Jen Rhines wins half-marathon in Houston, Patrick Smyth third

January 31, 2011

Jen Rhines, running in Carlsbad in 2007. Internet photo

The Mammoth Track Club just keeps clicking along.

Jennifer Rhines won the the U.S. half-marathon championship Saturday in Houston, finishing with a personal-best 1 hour, 11 minutes, 14 seconds.

"You always have to be happy when you run a PR [personal record]," Rhines said. "You never know when you're going to have ups and downs. I'm just going to enjoy this today."

Meanwhile, Patrick Smyth, also representing the Mammoth Track Club, finished third in the men’s division, behind former Mammoth Track Club member Ryan Hall.

The championship was run on a new course to give Rhines, Hall, Smyth and their fellow competitors a glimpse of the course make-up for when Houston plays host to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon next January.