Austin Marathon

Infobox Athleticrace
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date = February
location = Austin, Texas
type = Road
distance = Marathon
est = 1992
homepage = [http://www.austinmarathon.com/ austinmarathon.com] The Austin Marathon is an annual marathon held in Austin, Texas. As of 2006, the event has spun-off from Motorola's semiconductor products sector, now Freescale Semiconductor, which founded the marathon in 1992 and served as title sponsor for fifteen years. The marathon is now sponsored by AT&T Fact|date=February 2008.

Many runners train for the 26.2 mile (42.165 km) marathon throughout the year. There are many events to attend before the race, such as the Orowheat Health and Fitness Expo — mandatory for all runners to come to — where runners pick up their race packets. The Expo is held in the Palmer Events Center in Austin on the Friday and Saturday before the race, and typically involves over ninety vendors who set up tables, booths and stands. Many of these vendors sell food, drink and relaxation products. Motivational speakers talk to runners and their families to get them excited about the race. After the expo, many runners head to restaurants to fuel up for the marathon by eating high-carb foods — such as spaghetti, pasta and pizza.

On the morning of the race, a typical runner might get an early start by waking up around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. Some runners skip breakfast, while others eat a small high-carbohyrate meal, such as a banana or a muffin. The starting and finish lines are now in downtown Austin. The race starts on the Congress Avenue Bridge between Cesar Chavez and Barton Springs Road, and finishes on Congress Avenue at 4th Street.

One of the special aspects of Austin's marathon is that the race has more than water and food stands to hydrate and feed the runners, which are typical of marathons elsewhere. Befitting the city that prides itself on being "The Music Capital of the World," the Austin marathon includes performances by live bands and even a beer stop in the later stages of the race for marathoners who want to drown their pain or perhaps get a head start on celebrating.

Given the geography of downtown Austin, the marathon is relatively flat compared to many other marathons.

Men's Winners

Women's Winners

External links

* [http://www.attaustinmarathon.com/ Austin Marathon]
* [http://www.athlinks.com/results/13148/18493/Austin-Marathon-Run-26-2Mi.aspx Athlinks: 2006 Austin Marathon results]
* [http://marathoninfo.free.fr/historique/austin.htm Marathon Info]
* [http://thatotherpaper.com/austin/austin_marathon That Other Paper story by a 2007 Austin Marathon runner]
* [http://www.26m2.com/marathon/att_austin_marathon www.26m2.com]