Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Paula Dayoub Schweizer #376 Race: 2026 Habanero Marathon Distance: 26.2 miles

Wire-to-Wire Women's Win Anchors Steady Marathon Effort Paula Dayoub Schweizer, 64, of Spring Branch, TX, claimed the overall women's title and topped her division at the 2026 Habanero Hundred marathon, crossing the line in 8:47:58 (20:23 min/mile pace) to finish 15th overall among 39 participants. Held on the 7IL Ranch's single 10km loop course designed so no runner is ever more than three miles from aid the marathon distance required four full loops plus a short bolt-on section, all contested under the event's signature high-noon start in Texas' peak August heat. Schweizer's mile-by-mile splits tell the story of a disciplined, front-running effort. After a 16:33 opening mile, she claimed the overall female lead by mile two (16:13 split) and never relinquished it, holding the women's overall and divisional top spot for all 25 recorded splits. Her pace naturally cooled as the loops accumulated from the 17-19 minute range in the early miles to a 25:11 split at mile 8 and a 28:20 split at mile 15 reflecting the accumulating toll of heat and terrain rather than any single setback. Notably, she found a late surge, dropping an 18:00 split at mile 22 that lifted her to 9th overall before settling back into the mid-15s to close out the race. Consistency across nearly nine hours of racing stands out as the headline takeaway: despite covering 25.9 total miles in conditions the race organizers themselves describe as among the harshest in Texas trail running, Schweizer's per-mile pace never strayed outside a roughly 16-to-28 minute band, and she paired that steadiness with the discipline to close strong rather than fade. Sharpening pacing strategy in the mid-race miles (8-15), where splits loosened most, could be a productive focus for future long efforts on similarly demanding courses.