Austin Marathon

The organiser starts the marathon and the half marathon at 2nd and Congress and ends them at 9th and Congress. Mile markers stand every mile, and the course splits after mile 12, with the marathon going left to the north and the half marathon right to the south.

The split has a clock on it. The city sets the road closures, and the organiser puts the marathon’s closure at the split, mile 12.3, at 10:35 a.m., so every marathon runner starts in one of the first four waves, A to D, at 7:00. The limit for the whole marathon is 7 hours, a 16 minute mile.

Sourced

The start is at 142 m. South Congress Avenue rises steadily from the first step, and the course reaches its highest point, 206 m, at km 5.7. The organiser describes the same thing in its spectator guide: runners face a steady climb during the first three miles.

After that the road goes the other way. The course drops 72 m to the lowest point of the whole race, 134 m at km 12.0, and the organiser calls the stretch down South First Street a downhill where runners can pick up the pace.

Measured

From the lake the road climbs through the middle of the race, up to 191 m near km 24, past halfway at 182 m. Then it falls for twelve kilometres, to 140 m at km 36.2. The organiser’s spectator guide calls the east side, miles 19 to 24, particularly challenging, with fewer spectators.

The last rise is short. From 145 m at km 40 the course climbs 19 m in the last 2.2 km to Congress Avenue and the finish at 164 m, 22 m above the start; the organiser’s spectator guide puts runners cresting the 11th Street hill in the final mile. In total the race climbs 189.5 m. The organiser’s turn-by-turn directions are the 2025 edition’s; the year of its course map is not given.

Measured