Austin Marathon 2010

The 2010 Austin Marathon course came within a couple of miles from my apartment. So I walked over to the course between mile 4 and 5 at the corner of Oltorf and 1st Street.

A few observations about the race:

• It was perfect weather: clear, cool and calm. Temperature at 8:00am was about 44 deg F
• Don't expect to cross the race path from the 3-hr pace and slower. It was 2 to 3 lanes of runners as far as I could see. News reported 13,000 runners.
• There weren't enough portable toilets (i.e. Porta-John, Porta-Potty). A creek next to Oltorf was quite popular for the men. Local restaurants were popular with women. I'm surprised the official FAQ doesn't even mention where these would be located on the course.
  
• Pacers who carry a pace sign are convenient for both runners and spectators.
• Another perk for runners and spectators: free music. A local rock band played at Oltorf and 1st Street.

The Austin Marathon used to be the Motorola Marathon (and then Freescale Marathon when Freescale spun off from Motorola). Freescale dropped its sponsorship after the 2006 Marathon. AT&T served as the title sponsor in 2007 and 2008. There were no title sponsors in 2009 and 2010.