(16/01/2005)

Kenya's David Cheruiyot carted home a $10,000 purse for winning the 2005 HP Houston Marathon title.

Cheruiyot, 34, a newcomer and last-minute race addition, took the lead at mile nine and never looked back en route to his first victory in the United States.

The Kenyan wearing bib #32 led other 5,723 entrants home in 2h:15m:50s.

According to the race website, a record prize purse of $118,400 was given out, and an unprecedented 17,206 runners competed in the HP Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Houston Press 5K, breaking last year’s record by more than 3,000.

Runners will also raise a record amount for charities with the total expected to exceed $750,000 – nearly $200,000 more than last year.

Kenyan Julius Kibet, 22, took the Aramco Houston Half Marathon title with a finish time of 1h:03m:17s.

The Houston Marathon offers the only closed marathon course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support.