HOUSTON – The Houston Marathon Committee (HMC) and its Official Broadcast Partner ABC13, announced that the 2017 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will have an expanded U.S. and international viewing audience for the second consecutive year.
The races will air live in Houston on ABC13, in addition to being carried on Longhorn Network and streaming on ESPN3, Sunday, January 15th at 7:00 a.m. CT.
The 2017 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon feature 27,000 participants, 7,500 volunteers and over 250,000 spectators, making it the largest single-day sporting event in Houston. Runners from all 50 states and 47 countries will join a world-class elite field in all four races.
“For seventeen years, ABC13 has promoted and presented this hallmark event live to the Greater Houston Region, showcasing the thousands of wonderful stories and sharing the accomplishments of our amazing local runners and fundraisers of all levels,” stated Wade Morehead, Executive Director of the Houston Marathon Committee and Foundation.
“Today, the marathon and half marathon also attract the finest national and international elite long-distance runners in the world.
“We could not be more thrilled and thankful that this spectacular sporting event will be presented nationally and internationally on ESPN3 and the Longhorn Network, and we are excited that running great Kara Goucher will be joining our veteran broadcast team.”
ABC13 will air a three-hour live broadcast of the race from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CT, along with a 10:35 p.m. CT event recap – The Finish Line.
The ABC app will also carry the morning broadcast and abc13.com will stream pace camera footage from the four elite races from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and a live finish line cam until 1:00 p.m.
The 45th running of the race will also be available to fans nationwide on ESPN3 across WatchESPN platforms and the ESPN app.
“Once again KTRK-TV is pleased to be able to partner with ESPN3 and ESPN’s Longhorn Network and share the Houston Marathon with runners across Texas and around the world,” said Henry Florsheim, President and General Manager of ABC13/KTRK-TV.
ABC13’s programming, helmed by Tom Koch and Gina Gaston, will focus on the four elite races, inspiring stories and features on local runners.
Two-time Olympian Kara Goucher, who finished third at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston, and Rice University Track & Field Coach Jon Warren, will call the play-by-play action for the elite races.
Also contributing to the broadcast will be ABC13 reporters Bob Slovak, David Nuno, Kaitlin McCulley, Rebecca Spira and Samica Knight.
The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon have featured the finest long distance runners in the world who have won Olympic Medals and Marathon Majors.
Houston has a long and successful racing tradition, from staging the 1992 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon to hosting 16 U.S. Half Marathon National Championships.
In 2007, two-time Olympian Ryan Hall set the American Half Marathon Record 59:43 that still stands today, and last year, Kenyan Mary Wacera ran the fastest half marathon ever by a woman on U.S. soil in a time of 66:29.
