University of Houston Athletics
Magness Wins Houston Half-Marathon
10/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON -
Steve Magness, head coach of the Houston Cougar men's and women's cross country teams, claimed the 2014 Houston Half Marathon title Sunday in Houston, Texas.
"It was a great experience coming away with the win at the Houston Half Marathon," Magness said. "I'm fortunate in that I'm a very involved coach and spend a lot of time training with my team, which is unique to most Division I colleges, so it gives both myself and my team a leg up."
Magness finished the 13.1 mile race in 1:06:54.3 at a pace of just 5:06 per mile. Magness' ran the 5K split in 16:14.2, the 10K split in 16:02.0, and finished the second half of the race even faster with a time of 34:38.0.
Magness' pace quickened the entire competition improving from 5:12 per mile after the 5K, to 5:08 after the 10K and eventually finished at 5:06 per mile to finish up the race.
The race began at the corner of Bagby and Lamar Street downtown and wrapped all the way around to 610 West before making a loop and heading back downtown to the finish line at Bagby, The race included participants ranging in age from 15-75 and above, including Magness and fellow Cougar alum Neff Calum who finished third in the half-marathon.
"It makes me incredibly proud that Houston track and cross-country alums took 1st and 3rd (Calum Neff) in the race. It shows our team that running doesn't end after college, and hopefully motivates them to stay involved in the sport and take their performances to the next level."
NEXT FOR HOUSTON
Magness will take his cross country teams to Tulsa, Okla., to compete in the 2014 American Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 31 beginning with the women's 6K at 10 a.m., and followed by the men's 8K at 10:50 a.m.
Fans are encouraged to follow along and catch all of the cross country action at The American Championships by clicking here to access a live feed of the race.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Track & Field on Twitter @UHCougarXC and "Like" /HoustonCougarCrossCountry on Facebook.
