When The Woodlands Marathon finally gets underway at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, a strong field of elite athletes will be taking off from the starting line and navigating the 26.2-mile course with hopes of taking home the title.

The event has the third-highest purse total in the state of Texas for the 2015-16 marathon cycle, and the male and female winners will each collect a prize of $3,000.

Several notable names will be competing for that payout, including last year’s winner, Kenyan Philip Lagat Chirchir, 32, who completed the race in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 19 seconds. But he’ll likely be challenged by his countryman, Robert Gaitho Gititu, also 32. Gititu’s most recent victory came last May in the Green Europe Marathon, which he completed in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 37 seconds. click here for complete story