He got a good start on his wish Sunday with a win in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon with a personal-best time of 1 hour, 1 minute, 25 seconds.

Last year, Keflezighi was battling a hip injury so painful there were a handful of days when he couldn’t walk. Now, he is holding a golden belt buckle and taking home a $12,000 purse.

“Last year was such a rough year,” said Keflezighi, 33, a naturalized American citizen from Eritrea. “I spent so much time just trying to get healthy, trying to be able to walk every day, so to be here today and be able to run is very special.”

Not only did Keflezighi win, he dominated, finishing a full 10 seconds in front of second-place Dathan Ritzenheim. Keflezighi pulled out in front of the other runners between the second and third miles and stayed there for the remainder of the race, at times leading by more than 100 yards.

“I felt good today,” he said.

Keflezighi, the silver medalist in the marathon at the Athens Olympics in 2004, has run in Houston three times. In 2007, he finished third in the half-marathon on a day Ryan Hall set the American record in 59:33.

Third time’s a charm?

“I guess it was for this race,” he said.

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