My marathons

3M Half Marathon

This race no longer runs. Austin
Texas State Capitol
© OpenStreetMap Texas State Capitol. Photograph by Daniel Mayer, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

Downhill home.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: Enoch Lai at English Wikipedia, Public domain
  2. Photo: LoneStarMike, CC BY 3.0

km 19.5mile 12.1

Gregory Gymnasium

The organiser sends the last miles through the University of Texas campus, and the course passes the Gregory Gym around 19.5 km.

Photo: Enoch Lai at English Wikipedia, Public domain

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 21. The trace runs between 159 and 262 metres, a range of 103 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: West Braker Lane, km 1.8 to 2. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span.
0 5 10 15 20 km
0 5 10 13.1 mi

Dashed: bridge

  • downhill home

Your 2 gels, at the orange marksFor a 1:55 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7.3mile 4.6
  2. km 14.7mile 9.1

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

The course in short 3 lines
  • A net drop of about 102 metresHigh point 262 m at 0.8 km; low point 158 m at the finish.
  • Shoal Creek, the University of Texas and the CapitolGel at the Energy Zone in miles 7 to 9; the campus in the last miles.
  • A 7:30 gun and a four-hour courseGun at 7:30; course closes at 11:30; shuttles run back to the start.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseGradientA net drop of about 102 metresHigh point 262 m at 0.8 km; low point 158 m at the finish.

The route runs from 260.9 m to 158.9 m, with its high point of 262.0 m at 0.8 km and its low point of 158.6 m near the finish. Climbing totals 13.7 m, so almost every kilometre either descends or is flat. The organiser’s own description, Downhill to Downtown, sets the same shape: a gentle descent from Stonelake Boulevard in miles 1 to 3, the downhill trend down Shoal Creek in miles 4 to 6, and a steady decline through the University of Texas campus to the finish.

Measured

Whole courseLandmarkShoal Creek, the University of Texas and the CapitolGel at the Energy Zone in miles 7 to 9; the campus in the last miles.

The organiser splits the route into four parts: a gentle descent from Stonelake Boulevard in miles 1 to 3; north Austin and then down Shoal Creek in miles 4 to 6; tree-lined streets and local spots after a gel at the Energy Zone in miles 7 to 9; and the University of Texas campus in miles 10 to 13.1, finishing beside the Texas State Capitol. The finish has an after party, spinner finisher medals and a PR Gong. The start is in front of the Regal Gateway Theater.

Sourced

Whole courseTacticsA 7:30 gun and a four-hour courseGun at 7:30; course closes at 11:30; shuttles run back to the start.

The wheelchair start is at 7:25 and the half marathon at 7:30, with the first finisher expected at 8:30. Walkers are welcome if they can finish within the four hours, which the organiser puts at about an 18 minute per mile pace. Shuttle buses carry runners from the finish back to the start area from 8:45, the last leaving at 12:15. The race was known as the 3M Half Marathon before it became the Spurs Austin International Half.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

2 gels for Austin, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, by the clock:

  1. km 7.3mile 4.6
  2. km 14.7mile 9.1

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
21.1 km13.1 mi
climb
13.7 m45 ft
cut-off
4:00 h

The 3M Half Marathon is a flat course of 21.1 km (13.1 miles) with 13.7 m (45 ft) of climbing. Its lowest point is 159 m (522 ft) and its highest 262 m (860 ft) above sea level.

Race week

Timetable

Friday 15 January Bib pickup

  1. 13:001:00 PM–19:007:00 PM

    Packet pickup and expo Friday packet pickup and expo.

Saturday 16 January Last bib day

  1. 10:0010:00 AM–17:005:00 PM

    Packet pickup and expo Saturday packet pickup and expo.

Sunday 17 January Race day

  1. 06:006:00 AM

    Runner gear check opens Stonelake Boulevard

  2. 08:008:00 AM

    Finish festival opens 14th and San Jacinto

  3. 08:308:30 AM

    First finisher expected 14th and San Jacinto

  4. 08:458:45 AM

    Shuttle buses start returning to the start line

  5. 11:3011:30 AM

    Course closes The course stays open and supported for four hours. Last shuttle leaves the finish area for the start at 12:15. 4:00 limit: 11:22/km for 21.0975 km4:00 limit: 18:18/mi for 13.1 mi
Other races (2)

  1. 07:257:25 AM

    Wheelchair start Stonelake Boulevard

  2. 07:307:30 AM

    Half marathon start Stonelake Boulevard. In front of the Regal Gateway Theater, 9800 Stonelake Boulevard.

Times as published by the organiser, in Austin time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Austin time

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2): Elevation: GEDTM30 (Ho & Hengl, OpenGeoHub), CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line follows the road down its middle, so it measures 1.73% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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