Austin's running scene booms
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An early start to the day at the Morning Jo's, one of the city's most popular run clubs. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios
It's not quite dawn, and 200 runners are gathered outside Jo's Coffee on South Congress, taking off before the sun is up for a weekly jog around the Capitol.
Why it matters: Wednesday is Global Running Day, and running is having a moment in Austin and across the country.
State of play: The Morning Jo's, which meets on Tuesdays, is just one of many local running groups that have seen a surge in participants in recent years. On any given week there are dozens of group runs to choose from around the city.
- Morning Jo's founder Rachel Wimberley tells Axios the group has grown dramatically since she launched the club in 2017 as a space for runners of all paces to feel safe.
By the numbers: Seton Austin Marathon race officials reported record-breaking registration numbers for February's event — a 17% increase in participation in the full marathon and an 8% increase in the half marathon compared to 2023.
What they're saying: Jack Murray, owner of the marathon's production company High Five Events, attributes the event's growth to the pandemic, which forced people to look for alternatives to gyms or group workouts.
- "Once the pandemic was over, this new demographic of runners stayed and brought other individuals like themselves into the running community," Murray tells Axios. "We have experienced some major growth over the past few years and the trend is continuing for our 2025 events."
- The Austin Marathon, which began in 1992, is now the 18th largest marathon and half marathon out of 2,235 races in the country.
Zoom out: Participation in the Boston Marathon has ticked up across the race's more than century-long history. About 30,000 runners signed up this year for the April race, compared with only 140 men in 1924.
Between the lines: It's tough to quantify how many new runners have jumped into Austin's running scene in recent years — and if that growth can just be attributed to the area's population boom during the pandemic — but it's clear that local groups have seen a surge.
- Before the pandemic, the Morning Jo's averaged around 50 runners each week, Wimberley told Axios.
- "We had very normal, organic growth," Wimberley said, adding that runs centered around races or special events would see an increase in participation.
📍 If you go: The Statesman Cap10K and East Side Beer Runners will host an event at 6pm Wednesday at Central Machine Works, featuring wear tests by Mizuno and Asics and a shoe donation drive.
- Two fun run races, The Big Run in Round Rock and Maudie's Moonlight Margarita Run at Auditorium Shores, kick off at 6pm.
- The Loop Running Supply store will host an event with Nike at 6pm, with options to run and jog around Lady Bird Lake.
- Run ATX North and Brooks meet at 6:30am at Brushy Creek Park for a 5K, breakfast and raffle.
- ABW Run Club and Fleet Feet Austin Gateway will meet at Austin Beerworks at 6pm for a shoe demo and run.
The bottom line: "I think Austin is situated very well in my mind as the perfect running city," Wimberley said, pointing to the Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail. "It has definitely exploded."