10 Runners 80 And Over Finish 2017 Aramco Houston Half Marathon

Before Sunday, there were 35 times where a runner age 80 or greater finished the Aramco Houston Half Marathon as an official finisher (under four hours chip time).

The most finishers in a single year came last year when six - five men and one woman - crossed the finish line just outside the George R. Brown Convention Center.

On Sunday, January 15, 2017, a record 10 runners did so.

Their times - and their current age, hometown and the number of Chevron Houston Marathons and/or Aramco Houston Half Marathons they finished - are as follows:

2:28:15 - Jim Braden, 81, The Woodlands (20 marathons / 4 half marathons)
2:38:28 - Don Henderson, 81, Galveston (1 marathon / 4 half marathons)
3:02:06 - Ray Boytim, 84, Spring (35 marathons / 2 half marathons)
3:02:19 - Kay Duplichan, 80, Rockport (8 marathons / 8 half marathons)
3:06:09 - Lee Miksch, 80, Cypress (26 marathons / 4 half marathons)
3:08:42 - Phillip Smith, 81, Houston (25 marathon / 9 half marathons)
3:28:47 - Marsha Smith, 81, Houston (4 half marathons)
3:35:56 - Jim Healy, 83, Houston (27 marathons / 5 half marathons)
3:35:58 - Nathaniel Collins, 80, Houston (10 marathons / 16 half marathons)
3:51:30 - Hans Mayer, 81, Houston (8 marathons / 13 half marathons)

Braden's 2:28:15 is the second fastest behind Luciano Garcia's 2:27:03 five years ago in 2012 as an 81-year-old out of Victoria.

The top 10 men's all-time Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes at 80 and over are as follows:

2:27:03 - Luciano Garcia, 81, Victoria, 2012
2:28:15 - Jim Braden, 81, The Woodlands, 2017
2:32:32 - Dan Allensworth, 81, Galveston, 2011
2:32:55 - Luciano Garcia, 80, Victoria, 2011
2:38:28 - Don Henderson, 81, Galveston, 2017
2:39:07 - Pete Alberts, 81, Houston, 2016
2:45:20 - Luciano Garcia, 82, Victoria, 2013
2:47:14 - Harold Gillespie, 82, Houston, 2005
2:47:28 - Fred Peirce, 82, Spring, 2011
2:48:04 - Fred Peirce, 81, Spring, 2010

The top 10 women's all-time Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes at 80 and over are as follows:

2:59:46 - Marsha Smith, 80, Houston, 2016
3:02:19 - Kay Duplichan, 80, Rockport, 2017
3:09:18 - Shirley Gilliland, 80, Temple, 2011
3:10:49 - Shirley Gilliland, 81, Temple, 2012
3:22:31 - Marcie McCaskill, 81, Webster, 2006
3:25:01 - Marcie McCaskill, 80, Webster, 2005
3:28:47 - Marsha Smith, 81, Houston, 2017
3:40:58 - Addie Kephart, 80, Atascocita, 2009
3:46:13 - Wren Bump, 82, Webster, 2007
3:54:59 - Addie Kephart, 83, Atascocita, 2012

Nathaniel "Skippy" Collins is the only runner to complete every single Aramco Houston Half Marathon that's ever been produced (2002-2017) - and may still be the only athlete to be a legacy marathon and half marathon runner.

The total number of Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes for runners 80 and over year-by-year are listed here:

2004 - 1 (Male)
2005 - 3 (2 Men / 1 Woman)
2006 - 2 (1 Man / 1 Woman)
2007 - 2 (1 Man / 1 Woman)
2009 - 3 (2 Men / 1 Woman)
2010 - 2 (Male)
2011 - 4 (3 Men / 1 Woman)
2012 - 5 (3 Men / 2 Women)
2013 - 2 (Male)
2014 - 2 (Male)
2015 - 3 (Male)
2016 - 6 (5 Men / 1 Women)
2017 - 10 (8 Men / 2 Women)

The cumulative number of Aramco Houston Half Marathon finishes at age 80 and over are listed here:

5 - Bernard Blumenthal, Pasadena (2010, 2012-2015; 85)
3 - Harold J Gillespie, Houston (2004-2006; 83)
3 - Jim Healy, Houston (2014-2015, 2017; 83)
3 - Luciano Garcia, Victoria (2011-2013; 82)
2 - Addie Kephart, Atascocita (2009, 2012; 83)
2 - Edward Burns, East Gwillimbury, OH (2015-2016; 82)
2 - Fred Peirce, Spring (2010-2011; 82)
2 - Hans Mayer, Houston (2016-2017; 81)
2 - Marcie McCaskill, Webster (2005-2006; 81)
2 - Marsha Smith, Houston (2016-2017; 81)
2 - Phillip Smith, Houston (2016-2017; 81)
2 - Ray Boytim, Spring (2016-2017; 84)
2 - Shirley Gilliland, Temple (2011-2012; 81)
2 - Wendell Londeen, Huntsville (2007, 2009; 82)
1 - Dan Allensworth, Galveston (2011; 81)
1 - Don Henderson, Galveston (2017; 81)
1 - George Bashen, Montgomery (2005; 80)
1 - Jim Braden, The Woodlands (2017; 81)
1 - Kay Duplichan, Rockport (2017; 80)
1 - Lee Miksch (2017; 80)
1 - Nathaniel Collins, Houston (2017; 80)
1 - Pete Alberts, Houston (2016; 81)
1 - Richard Soller, N. Bend, OH (2012; 84)
1 - Wren Bump, Webster (2007; 82)
1 - Zeno Boehmer, Nacogdoches (2009; 80)

Sources:  chevronhoustonmarathon.com, houstonresults.com