Austin Marathon - A fans perspective
Last weekend Christy and I made the drive over to Austin to support a friend of ours that was running in the AT&T Austin Marathon. And surprisingly enough when we got to town on Friday we had no plans to listen to any music the entire weekend. We were just in town to hang with a few good friends and support the marathon runners.
Being that Christy is a marathon runner, I’m no stranger to being a “spectator” of the race. I actually enjoy getting out early and cheering on those that run farther than I would ever dream of. So when Sunday morning rolled around I was excited to see how Austin would host the 26.2 mile route through the city… and selfishly I was looking forward to seeing how music and arts would be rolled in. What I found was a huge disappointment. We hit 3 different spots in the course including the big halfway point at 13 miles and while there was actually a band there.. you could definitely tell it was the only band that agreed to play at 7:00 on a Sunday morning for free.. if you get my drift.
With a city that is touted as “The Live Music Capital of the World” I truly expected so much more in regards to music. They had medals with a guitar on them, they had shirts with a musician on them, my favorite dive bar - Mean Eyed Cat (named after a Johnny Cash song) was at capacity over the weekend, and even 6th street was filled with live music playing to a whole group of new people in the city for the race. But when it came to Sunday morning, the race looked like any other I’ve been to. The people were loud and supportive.. cheering on the runners… the finish line was packed with local restaurants and vendors giving away food and drink… everyone was full on supporting the marathon.. except the marathon itself! And don’t get me wrong, I’ve read the reviews from runners that rave about the course and the hills and how well things were organized. I just think that the Austin Marathon PR team should have looked a little deeper into the things that make Austin what it is. If you are going to have bands… freaking have good ones… even if they are a cover band.
Thankfully I will say that I think the native Austinites (Austonians??… ) took over where “Corporate Austin” dropped the ball. We tried repeatedly to go to many different local restaurants and venues over the weekend only to find a LONG wait for a table or having to huddle in a corner with a beer. Seems that everyone wanted to show their friends and relatives everything that makes Austin great! Overall we had a wonderful time and we may just go back next year even if we don’t know anyone running in it. It’s a great time in a great city for sure.
Kelly on April 1st, 2008
My sis-in-law ran in this race and she brought home a compilation cd put together by “our-tracks” that featured Rhyder, Wilkins, O’Toole, Powell, Gougers, Walther, Crow, John D. Hale and many more. Evidently they got them in the runners goodie bags. I loved it as there were some tracks I wasnt familiar with (John D. Hale & “Dandelion” by Powell). Maybe that gives you a little faith in Austin for trying to represent some good tunes to out of towners who ran the race.
I love the blog, keep it up!!