What happened to the 10K?

Many of you who participating the Texas Round-Up events in the past may be curious as to why the 10K event has "disappeared" from the 2011 event schedule.

The Texas Round-Up non-profit organization underwent significant change during the summer of 2010. The organization needed restructuring in order to remain financially stable and to be able to continue to work on its mission of promoting healthy living through physical activity. The Texas Round-Up running event is now separate from all the other Texas Round-Up programs. Those other programs have merged into other existing state programs with similar objectives. The sole purpose of the Texas Round-Up is to produce the running event in order to promote health and fitness and to raise funds to support health and fitness programs in Texas schools.

The 10K event has been part of the Texas Round-Up from the beginning and it is certainly an attractive distance to many participants. Plus, it has been declared the official 10K of Texas by Governor Rick Perry. However, a 10K course that goes through downtown Austin is an extremely expensive event to produce due to the extensive road closures. The board of directors of the Texas Round-Up felt it was necessary to eliminate the 10K course for 2011 to ensure that the event remained fiscally responsible and raised money towards its objective. It is the hope and intention of the board of directors to host the 10K event again in 2012.

The 5K will use the same start / finish line as years past, with the Texas State Capitol in the background. The course will tour through downtown Austin and the University of Texas campus.

As runners ourselves, the board members of the Texas Round-Up can understand the disappointment with the removal of the 10K. However, we are more motivated to see the Texas Round-Up continue and ensure that it makes a difference in the lives of young Texans. They hope this brings some clarity to the decision and keeps you motivated to participate in, and support the Texas Round-Up.

Sincerely,

The Texas Round-Up Board