New race route for 3M Half Marathon

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A new race route was unveiled for the 3M Half Marathon and Relay, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 29.

Still a point-to-point, north-south course, the new route will finish on Congress Avenue at 17th Street, near the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Registration for the event is available online through Jan. 28 or until the race sells out. Nearly 4,000 athletes are currently registered.

“For the past several years, the race finished at Waterloo Park, but scheduled park construction meant we needed to find new finish area,” said Matt Fagan, 3M Half Marathon and Relay race director. “We worked with the city to retain the features runners have come to expect and enjoy from our race: a point-to-point, mostly downhill course with long straight-aways that run through various Austin neighborhoods.”

The 2012 race will start on Stonelake Boulevard, near the York Boulevard intersection in Austin’s Arboretum area.

• View race route map
• View the pace sheet
   

The rolling, urban course, certified by USA Track and Field, begins 262 meters (860 feet) above sea level and finishes at 164 meters (545 feet) above sea level. With a 4.5 m/km drop, this fast, mostly downhill course is ideal for setting personal records.

The 2012 race benefits Communities In Schools of Central Texas. The organization provides campus-based programs and special projects via a network of professional staff counselors, volunteers, social service organizations, businesses and community resources to empower students to stay in school and achieve in life.

A guaranteed $30,000 from the 3M Foundation will go to Communities In Schools to support these services to help Central Texas’ most at-risk students realize their dreams. Since 3M began sponsoring the 3M Half Marathon and Relay, the 3M Foundation has donated more than more than $340,000 to Austin non-profit organizations.

Health and Fitness Expo

New for 2012, the race will offer a health and fitness expo for race participants, their friends and family. Vendors for the inaugural 3M Half Marathon and Relay Health and Fitness Expo include 3M Touch Systems, Boundless Nutrition, Elite Chiropractic, iFitness, Juice Plus, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Moore Chiropractic, One More Mile Eyewear, Onurmark Productions, Redd Rhina Global, Spibelt, Sprint, Twenty-Six Two Marathon Club, The Vitamin Shoppe and The Woodlands Marathon.

The Health and Fitness Expo will be held in conjunction with Packet Pickup at the Norris Conference Center, 2525 W. Anderson Lane .