Moe’s Half-Marathon in San Marcos always comes after a lot of the big races are already done, but still has a loyal following. And by early March, the weather can be a bit iffy. Sure enough, though mornings had been nice and cool, Moe’s race caught a warm (68 degrees), windy morning.
But that didn’t stop Gilbert Tuhabonye and Julie Whittenburg, one of his Gazelles from running away with the race.
Tuhabonye won the race in a wind-slowed time of 1:14:47, while Whittenburg clocked 1:34:22.
Though not Tuhabonye’s best time (he’s run a 1:06:00 for the 13.1-mile distance), the win was a great tempo run for the Flora London Marathon, which he’ll run on April 13, hoping to post a time that will get him on the Burundian Olympic marathon team.
He hopes to run under 2:20, but acknowledges it won’t be easy. “I wanted to run faster today,” he said of Moe’s. “But the wind was tough here. I need to find another race to test my fitness.”
“There was no way I was going to run fast up front by myself,” he said of Moe’s Half. “But it was a good workout.”
The marathon has proved somewhat frustrating for Tuhabonye, who hit a high mark of 2:23:07 in 2003 at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn. But he remains confident that his best is yet to come.
“I believe I have a fast marathon in me,” he said.
Austin’s Lisa Preeg finished second at Moe's Half in 1:36:03, and also took the top master’s title. Scott Birk, also of Austin was top men’s master and sixth overall in 1:26:43.
