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2019 Ascension Seton Austin Marathon Set for Epic Race Day

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The stage is set for Sunday, Feb. 17th, to be an epic race day

High Five Events is putting the final touches on what will be another memorable Ascension Seton Austin Marathon presented by Under Armour®. The world-class event has many highlights, including a 2:45 pace group for female elites to hit the Olympic Marathon Trials B standard, Lance Armstrong as the Austin Gives Miles Charity Chaser, a highly-competitive elite field, and the return of the FloSports livestream. Nearly 16,000 runners from all 50 states and 35 countries will run the 28th annual Austin Marathon on Sunday, Feb. 17th.

“Austin has such an amazing fitness community and we have a marathon that reflects that,” said Will Nation, member of the 2:45 pace group and 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. “It’s my hope that I can assist talented individuals in achieving their goal of hitting an OTQ and demonstrate that the Austin Marathon is a race where you can do just that.”

The 2019 course is the same as when the Austin Marathon unveiled their new course in 2018. The course is designed to provide a better participant and spectator experience and allow enhanced traffic flow along the course, while still finishing with the picturesque Texas State Capitol as every runner’s backdrop. Race-day highlights include nuun performance at every aid station, two Gatorade nutrition stations, live music on course, athlete tracking, the infamous and energetic RunLab Bridge at Mile 7, and much more.

FloSports, a sports media based in Austin, Texas, will highlight the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon’s Elite Athlete Program by following the men’s and women’s elite leaders throughout the race. They will also have a camera capturing finishers as they cross the finish line. The 3-block-long finish line festival features the Under Armour recovery zone, the Oskar Blues Austin beer garden, live music, and several local food trucks. Austin’s own, Delivery Service, will rock two post-race sets. The two-day Austin Marathon expo will take place on Friday, Feb. 15th, and Saturday, Feb. 16th.

“Unveiling the new Austin Marathon course last year generated a lot of positive buzz, showcased Austin to runners from around the world, and propelled us to new heights in 2019,” said Stacy Keese, co-owner of High Five Events. “Working with amazing sponsors like Ascension Seton and Under Armour has allowed us to further enhance our customer’s experience, making race day one they’ll talk about for some time.”

The following is a sample of the athletes in the Elite Field competing for the $20,000 prize purse: Joey Whelan (2020 Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier), Anita Perez (2x Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier), Jameson Mora (2x Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier), Patrick Rizzo (4x Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier), Heather Lieberg (2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier), Jocelyn Todd (2020 Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier), Ryan Miller (2x Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier), Samantha Calderon (2020 Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier).

The Austin Marathon will celebrate its 28th year running in the capital of Texas in 2019. Austin’s flagship running event annually attracts runners from all 50 states and 30+ countries around the world. Having start and finish locations in the heart of downtown Austin puts participants and spectators near all the action and within walking distance of restaurants, hotels, and shops. Finishing with the picturesque Texas State Capitol as your backdrop is icing on the cake for the perfect running weekend destination. Registration is open for all distances.

Don’t Forget These Austin Marathon Race-Week Reminders

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Don’t sleep on these Austin Marathon race-week reminders

It has finally arrived! Race week for the Ascension Seton Austin Marathon presented by Under Armour’s is here! We know you’re just as excited as we are for our 28th anniversary. With all the excitement it’s easy to forget the simple things you need to do race week. We’re here to help with these race-week reminders.

Under Armour HOVR Shakeout Run

  • This is one Shakeout Run you don’t want to miss! Kick off Austin Marathon weekend on Friday morning (Feb. 15th) with hundreds of your running friends, UA HOVR shoe demos, a jog around Town Lake, tacos, and coffee. All distances and paces are welcome.

Invite your friends

  • Fact – running is best enjoyed with friends! They can run with you, cheer for you at various points along the course, or celebrate with you at the finish line festival. If your friends have been on the registration fence, now is the time. Tell them about the upcoming price increase on Thursday, Feb. 14th, or gift them a registration yourself!
  • If you have friends and family who cannot watch you run the streets of Austin on Feb. 17th, have them tune in to the FREE FloTrack livestream! FloTrack will cover all the action between the elite males and females racing the half marathon and marathon. Once elites cross the finish, FloTrack will capture every finisher as they cross their finish line! KXAN will provide FloTrack’s coverage to the local Austin market.

Hydration/nutrition

  • Begin hydrating during race week. It’ll help ensure your body has the fluids needed to secure that next PR! Make sure you’re getting a nice balance of electrolytes and fluids during the week. You’ve put in the training miles, now make sure all systems are ready for race day! BONUS – hydrate with the Mango Orange nuun performance, it’s what’ll be on course at all 22 aid stations.
  • There will be 2 Gatorade Endurance Fuel Zones at Miles 9.5 and 20. providing runners with Endurance Gels and Chews.

Plan your race day

  • There aren’t many runners who don’t already do this, but nevertheless, it’s a great reminder. Layout everything you’ll need the night before and double-check it. This increases the likelihood that you forget nothing race morning. You should even plan what you’ll eat the morning of and the night before. Stick with what works!
  • Driving to the expo on Friday or Saturday? Parking downtown race morning? Check out all the parking options or reserve your parking spot with Spot Hero!

If you didn’t train with it…

  • Don’t do it on race day! As simple as it seems. If you didn’t run with it, eat it, or drink it during training, don’t do it on race day!

Celebrate at the finish line festival

  • Last but definitely not least, recoverate (recover + celebrate)! Once you cross the finish line, snag your commemorative belt buckle finisher medal and head to the finish line festival. Grab your snack bag and some hydration. Then check out the food trucks, music, and the Oskar Blues Austin beer garden! Tito’s Handmade Vodka will serve delicious mixed drinks in the beer garden as well. BONUS – family or friends who cheered or tracked you via the app can meet you and help celebrate.
  • Did you pre-purchase your post-race massage with Austin Massage Company? Good call! If you didn’t, there’s still time to purchase a quick massage before continuing your celebration.
  • If you didn’t get enough live music on course, you can rock out with Austin’s own Delivery Service at the finish line festival. After their two sets, Fusion will keep the party going when they cover all the hits!

7 Taper Tips to Follow Leading Up to Austin Marathon

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Implement these 7 taper tips leading up to race day

The Taper. For those unfamiliar, tapering is referring to the reduced volume and intensity of workouts in the weeks leading up to race day. While some runners find it hard to scale back after so much time dedicated to training, others find themselves glued to their favorite couch. Doing too little or too much during this time period can compromise all your hard work. Stick to your training plan and focus on what’s in your control. Make sure you are at the top of your game by following these 7 taper tips between now and race day.

Reduce work stress

While it might be out of our hands, setting yourself up with an easy week or two of work can have a big impact on your energy going into race day. If there is a project that needs to be completed, put in the extra effort now to finish it or see if it can be completed after race day. Try building this into your schedule: find a quiet place to meditate for 10-15 minutes in the morning or evening.

No new workouts

We’re clearly stating the obvious, but now is not the best time to roll your ankle playing basketball or pull a muscle lifting heavy weights. Stick to what you know and focus on less-intense and lower-volume workouts. Keep your runs to less than 60 minutes, but leave room for flexibility based on what your body says. It’s fine to do some easy cross-training on non-running days, as long as the activity doesn’t make your muscles sore or increase the potential for injury. If you don’t want to exercise on days you don’t run, that’s okay, too.

  • Example of a one-week-out marathon workout: 15-min warm-up jog / no more than 4-5 miles at half-marathon goal pace / 15-min cool-down jog
  • Example of a one-week-out half marathon workout: 10-min warm-up jog / no more than 2-3 miles at half-marathon goal pace / 10-min cool-down jog

Read a book or binge a show

Has running taken time away from your favorite book or that newly-released TV show on Netflix? Now that you’re logging fewer miles it’s time to play catch-up! If you plan to cross-train it won’t hurt to go for an easy ride on a stationary bike. Read while you pedal. Catch a couple of episodes of that new show. The distraction from that book or the show will also help distract you from taper madness and the fact that you’re running less.

Foam roll

Increase your foam rolling! Make sure your body is in tip-top shape for race day. Work out all those kinks. Keep your muscles feeling good. If you need to, see a massage therapist. As long as you have access to some products, foam rolling can be done practically anywhere. The benefits are immediate. Have some extra time in the morning before leaving for work? Foam roll. Free time at lunch? Foam roll. Catching up on that TV show? Foam roll. You get the idea!

Sleep

This may be the best thing you can do for yourself at this time. Experts recommend sleeping eight to nine hours per night. To start, choose a consistent time that you are in bed, this may or may not include actual sleep. This will signal to your body that rest is important and hopefully lead to more shut-eye. Instead of focusing on trying to get a good night sleep the night before, try for two nights before. Pre-race jitters can sometimes leave us with the “I am not even sure if I slept at all” feeling the night before. Don’t let this bother you. One poor night’s sleep shouldn’t affect your performance if you have tapered well in other aspects.

Nutrition/Hydration

Skip the pizza and beer for now. Focus on a diet that balances moderate carbohydrates from whole food sources, quality protein, and healthy fat. You may also want to keep a close eye on your calorie intake. While you are used to high-intensity training and the extra food that comes with it, you still have to watch what you eat. The pounds you knocked off can sneak back on in these last weeks, which is less than optimal for race day.

Avoid eating that can affect your sleep quality. This includes eating large meals within 90 minutes of going to bed, spicy foods, or large amounts of protein.

Now is also a good time to make sure you are well-hydrated. It is recommended to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. You can also add electrolytes from nuun, to get your body ready for race day hydration. Hydrate with what will be on course, Mango Orange nuun performance. You can also try the on-course fuel with Gatorade Endurance gels.

Race Morning

By starting now, you are setting yourself up to be ready race morning. The last advice we have is to arrive at least 90 minutes before the start. Walk or jog around as a light warmup. Then follow the Camp Gladiator trainers as they lead a pre-race warm-up at 6:45 a.m. at the start line.