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Reaching the podium in both of his United Airlines NYC Half appearances, Zouhair Talbi returns hoping to improve upon his 2024 second-place finish, a personal best of 1:00:41. The year prior, he finished third in his event debut, which he called “the race of his life.”

This past January, he won the Houston Marathon for the second time, crossing the finish line in 2:05.45—breaking his own course record set in 2024 and becoming the third-fastest American marathoner of all-time on a record-eligible course. Last year, he won the Chicago Half Marathon and in 2023 he recorded a top-five finish at the Boston Marathon.

Originally from Morocco, Talbi represented the nation in the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon. Talbi immigrated to the U.S. to study at Northwest Kansas Technical College and then transferred to run for Oklahoma City University, where he won seven cross country and track and field all-American honors and seven individual national titles. 

Talbi’s wife, Elizabeth, is also an avid runner and their son Amir turns one this month. While Talbi was winning the Houston Marathon in January, Elizabeth placed 10th, running 2:35:36. They both finished first in their respective divisions at the 2023 John Carson 2-Mile Road Race in Massachusetts.