Parker Stinson of the United States and Panuel Mkungo of Kenya lead a group of eltie runners during the 2018 Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon.Parker Stinson said he could have been contender in his Texas homecoming Sunday. Had anybody asked him the day he signed up for the 2023 Houston Marathon if he had a snowball’s chance of winning, he would have stuck his neck out and said yes.
“I’ve run and I feel I’m back in that kind of shape,” Stinson said, noting Kenyan James Ngandu’s winning time of 2:11:03. “When I saw that Houston was won in 2:11 last year, I wanted to sign up instantly, thinking it really was a race I could win, or at least get a top-three . But fast forward. Now it’s a year past COVID, the funding’s back and brought in some really fast guys, 2:06 guys.
“I’d never count anything out,” Stinson said, “but it’s going to be tough. It’s a really special field, a stellar field. If you’d talked to me a few months ago, I’d have believed I was running for a top three , or even a win.”