Participant Stories

Tales from Texas

Earlier last year, we asked you to share your Statesman Capitol 10K runner stories to help us make our 45th anniversary even more meaningful. The Cap10K is a very special race to all of us for so many reasons.

Lynn

“My name is Lynn, I am 65 and have never been an athlete. I have been over weight and out of shape since my mid 30's after I had my kids. It was just laziness and bad habits. 10 years ago I started walking in 5Ks and I enjoyed them. I walk slow—18-19 minute miles. I stopped doing then got a while and picked up this spring. The Cap 10K was only the second race I did after I started back. I didn’t think I could do but I did walk the whole thing. By mile 4 I was tired and hurting but knew I had to walk back. Right after that I met a woman who’d stopped and was calling her son to come and get her because she didn’t think she could finish. She was just coming back after knee replacements. We talked and I told her I’d walk with her. In the remaining 2 miles we shared our stories and when we reached the finish line, it was a victory for both of us in more ways than one!”

Victoria

It’s no secret… the Cap10K can sometimes feel more like a party than a race with all the fun there is along the course! Victoria Medel’s Cap10K runner story captures this feeling perfectly: “What I love most of the Cap10K is the atmosphere. It is like running with a party for 6.2 miles and sightseeing along the way. It’s amazing to see everyone come out and enjoy it!”

Jessica

“My favorite race with Cap10K was pushing my daughters and dressing up our stroller as a unicorn. It was so fun to run with my family and push myself as a mother of two. I will forever keep this race memory close to my heart and hope my daughters will smile at it in the future.”

Michael

“2017 was My 1st organized road run of any kind. I wasn’t much of a runner. I heard a local radio DJ say he was gonna run the Cap10K. I thought, if he can, I can. I trained for 5 weeks. All I wanted to do was finish the race standing up. Training times were tracking around 1 hour 40 minutes finish time. On race day, I crushed it at 1:07:31. I was SUPER excited. I have continued running since my 1st Cap10K in 2017. Oh yeah, I was 51 years old. I just loved the Cap10K race environment. It was absolutely fantastic! Looking forward to 2022!”

Jay

“My wife, Terry, and I met in 1981 while both flying into Austin on Southwest Airlines. Given that we were married in 1986, there’s lots to be said for the randomness of Southwest’s open seating policy! The first thing we talked about on that flight was that we were each planning to run the Cap10K for the first time. That was the first of many times we’ve remembered that special flight while running the nation’s greatest 10K!”

Alma

Maaya

“I love going out every year and seeing the whole city hanging out together. One of my favorite memories was seeing a man who had at least 30 years on me, wearing a shirt saying he had ran it every year (I believe it was the 40th anniversary) fly right past me!”

Dan

“I started running the Cap10K years ago. When I joined the Statesman it became a regular solo event for me. Eventually, my twin brother from Dallas joined. Then the year after that, my daughter, and the year after that, my nephew. The Cap10K has become more than just a fun race for me and also a goal each year to stay healthy. It’s become an annual family event. The photo is one of the years we ran the Cap10K together. From left to right, my brother (Denny), nephew (John), me, and my daughter (Bethany).”

Kelly

“I love running the capitol 10K because it is a race my father and I do together. We have fun counting the years we have done it together and I believe this will be year 35! I lived in Canada one of those years, so I found a 10K race on the same day there and we felt like we ran it “together”. I gave him years ago a blanket made of his old Capitol 10K t-shirts and it is one of his favorite things. He is 85 years old and still runs every other day!”

Joe

“The cap 10k has been a special race for my brothers and I. We’ve run it 8 years in a row together. It’s a great time and a tradition to travel to Austin for the weekend and enjoy the city and each other’s company. As we grow older and our lives continue to take us on different paths, we still set a weekend aside in April every year to get together.”

Martha

“I started running as part of a weight-loss challenge in 2017 at the age of 51. In the first meeting, we were told we would join a running group. I thought to myself “There’s no way I’m able to run.” In the first group run, we started with a walk/run and things escalated quickly. In the next 4 years, I’ve completed 1 full marathon, 7 half marathons, and countless 5 & 10K’s. I feel great and in better shape than when I was younger. And out of the 40+ people in the weight loss challenge, I’m the only one still in the running group, Laredo Pace Setters. My favorite place to run is the Lady Bird Lake hike/bike trail in Austin. I run there every chance I get. Besides Austin, I’ve run in San Francisco, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Nashville, San Antonio, The Woodlands and look forward to seeing new places to run.”

Leah

“2011 was my first Cap10K. My mom, stepdad, and friend Kristi were running together. With the last mile ahead of me, I was exhausted. I was running alone at that point. I hadn’t seen my dad yet, but I knew he was there watching. As I turned the corner to run towards the finish line I see a wild man yelling and jumping up and down. The man was my dad. He was yelling, “Go Pony, you can do it!” With a smile on my face, I crossed the finish line. It is now a family tradition to run the Cap10k together.”

Martina

“For my first Cap10K, I woke up earlier than expected before the race because I had a feeling… I was pregnant. I took a pregnancy test and it was positive! I showed my husband and we were happy but trying not to get too excited since I had lost the previous pregnancy. That was my son’s first 10k. I had trained and felt amazing, knowing that he was with me. I talked to him about our strengths and how today was the beginning of our journey together. I sang and screamed with joy during the race. It was such an unforgettable experience because of that and to be together with so many fellow Austinites and the music, the crowds cheering, and the bacon! Since then, my husband and I have run every race with our son and we cannot wait until he runs his first 10K!”