it was a blessing in disguise because I was starting to move to the front and it was a bit early for that, so it chilled me out. I just turned them around again and told myself not to panic.”
With less than 2 hours to go, Chumba spun back and it ended in a two-woman race between Hauger-Thackery and Limon. “It was so powerful,” Hauger-Tuckery said. Cynthia is an incredible racer. I knew we were both hurting, but (I told myself) I just have to fake it.”
Just before the 23-mile mark, Hauger opened the gap on Tucker, and the Nike-sponsored athlete passed Lemon to take the win in 2:30:43. He immediately dropped to his knees and threw himself up, both physically and mentally exhausted.
“I never do that,” he told a race official moments later.
While Houston race officials have not yet announced the rest of the elite women’s field, Hauger-Tucker, who will be joined by husband and coach Nick Hauger, expects a fast race. The women’s course record is 2:19:12, set by American Kira D’Amato in 2022.
“I’m very excited to know that American records have been broken there in previous years,” Hauger-Tuckery added. “I know it has the potential to be fast.”
Race officials also said Zuhair Talbi, a former NAIA star with Oklahoma City University, will line up for the marathon. Talbi, 30, who was born in Morocco but became a US citizen in 2025 after enlisting in the Army Reserve, is the Chevron Houston Marathon course record holder. He won the race in 2024, while still representing Morocco, with a time of 2:06:39, which qualified him for the Paris Olympics (he finished 35th in the marathon). Looking ahead, she hopes to represent the United States in the marathon at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Winning the 2024 Houston Marathon truly changed my life and marked a significant turning point in my career,” Talby said in a statement. “That race gave me confidence, opened up new opportunities and showed me what is possible after years of hard work. Returning to this race as a US citizen makes it even more meaningful, and it’s something I’m really proud of as I return to the city that played such an important role in my journey.”
The Chevron Houston Marathon and the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon are both World Athletics Gold Label road races (the half-marathon is run concurrently with the marathon). Race organizers, the Houston Marathon Committee, are the only organization to host two Gold Label events on the same day. They also held the We Are Houston 5-K the day before, and in 2025 the three events had a total of 27,197 finishers.
“We are thrilled to welcome Callie and Zuhair back to Houston,” race director Carly Caulfield said in a press release. “They both know what it takes to compete here and run well, and having them in the field ensures that we will see an exciting race on January 11.”
