Zouhair Talbi became the first American to win the Chevron Houston Marathon in more than two decades as he blew away his own course record Sunday by nearly a minute.

Talbi, who won the 2024 race in 2:06:39 but did so while representing Morocco, finished in 2:05:45.

A lot has changed since Talbi set the previous Chevron Houston Marathon record two years ago. Talbi competed in the Olympics representing Morocco. He finished in the top 10 of the 2024 Boston Marathon. His wife Elizabeth, who also ran Sunday, gave birth to a son.

“Today was my first time doing that, winning the race and carrying the flag,” Talbi said. “It's a special moment.”

The previous best time by an American was 2:10:32 by Christian Allen last year. Sean Wade was the last U.S. champion in Houston back in 2003. The last American to both win the marathon and set a new course record was Benji Durden in 1982.

Talbi made his big push just as he hit the two-hour mark and opened up a large lead on Adane Gebre of Ethiopia, who had been on his tail and his biggest competitor on the day.

He noted two differences between his 2024 win and his win Sunday. One was the time, as he broke the 2:06:00 mark. The other was that he had more confidence coming into today than he did two years ago thanks to his previous experience and success.

"Both of them are special," he said of the races.

Talbi is only the third American to go under two hours and six minutes in a marathon, joining 2025 half marathon winner Conner Mantz and Khalid Khannouchi.

Gebre finished in second with a time of 2:06:16. Shadrack Kimining of Kenya (2:07:35), Yemane Haileselassie of Eritrea (2:09:00) and Teshome Mekonen (2:13:13) rounded out the top five. Haileselassie and Kimining finished in second and third place last year.

Talbi wasn't the only member of his family to finish on the leaderboard Sunday. Elizabeth finished the women's marathon in 10th with a time of 2:35:36, qualifying her for Olympic trials.

The race comes just 10 months after she gave birth to the couple's son, Talbi said.

“I would say the last three, four months, she was doing high mileage,” Talbi said. “She was just happy doing it so I was just encouraging her to do whatever she wants. Last time she ran a marathon she ran 2:50. This time around 2:35 so she's very happy with that.”