The Austin Marathon is Texas's biggest winter marathon weekend and one of the more distinctive courses on the destination-race calendar. It starts and finishes blocks apart in downtown Austin, in the shadow of the Texas State Capitol, but the 26.2 miles in between are anything but a straight shot — the route climbs and descends through South Congress, along Lady Bird Lake, through historic Hyde Park and the University of Texas campus, and out into East Austin before turning back for home. Add in live bands stationed along nearly the entire course, a Presidents Day weekend date, and a route that genuinely tests hill fitness, and it's easy to see why Austin has built a loyal following among runners who want more than a flat out-and-back.

The course and the city

Both the full marathon and the half marathon start together at 2nd Street and Congress Avenue and finish a short distance apart on Congress near 9th Street, so spectators can post up near the Capitol and catch runners from both distances. The shared early miles head south through downtown and climb through South Congress — locally shortened to SoCo — before dropping back down toward the river on South 1st Street. Past the halfway point the two races split: half marathoners turn toward the finish, while full marathoners continue north through Hyde Park and the University of Texas campus, then loop into some of Austin's older east-side neighborhoods before heading back downtown. This page is meant as a broad orientation; RaceRove also has dedicated course and elevation guides for this race if you want the mile-by-mile detail on where the hills sit.

Weather you can expect

Austin runs its marathon in mid-February, which tends to land in a comfortable window for Central Texas — cool enough at the gun to want a throwaway layer, but rarely brutally cold the way an early-winter race further north can be. The catch is that Texas weather is genuinely unpredictable at this time of year: some editions bring a crisp, dry morning that barely warms up, while others bring a mild, humid start that climbs into shirt-sleeves weather by the time the finish line festival is in full swing. Because a cold front or a warm spell can move through in the same week, it's worth watching the forecast in the final days rather than locking in a race-day outfit months out. This page's weather data above has the specific historical averages if you want to plan around exact numbers.

How the race weekend unfolds

The Austin Marathon is built around a full weekend rather than a single Sunday. Race week typically opens with a wave of community shakeout runs hosted by local coffee shops, breweries, and running stores, building toward an official shakeout run and the opening of the Health & Fitness Expo at the Palmer Events Center on Friday. The Expo runs a second day on Saturday and is free and open to the public, with packet pickup, gear vendors, and a chance to meet pacing teams. Race day itself falls on Sunday, with the marathon, half marathon, and 5K all starting from the same downtown corner in staggered waves. After the finish, a multi-block festival takes over Congress Avenue with live music, food trucks, and a beer garden for finishers and their families. Because the weekend traditionally lands over Presidents Day weekend, plenty of runners turn it into a long weekend and stick around for a Monday recovery gathering at a local brewery.

Where to stay and how to get around

Austin's downtown core is compact enough that a hotel within walking distance of the start and finish is realistic without paying a premium for a headline property. Chain and boutique hotels cluster around Congress Avenue, Cesar Chavez Street, and 6th Street — close enough to walk to your corral — while the South Congress neighborhood just across the river offers a smaller, more local alternative a short walk or rideshare from the start. Wherever you land, expect rolling road closures on race morning, so plan to walk rather than drive if your hotel sits inside the closure zone.

Who this race is built for

Austin rewards runners who show up prepared for real terrain — this is a genuinely rolling course, not a flat downtown loop dressed up as a marathon, and hill training pays off more here than it would at a pancake-flat winter race. In exchange, you get a certified Boston-qualifying course, a city built around live music that leans into it with bands stationed along the route, and a downtown finish that's easy to explore on foot before and after the race.

• A genuinely rolling course through real Austin neighborhoods, not a flat loop around a stadium.
• Live bands and organized cheer stations stationed along most of the route, in keeping with Austin's reputation as a live-music city.
• A marathon, half marathon, and 5K all starting from the same downtown corner the same morning, so a group with mixed goals can still race together.
• A compact, walkable downtown finish near the Texas State Capitol, with a festival built for lingering afterward.