Paramount Break-A-Leg 5k

As a new runner, I’m still working my way up to tackling a half-​marathon (more about that in October, y’all), and the full 26.2 is not even on my radar. When I heard about the Paramount Break-​A-​Leg 5K being held at the same time & on a shared course with the legendary Austin Marathon and Half, I jumped at the chance to get a preview of the big race with all of the fun and none of the pain. Even better, I was happy to support the Paramount Theatre during its centennial year celebration and check off the 1^st of 3 races in the Run Austin Spring 5K series.
Because this 5K event is held in conjunction with those other major distance races, it shares the same event management and pre-​race expo. It was so much fun to be surrounded by so many other people who are really into the sport of running and very knowledgeable about gear and other upcoming events. Besides being a great place to get sweet discounts on running gear from area vendors like Luke’s Locker and Rogue, the expo also serves as a one-​stop shop for registration to upcoming runs, triathlons, and trail events. Sponsors are handing out freebies left and right, and my pal, Joe C., even won a spot on Team Geico (meaning he got a free logo’d Brooks tech shirt and a post-​race massage — wow!).
Joe and I showed up at the crack of dawn on race day (Sunday 2÷15÷2015), found easy free street parking off Red River, and booked it over to Congress and 11^th to the 7am starting chute. I was pumped up on coffee and my traditional race morning breakfast of a peanut butter on wheat fold-​over half sandwich. We were surrounded by about 700 other runners, most of whom were just there for the marathon day fun like we were, so no pressure. Let’s do this!
This year’s course was a cool up & back jaunt from the south mall of the Capitol, through the UT campus up to Dean Keeton, and then back down to the Paramount on South Congress through the same finish chute used by the marathoners who would come through a couple hours later. It was neat to see that 26 mile marker and imagine what if…
After the short run (wooo, personal record of 25:54.10), we were able to experience a bit of the finish line festival, collect our post-​race snacks from HEB and Coco Libre Organic, and have a few photo ops. Then it was back to the Paramount for tacos and delicious Anderson Coffee. Mmmmm.
By this time, it was just about time to catch the half-​marathon finishers (yep, the elites get done with 13.1 miles in around an hour), so we made our way up to the corner of Congress and 11^th for a fantastic view of the runners coming down the home stretch for both long events. We saw the men’s & women’s winners of the half, and then stuck around for the marathon winners (around 2 hrs 15 mins), too. It was awesome when some of the smiling elite runners came over to the fence and gave us high-​fives just as they rounded the corner to enter the final block of their race.
One of the most incredible moments in sports I’ve ever experienced was being literally inches away from women’s leader, Hyvon Ngetich, when her body gave out and she fell to the ground for the last time. With unbelievable determination, she pushed herself to crawl several blocks unassisted so that she could save her official race time and not be disqualified. She was passed by 2 other female competitors while she crawled, but she made it to the finish to claim 3^rd on her hands and knees. Truly awe inspiring.
I can’t imagine a better way to get a preview taste of the Austin Marathon & Half Marathon as a potential future participant. This one’s going on my annual must-​do list.
2015 5K race results are here:
2015 race photos are here:
P. S. I just registered for the Austin Half Marathon for Feb. 14, 2016 :-)