To kick off 2025, our Running Joyfully athletes brought their A-game to the streets of Houston for the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon. From 25 minute personal bests to gritty finishes, every athlete’s journey deserves a spotlight. Here’s a recap of all their incredible results:

The Running Joyfully crew at the 2025 Houston Marathon

Marathoners

Abby Martone: 3:06
Abby ran a phenomenal race, running a 6 minute personal best to finish in 3:06. This mom of two put in her best marathon buildup to date with consistent, strong training and faster workouts, culminating in a phenomenal hometown marathon! We knew she was ready for a special day and thought 3:06 could be in the cards when the stars aligned - and they did! What a performance from Abby!

Amy Semes: 3:12
Amy ran a HUGE PR - 25 minutes!! Amy is the type of athlete who nails her workouts and long runs - we knew she was ready for a big breakthrough - but she surprised us in the best way with this one! Amy found a good rhythm, trusted her fitness and training, and just kept getting faster as she went! Motivated by the NYC Marathon time qualifier, Amy pushed the final mile to break 3:13 and earn a time qualifier and a massive PR! The sky is the limit for Amy!

Liz Newton-Hayes: 3:19
Liz navigated some hiccups in her buildup - a Covid infection early on, then a cranky hamstring, and holiday travel. Despite this, she still put together a really great final few weeks leading up to Houston, where she hit training paces she's never hit before! We knew she was ready for a PR and we're so thrilled to see her sneak under the 3:20 barrier with 2.5 minute PR, running a consistent and even race before closing it out with her last mile as her fastest mile!

Becky Renze: 3:28
Becky trusted all the work she had done in this training block and was rewarded with a BIG 25 minute PR!! She ran a smart and even race, holding strong 7:50 splits before digging deep in the final miles. Becky’s hard work and mental toughness shone through, and this performance shows that she has even more in store!

Pam Butler: 3:29
Hats off to Pam, who ran a 2 minute PR at age 66!!! Faster as a master! This was Pam’s 13th Houston Marathon, and she and Coach Kacy worked together on both run training and strength training to put together a buildup that led to this breakthrough! Pam ran a controlled and smart race to break the 3:30 barrier, a long-held goal of hers; congrats Pam!

Lauren Jesse: 3:40
Lauren ran tough to finish in 3:40 on a hard day. Coming into the race dealing with a hamstring issue, she showed incredible mental toughness by powering through even when a PR wasn’t in the cards. This grit will serve her well as she builds toward Chicago Marathon!

Half Marathoners

Asasia Pierce: 1:29:51
Asasia crushed her goal of breaking 1:30, running 1:29 with a 6 minute PR! Juggling busy life as a mom of two, business owner, and traveler, Asasia’s hard work paid off with a big breakthrough! There’s so much more to come this spring as she and Coach Jen focus on a speedy segment and tackle some 10ks!

Lindsay Hazard – 1:36:05
Lindsay has been trying to break 1:40 since 2023, and she finally did it, running 1:36, 3 kiddos later! (a postpartum PR!). She had a crazy night leading up to the race with a stop at urgent care for a sick kiddo, but didn't let this stop her at all. Lindsay started controlled and then worked her way down progressively throughout the race, tapping into the turnover and speed work she and Coach Kaitlin spent a lot of time honing on the track this winter. Couldn't be happier for this mama!

Meg Sapp: 1:31:13
Meg, coached by Coach Steph, ran a 2 minute PR and embodied the definition of BELIEVE out there in Houston - from her willingness to embrace the idea of pursuing a fast half marathon as part of her prep for Boston to her commitment to doing the work day in and day out. Despite windy conditions, she clocked a confidence-boosting personal best en route to Boston Marathon!

Rebecca Dietz: 1:45:31
Rebecca, coached by Jen, ran a 1 minute PR to finish after navigating a challenging training block where she encountered some setbacks. Rebecca showed up mentally tough on race day, enabling her to finish strong with a big negative split. We are excited to see what’s ahead for her!

Kacy Seynders: 1:29:33
Our own Coach Kacy (coached by Kaitlin) clocked another sub-90 minute half marathon. Kacy executed this perfectly, besting her time from Houston Half last year. This year, though, she had a 30 second mid-race stop for a shoe tie - her laces became loose early in the race, so it was very lucky that she was able to see teammate Becca cheering on the side and have her tie Kacy's shoe! Despite this stop, she still managed to run well under 90 minutes - we're proud of her!

Susan O’Brien: 2:02
What a day for Susan! Susan orchestrated her pacing strategy perfectly, running a strong negative split en route to a speedy age-graded PR of 2:02. While pace was certainly on the mind, her and Coach Amy’s main goal for the weekend was to have a great time and reconnect with her her for running. Susan enjoyed hanging out with the Running Joyfully crew, running with her daughter, Regan (another of Coach Amy's athletes), and attending the live Des & Kara show the day before the race - all this made this a spectacular weekend on top of the stellar race!

Regan O’Brien: 1:41
Regan opened up her build to Eugene Marathon with a strong hard effort at Houston. Regan and Coach Amy pivoted goals over the holidays to focus on health and strength, and she’s ready for a great marathon season ahead!

We are so proud of every athlete for their incredible efforts and achievements. Whether setting PRs, overcoming challenges, or finding joy in the journey, you inspire us all. Here’s to more joyful miles ahead! 🎉