By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
(31-Dec) — Calli Hauger-Thackery, Britain’s second-fastest female marathoner after Paula Radcliffe with a personal best of 2:21:24, will contest the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 11 just four weeks after winning the JAL Honolulu Marathon on December 14, race organizers reported today. The 32 year-old former University of New Mexico Lobo had planned to run Houston in 2025, but an illness just before the race upended those plans.
“I’ve had my sights set on doing the full 26.2 for a while now (and) this year feels like the perfect fit,” said Hauger-Thackery through a statement. “I cannot wait to roll the dice and go for a fast time.”
In Honolulu Hauger-Thackery won a grueling, late-race battle against two-time defending champion Cynthia Limo of Kenya and two-time Olympic marathoner Eunice Chumba of Bahrain. In warm and rainy conditions with near-100% humidity, Hauger-Thackery missed her bottle at the 30-K fluid station and had to go back to pick it up.
“It was just a mishap, it happens everywhere,” she 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 made me chill. I just reeled them back in and told myself not to panic.”
Shortly before the 2-hour mark, Chumba drifted back and it was down to a two-woman race between Hauger-Thackery and Limo. “It was so empowering,” Hauger-Thackery said. Cynthia is an incredible racer. I knew we were both hurting, but [I told myself] I’ve just got to fake it.”
Just before the 23-mile mark, Hauger Thackery opened a gap and the Nike-sponsored athlete left Limo behind to get the win in 2:30:43. She immediately dropped to her knees and threw up, both physically and mentally drained.
“I never do that,” she told a race official a few minutes later.
While Houston race officials have not yet released the rest of the women’s elite field, Hauger-Thackery –who will be paced by her husband and coach Nick Hauger– is expecting a fast race. The women’s course record is 2:19:12 set by American Keira D’Amato in 2022.
“Knowing that American records have been broken there in previous years excites me a lot,” added Hauger-Thackery. “I know it has the potential to be fast!”
Race officials also said that Zouhair Talbi, a former NAIA star with Oklahoma City University, would line up for the marathon. Talbi, 30, who was born in Morocco but became a USA 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 in 2:06:39 which qualified him for the Paris Olympics (he finished 35th in the marathon). Looking ahead, he hopes to represent the United States in the marathon at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Winning the Houston Marathon in 2024 truly changed my life and marked a major turning point in my career,” said Talbi through a statement. “That race gave me confidence, opened new opportunities, and showed me what was possible after years of hard work. Coming back to this race now as a U.S. citizen makes it even more meaningful, and it’s something I’m genuinely proud of as I return to the city that played such an important role in my journey.”
The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half-Marathon are both World Athletics Gold Label road races (the half-marathon is held contemporaneously 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 put on the We Are Houston 5-K the day before, and in 2025 the three events had a combined total of 27,197 finishers.
“We are thrilled to welcome Calli and Zouhair back to Houston,” said race director Carly Caulfield through a press release. “Both know what it takes to compete and run well here and having them in the field ensures we will see an exciting race on January 11.”
PHOTO: Calli Hauger-Thackery moments after winning the 2025 JAL Honolulu Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
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