Calgary woman sets Canadian W50+ marathon record in Houston

Many Canadian distance runners made their way to Texas this past weekend for the 2024 Chevron Houston Marathon. One of the best performances came from Calgary masters runner Maria Zambrano, who placed 20th overall in a new Canadian W50+ masters record of 2:44:34.

Zambrano, 53, shattered her previous best of 2:46:14 from the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon by nearly two minutes. Her previous PB also stood as the Canadian record for the W50-54 age group.

It was an incredible run for the 53-year-old Zambrano, who was the fourth Canadian woman to cross the finish line. She also won the women’s 50-54 age category by 12 minutes.

Tatyana Pozdniakova of Ukraine holds the world record for the W50-54 age group. She clocked an exceptional 2:31:05 at age 50 at the 2005 L.A. Marathon.

Zambrano has two Canadian records to her name. She also holds the masters half-marathon mark of 1:16:57 for the W50-54 age group. In a 2022 interview, Zambrano said her mantra for running well into her 50s was the motivation to inspire other women her age. “I think there’s no secret. It’s just doing the training and being consistent and wanting to do it,” she said.

Zambrano was one of four Canadian women in the top 20 in Houston. Leslie Sexton of Markham, Ont., was the top Canadian finisher, running to a personal best of 2:28:14 for eighth place. Canadian marathon record holder Natasha Wodak was the second woman to cross the finish line, following Sexton for ninth in 2:28:42. In her return to the distance, 2016 Olympian Lanni Marchant placed 15th in 2:38:32.

You can view the full results from the 2024 Chevron Houston Marathon here.