2017 Austin Marathon Will Deploy Race Guards on Race Day

High Five Events is pleased to announce the partnership between Race Guards and the 2017 Austin Marathon® presented by NXP. Participant safety is paramount and this partnership will provide in-race first-aid support, when needed, throughout both the Austin Marathon and half marathon courses.

“Participant safety is one of our top priorities,” said Jack Murray, co-owner of High Five Events. “We will have stationary medical personnel at every aid station, but Race Guards will be the individuals who can handle certain situations between aid stations and notify medical personnel as needed.”

Race Guards, an organization based out of San Diego, California, provides in-race first aid for endurance events throughout the country. Race Guards is comprised of volunteers trained in CPR, AED and First Aid. They will be easily identifiable on course by their bright jerseys. Race Guards will be fully stocked with first aid supplies and have a direct line to medical personnel.

“Race Guards is excited to partner with the Austin Marathon,” said Janice Penrose, President of Race Guards. “Race Guards is quickly expanding throughout the country and we look to partner with race management companies, like High Five Events, who are committed to the well-being of their participants.”

The Austin Marathon will celebrate its 26th year running in the capital of Texas. Austin’s flagship running event annually attracts runners from all 50 states and 20+ countries around the world. With start and finish locations just a few blocks apart, and within walking distance of many downtown hotels and restaurants, the Austin Marathon is the perfect running weekend destination. Participants can register for the marathon, half marathon, or 5K.

Austin Marathon and Olympian Leo Manzano Join Forces

The 2012 Olympic silver medalist will be the Official Race Ambassador

High Five Events is excited to announce that two-time Olympian Leo Manzano will be the Official Race Ambassador for the 2017 Austin Marathon® presented by NXP. The partnership will highlight Manzano’s continued community involvement and position the Austin Marathon as one of the top marathons in the country.

“The Austin Marathon has been a pillar of generosity and community support to Austin; a race where people can accomplish their goals, overcome challenges, and truly discover themselves,” said Manzano. “I am proud to align myself with a community event of this magnitude, one that positively impacts tens of thousands of lives.”

Manzano’s role with the Austin Marathon will also include event promotions, social media engagement, and attending in-person marathon-related events leading up to and including race weekend. Additional race day activations are currently being planned. Manzano attended Marble Falls High School where he was a nine-time Texas 4A State champion in track and cross country. Manzano was accepted to The University of Texas and won five NCAA National Championships and was a nine-time All-American. The highly decorated track star is also a four-time USATF National Champion, seven-time Team USA member, two-time Olympian, and silver medalist in the 1500m at the 2012 Olympic Games, the first medal for USA in the 1500m since 1968.

“Leo is one of, if not the best runner to call Austin, Texas, home and we’re elated to have him be the Austin Marathon’s Official Race Ambassador,” said Jack Murray, co-owner of High Five Events. “In addition to Leo’s current role, we’re working on race-day activations that’ll enhance the overall event and provide an even better racing experience on February 19th.”

The Austin Marathon will celebrate its 26th year running in the capital of Texas. Austin’s flagship running event annually attracts runners from all 50 states and 20+ countries around the world. With start and finish locations just a few blocks apart, and within walking distance of many downtown hotels and restaurants, the Austin Marathon is the perfect running weekend destination. Participants can still register for the marathon, half marathon, or 5K.

 

Austin Marathon Introduces Austin Gives Miles Charity Chaser

High Five Events is excited to introduce Chikage Windler, CBS Austin Chief Meteorologist, as the official Austin Gives Miles Charity Chaser for the 2017 Austin Marathon® presented by NXP. Windler will begin the marathon as the final participant and earn $1.25 for a chosen Austin Gives Miles Charity for every runner that she passes.

This is the third year that the Charity Chaser has started as the final participant on behalf of Austin Gives Miles. In addition to starting last and raising money for a charity on race day, Windler will generate awareness for the Austin Gives Miles Program, engage all 27 Official Charities, and help the AGM Program surpass its goal of $500,000. Windler will run on behalf of the charity that wins a month-long campaign that will run from Dec. 14th to Jan. 16th. The selected organization will be determined after calculating donations made during that month-long timeframe, engagement through a social media photo contest, and votes from an online poll.

“I’m honored to even be considered for this year’s Charity Chaser,” said Windler, who’s running the Austin Marathon for the the second year in a row. “What better motivation to train harder and run faster than knowing it will help a charity earn that much more money!”

Chikage grew up in a family of runners, but only started distance running a few years ago. She hopes to qualify for Boston someday, or at least have fun trying. She’s the captain of Team CBS Austin, running races across Central Texas with her coworkers.

“This has been one of the harder Austin Marathon secrets to keep because we were so thrilled when Chikage agreed to be our Charity Chaser,” said Carly Samuelson, Charity Manager, Austin Gives Miles Program. “We appreciate her willingness to lend her miles and her platform to positively impact the Austin Gives Miles program and Central Texas nonprofits.”

The Austin Marathon will celebrate its 26th year running in the capital of Texas. Austin’s flagship running event annually attracts runners from all 50 states and 20+ countries around the world. With start and finish locations just a few blocks apart, and within walking distance of many downtown hotels and restaurants, the Austin Marathon is the perfect running weekend destination. Participants can still register for the marathon, half marathon, or 5K.

Austin Marathon and St. Edward’s University Broaden Partnership

Collaboration will focus on enhanced economic impact and highlight St. Edward’s University experts

High Five Events is proud to announce the expanded partnership between St. Edward’s University and  the Austin Marathon® presented by NXP. Two of Austin’s more recognized entities will work together to showcase the marathon’s economic impact on Austin by engaging faculty expertise at The Bill Munday School of Business.

“The Austin Marathon’s economic impact has always been a stimulator for the local economy” said Stacy Keese, co-owner of High Five Events. “Strengthening our relationship with St. Edward’s will magnify what we’re doing and provide a report that better represents the true economic impact.”

By expanding the partnership with St. Edward’s University, the Austin Marathon will have access to some of the top economic experts in the country, including Associate Dean, Ali Dadpay, who is leading the research for the economic impact report. The 2017 report will include High Five Event’s localized spending, volunteer contributions, jobs created, vendor and supplier additions, and sponsors’ spending. Like previous reports, how much money was spent by participants on hotels, travel, entertainment, and meals will be included.

“This economic impact study allows The Bill Munday School of Business to continue its mission driven work by engaging Austin’s business community in finding answers to important questions for our regional economy,” said Ali Dadpay, MBA director for The Bill Munday School of Business. “As Austin continues to grow as a hub of innovation and economic activity, it is important to generate knowledge locally – about local challenges and opportunities – using globally accepted methods and benchmarks.”

The 2016 Austin Marathon contributed $25.7 million to the Austin economy.

About NXP Semiconductors: NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) enables secure connections and infrastructure for a smarter world, advancing solutions that make lives easier, better, and safer. As the world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, NXP is driving innovation in the secure connected vehicle, end-to-end security and privacy, and smart connected solutions markets. Built on more than 60 years of combined experience and expertise, the company has 45,000 employees in more than 35 countries and posted revenue of $6.1 billion in 2015. Find out more at www.nxp.com.

About St. Edward’s University: St. Edward’s University is a private, liberal arts college in the Catholic, Holy Cross tradition with approximately 4,600 students. Located in Austin, Texas, it is one of the top universities in Texas and offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including MBA programs and a master’s degree in counseling. With a network of partner universities around the world, St. Edward’s is a diverse community with programs designed to inspire students with a global perspective. St. Edward’s University has been recognized for 14 consecutive years as one of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report and ranks in the top 20 Best Regional Universities in the Western Region. For more information on St. Edward’s University, visit stedwards.edu/about.