Austin Marathon & Half Marathon

The Austin Marathon is an annual marathon held in Austin, Texas. Freescale Semiconductor, a division of Motorola’s semiconductor products sector that was divested in 2003, founded the marathon in 1991 and served as title sponsor for fifteen years. 

The marathon was sponsored by AT&T in 2007 and 2008, but ran with no title sponsor in 2009. From 2010 to 2013, the race was called the LIVESTRONG Austin Marathon. Freescale returned as presenting sponsor in 2014. The Austin Half Marathon and Paramount 5K are also part of the event. The marathon and half marathon had over 18,000 registered participants in 2014.A health and fitness expo called the Marathon Marketplace precedes the event, where runners pick up their race packets. 

The Marathon Marketplace is held in the Palmer Events Center in Austin on the Friday and Saturday before the race, and typically involves over eighty vendors who set up tables and booths, to promote or sell athletic products. Motivational speakers get runners and their families excited about the race.The race usually starts on Congress Avenue, just a few blocks north of the Texas State Capitol, and touches well-known Austin landmarks and areas, such as downtown, the Colorado River, SoCo, Hyde Park, and the University of Texas at Austin campus, passing by Memorial Stadium. Befitting the city that prides itself on being "The Live Music Capital of the World," the Austin Marathon includes performances by live bands along the race route. The race ends near where it begins on Congress Avenue, but south of the Capitol. The course is USATF certified.Along with the Dallas Marathon and the Houston Marathon, the Austin Marathon forms the final leg of the Marathons of Texas, a series of winter marathons held approximately one month apart from each other from December through February in Texas.