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Rory Linkletter is the first Canadian to run a half marathon under one hour, achieving the feat on a cool Sunday morning in Houston with a 59-minute 49-second clocking to beat former record holder Cam Levins by 69 seconds.
For the Calgary-born Linkletter, who placed seventh, it was the second time in four years he lowered the national mark at the event.
On Jan. 16, 2022, Linkletter ran 1:01:08 to eclipse Jeff Schiebler’s 61:28 performance over 21.1 kilometres from Jan. 15, 1999 in Tokyo. Linkletter’s previous best of 1:01:44 was also achieved in Houston on Jan. 19, 2020.
The 29-year-old went 1:01:02 in Houston in 2024 and wrote in an Instagram post this week, “Hoping to make my fourth [Houston appearance] an equally or even greater milestone in my career.”
Linkletter debuted in Houston about a month before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, reaching the finish in 1:01:44.
“[It was] a moment that made me realize my potential in longer road races,” he said.
Before Sunday, Linkletter’s half marathon PB was 1:00:57, set in Marugame, Japan last Feb. 2.
Levins, from Black Creek, B.C., crossed the finish in 1:00:58 on Sunday for 18th, 40 seconds off his PB from the 2023 Vancouver First Half Marathon.
3 half marathon wins over Levins
Linkletter has defeated the 36-year-old Levins in each of their three half marathon showdowns.
The first was in Houston six years ago when Linkletter finished 15th, 30 seconds ahead of Levins, who was 30th.
Five months ago in Edmonton, Linkletter ran to his 1st Canadian title in 1:03 flat, beating three-time defending champ Levins by one second in a sprint to the finish.
Linkletter, who lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., hadn’t raced Levins since the 2024 Paris Olympic marathon, where Levins was 36th (2:11:56) racing with broken heel bone, 11 spots ahead of Linkletter (2:13:09).
Last year, Linkletter twice placed top 10 in a marathon major, most recently in October when he stopped the clock in 2:06:49 PB for ninth in Chicago, just over a minute shy of Levins’s Canadian mark (2:05:36) from the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.
It stood as the North American record until Conner Mantz of the United States shaved 53 seconds off the mark with his fourth-place finish last year in Chicago.
On Sunday, Levins crossed the finish in 1:00:58 for 18th, 40 seconds off his PB from the 2023 Vancouver First Half Marathon.
Calgary’s Rory Linkletter spoke with CBC Sports ahead of his attempt to break the Canadian record at this Sunday’s Chicago marathon.
