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Keira D'Amato, a 37-year-old mother of two, has set a new American women's record at the 2022 Chevron Houston Marathon.
She was surprised and proud of her accomplishment, saying, "I keep checking it to make sure that that's what I ran. I just can't believe this! I'm really tired, but I'm really, really happy!"
The race was the 50th annual iteration of the Chevron Houston Marathon and was held in-person after the race was held virtually in 2021. Apart from being the 50th annual running of the marathon, the race also marked the debut of Memorial Park's brand new land bridge tunnels.
D'Amato finished the race in first place in the women's field with a time of 2:19:12, which broke the previous record by a full 30 seconds, which was set in 2006. After breaking the record and finishing well ahead of the rest of the field, the 37-year-old mother of two hugged her children, Tommy, age 7, and Quinn, age 5.
She spoke about her children being a big part of her motivation and being witness to her journey, saying, "They see me day in and day out leave for a run and come back an hour or two later, so they've been part of this journey and part of the sacrifice. When I crossed the line and they were there, oh man, it was just one of the happiest moments of my life."
D'Amato took up running again when her husband was deployed with the Air National Guard in 2016. Just seven months removed from giving birth, she finished a 2017 marathon with a time of 3:14:54 and even qualified for for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Marathon a year later. Last year, D'Amato, a real estate agent by occupation, logged a 2:22:56 in the Marathon Project to become the seventh-fastest American woman in history.
Nearly 30,000 runners participated in what was the 50th anniversary of the marathon amid frigid temperatures. This year's event marked the debut of the new land bridge at Memorial Park as part of the 26.2-mile trek.