areas at any given time.”
A Return to Running in Austin
Top: Half-Marathon Finisher Bottom: Nate Boyer, Green Beret, former Texas Longhorn and Seattle Seahawk, with Leo Manzano, Austin Marathon Race Ambassador, 2012 Olympic silver medalist, after their friendly "race."
The Ascension Seton Austin Half Marathon, produced by High Five Events, reduced its event size by over 50 percent, and successfully held an in-person half marathon and 5K in Austin, Texas on April 25. Around 4,230 runners completed both events (total includes a few hundred virtual participants). Neither the full marathon nor the Manzano Mile was held in 2021. For all four events, there were 13,000 finishers in 2018. COVID mitigation and participant health and safety were the clear priority for 2021, said William Dyson, communications manager for High Five Events. Host of numerous major events each year, Austin is known as a city where running is extremely popular, and the half marathon was marketed spiritedly as “Austin’s Return to Running.” But it also attracted participants from as far afield as New York City and Mexico, demonstrating that runners are willing to travel for the chance to race in person again. “We were very proud of this event. It shows that large scale endurance events can be held with strategic planning, a dedicated team, willing partners, effective measures and extensive communication. Secondly, participants want to return to large scale, outdoor endurance events. That couldn’t have been any more evident by the chatter on race day, at packet pickup, and on social media. They were extremely grateful for the experience. There’s only so many times you can cross the same virtual finish line in your own neighborhood,” Dyson said. Volume, clarity, and variety of communications methods were a key part of Austin’s success. In addition
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