Hamilton distance runner cracks top five at Houston Marathon

The 2026 Houston Marathon wasn’t part of Erin Mawhinney’s original plan, but it turned into the breakthrough race of her career.

Just three weeks earlier, the Hamilton-based distance runner was set to compete at The Marathon Project in Arizona. Only a few kilometres into the race, she decided to step off the course after coming down with influenza the day before. “The timing was unfortunate,” Mawhinney said. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been that sick in my life.”

Fortunately, her agent, Stephen Andersen, was able to secure her a late entry into the elite field at Houston, and Mawhinney made the most of the opportunity.

Last Sunday, the 29-year-old finished fifth overall in the women’s race, crossing the line in 2:29:36. The performance marked a personal best by nearly seven minutes and placed her in rare company, making her just the 15th Canadian woman to break the 2:30 barrier in the marathon.

Mawhinney said the significance of the result didn’t fully register until after 40K. “With about two kilometres to go, I remember looking at my watch and doing some quick math,” she said with a laugh. “I figured I had a good shot. It was a really cool feeling.”

The result caps a special four-month stretch for Mawhinney, who has now set personal bests in both the half-marathon and marathon. When asked what’s changed, she pointed to a growing belief in herself.

Much of that confidence, she says, comes from her coach and fellow Hamiltonian Reid Coolsaet, a two-time Olympic marathoner for Canada. While Mawhinney wasn’t convinced she had a sub-2:30 performance in her repertoire, Coolsaet was. “He kept telling me it was there,” she said.

Excluding The Marathon Project, Houston was only Mawhinney’s second career marathon. She made her debut at the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, finishing 11th in 2:36:14.

The 2028 L.A. Olympics have long been a distant goal, but Sunday’s performance made that dream feel real. “Continuing to work with Reid, whom I’ve already made massive improvements under, will be important in getting closer to that goal,” Mawhinney said. “I still have a ways to go, but we both believe it’s possible.”

For now, Mawhinney is back home in Hamilton, in her words, “hobbling around,” taking time to recover. “I don’t think being a 2:29 marathoner has quite hit me yet,” she said. “I think it will soon.”