Erika Kemp opened her 2026 season with a monster half marathon at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon earlier this month.
Kemp, a Rancocas Valley graduate, covered the 13.1-mile course in 1:08.42, 25th-fastest in U.S. history lowering her own New Jersey alumni record.
Kemp’s previous half marathon best was 1:09.10 two years ago also in Houston.
Kemp, 31, was racing for only the 2nd time since she raced the marathon at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. She ran a half-marathon in Boston in November in 1:12.47.
Her 1:08.42 is an average of 5:14.7 per mile over 13.1 miles. That time is 16th-fastest in the world this year and 5th-fastest among U.S. women, with the top 17 women’s times coming from Houston.
Kemp has had good success in Houston. That’s where she ran her breakthrough marathon, a 2:22.56 marathon in January 2025, 12th-fastest in U.S. history and also a New Jersey alumni record.
Kemp graduated from R.V. in 2013 and then became a six-time All-America at North Carolina. She won the 2021 U.S. 20K title in New Haven and placed 8th at 10,000 meters on the track at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. She has track PRs of 8:53.06 for 3,000 meters at the Armory in 2020, 15:10.10 for 5,000 meters outdoors in Boston in 2021 and 32:10 for 10K on the road in Northport, N.Y., in September 2024.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 