Canadian trio achieves personal-best times in Houston Marathon, Half Marathon

Elite Canadian runners Kinsey Middleton, Leslie Sexton and Ben Preisner set personal-best times in the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon held simultaneously on a cloudy and warm Sunday morning.

Middleton delivered the highest placing, finishing fifth among 2,397 female athletes in two hours 29 minutes 22 seconds, a 47-second improvement from her previous best last May 29 in Ottawa.

Middleton set a 1:12:15 half marathon PB three years ago in Houston, nine days after receiving a cortisone injection for an undiagnosed rotator cuff tear in her left shoulder that led to surgery.

A native of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Middleton holds dual citizenship as her mother was born in Guelph, Ont.