Fourth round of elite runners will compete during race weekend for a prize purse that totals $26,000

High Five Events is excited to announce the fourth round of accepted athletes for the 2019 Ascension Seton Austin Marathon presented by Under Armour®. Returning for its third year in a row, this opportunity creates a competitive field of elite male and female runners while discovering emerging talent, pushing the entire talent pool to reach Olympic standards. FloTrack’s live coverage highlights the competition amongst the elites, following male and female marathoners and half marathoners.

“I’m excited to return to Austin and compete for the win,” said Joey Whelan, whose 2018 Austin Marathon victory launched an extremely successful running year, including qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. “This is the best time of year to train for a marathon in Texas. I’m looking forward to putting in the hard long runs and testing myself against the 2019 elite field.”

The fourth round of 2019 marathoners include:

• Joey Whelan – male Elite Athlete Program (7th place 2018 Grandma’s Marathon – 2:16:28)
• Nick Edinger – male Elite Athlete Program (8th place 2018 Pittsburgh Marathon – 2:18:32)
• Patrick Geoghegan – male Elite Athlete Program (1:06:04 at 2018 Monumental Half Marathon)
• Blair Teal – male Elite Athlete Program (2018 Outer Banks Marathon champion – 2:22:30)
• Hyvon Ngetich – female Elite Field (3rd place 2015 Austin Marathon – 3:04:02)

The fourth round of 2019 half marathoners include:

• Guor Maker – male Elite Athlete Program (2016 Olympics [South Sudan] – 2:22:45)
• Andrew Leahey – male Elite Field (3rd place 2018 Oklahoma City Half Marathon – 1:13:46)
• Natasha van der Merwe – female Elite Field (2017 Decker Challenge female champ – 1:26:27)
• JR Creekmore – male Elite Field (2018 Jonas Cattell Memorial 10 mile champ – 53:42, half marathon debut)
• Ericka Mason – female Elite Field (3rd place 2018 Cowtown Half Marathon – 1:23:40)
• Todd Mickey – male Elite Field (2x individual All-Big 12 [indoor mile and 1000m], half marathon debut)
• Ann Lokiles – female Elite Field (2x Ohio Valley XC Champion (2015 – 2016), half marathon debut)

The prize purse breakdown follows: $15,000 for the marathon, $5,000 for the half marathon, and $6,000 for the Manzano Mile presented by Dole. Runners not accepted into the Elite Athlete Program are still invited to run in the Elite Field.  Read about the first, second, and third round of accepted elite runners. The fifth round of athletes will be announced soon. Applications are still being accepted and elite marathoners can apply on the Austin Marathon’s website. Athletes that meet the program’s standards and are accepted will be given one comp entry to the 2019 Austin Marathon or half marathon, reimbursement eligibility, and standards bonuses.