Saloom, Rapp take top honors in ABB 5K on Houston Marathon Weekend

Over 4,000 runenrs took to the streets of Houston for the
ABB 5K on Houston Marathon Weekend.
Photo by Kristine Kelly-TexSport Publications
 Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (January 16, 2016) Houston Marathon weekend kicked off day two on Saturday, January 16, 2016 with the running of the ABB 5K through the streets of Houston. Over 4,000 runners started at the corner of McKinney and Crawford Streets in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center with the first runners crossing the finish line 15 minutes later.

Placing first overall in the men’s division was 26-year-old Adam Saloom. The former distance runner for the Stephen F Austin State University Lumberjacks covered the distance in 15:11. He was closely followed by Jason Garcia. The 25-year-old former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi runner finished seven seconds behind Saloom, for runner-up honors. Third place, with the same time as Garcia, was 23-year-old Geoffrey Speelman. Overall, six male runners cracked the 16-minute barrier to lead the field.

In the woman’s division, Sarah Rapp topped all female runners with a 16:52 performance. The former Virginia Tech runner rans away with the female division, posting a 2:06 victory over second place Mary Alenbrat. Rapp was the seventh person overall across the finish line, only being bested by sex male runners. She, along with Garcia, runs for Team Green Running and is coached by Dan Green, the winner of the first Houston Marathon in 1972. Finishing in third place was 39-year-old Mandy Plante, who completed the course in 19:07.

Houston Marathon weekend will continue on Saturday with the Memorial Hermann Ironman Sports Medicine Expo from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the George R. Brown Convention Center. On Sunday, January 17, 2016, the Chevron Houston Marathon and the Aramco 13.1 Houston Half Marathon will kick off at 6:45 a.m. CST with the wheelchair division of the marathon and half marathon. Fifteen minutes later will see the open division of both events beginning. Live coverage will be broadcast in ABC Channel 13 in Houston and ESPN3 on the internet.