Capitol 10K Race Canceled Due To Weather (Updated)

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Capitol 10K race was canceled Sunday as the region was pounded with heavy rain for the second consecutive day.

Some 35 streets were to be closed to accommodate runners for the event, a local tradition luring thousands of runners eager to meander through some of the city's most iconic vistas comprising the course.

"It is with very heavy hearts that we announce that the 42nd Statesman 10K has been cancelled [sic]," race organizers wrote on their website "We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment. We are disappointed too, but nothing is more important than the safety our thousands of runners and hundreds of volunteers along the course."

The race is outright canceled rather than being postponed. The 43rd iteration of the race is scheduled on April 5, 2020.

From April 5:

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Key downtown Austin roads will be closed to traffic this weekend to accommodate the annual Capitol 10K race, an Austin tradition since 1978.

There's something about running that makes for lucidity of thought and restoration of energy. Trying to drive around closed streets blocked off to accommodate runners is another matter entirely. To avoid frustration during Sunday's race amid plans to drive in the downtown sector, it's good to know which roads will be closed to plot out alternative routes in reaching destinations.

Several downtown Austin arteries will be closed to traffic starting at 3 a.m. on Sunday, April 7. Closures begin in the start line of the run located on the South Congress Bridge spanning across Lady Bird Lake. Barton Springs Road also will be dicey for drivers, closed to car access to allow runners unfettered access to their paths.

Thus, Red River Street emerges as a good alternative route for motorists in northbound and southbound traffic. Still, drivers will experience further roadblocks (no pun intended) as several neighborhoods in the area also will be off-limits to vehicles.

For a full list of road closures, click here. A quick glance at that list reveals 35 downtown streets slated for closure. So study that list, plot out alternate routes and avoid road rage. As the last runner heads to the finish line (what's it like to be that guy/gal?), roads will be re-opened behind him/her on a rolling schedule.

The event runs (again, no pun intended) from 8 a.m. to noon, starting at 305 S. Congress Ave. For more information, check out the event website. According to the Downtown Austin Alliance, the event is the largest 10K race in Texas, and one of the top 10 in the nation. Now in its 42nd year, the Cap10K features running paths along some of the city's most iconic vistas ranging from the Capitol to Lady Bird Lake with jaunts across the Congress Avenue Bridge and into a bucolic lakeside park en route to the finish line on the main lawn at Vic Mathias Shore.

By 11 a.m. on Sunday, it'll be all clear for you to drive downtown to your heart's content. Before that hour, it might be best to avoid that part of downtown altogether.