Taking a Race Virtual: The Statesman Cap10K

It’s a race with a long history and it’s the largest 10K race in Texas. It’s the Statesman Cap10K in Austin, and it celebrates its 44th year this year.

In addition to being the oldest annual race, it’s also shown significant innovation in the wake of large gathering cancellations and concerns of pandemic issues.

This year, the race has gone virtual.

The concept is simple and brilliant. Race participants choose from one of ten unique 10K routes plotted throughout the Austin area. Or, runners can make one of their own, around their neighborhood…or their part of the world. Conceivably, there could be runners participating in this year’s Statesman Cap10K half a world away from Austin. The race dates span from April 11-30. Choose the date you want to run, pick your course, and do your miles. Then, you submit photos of your run and provide your finishing time by April 30th to be eligible for raffle prizes and finisher’s certificate.

In a recent interview with the Austin American Statesman, the Statesman Cap10K race director Jeff Simecek spoke about the decision to go virtual this year. “Both in the interest of the health and safety of our participants and in anticipation of the city of Austin significantly modifying or canceling our large-scale in-person event, we are moving our 2021 Cap10K race to a virtual format. We are grateful for our running community’s continued understanding, as well as their support of our race…we’re looking forward to making the most of going virtual in 2021, with 10 different routes for participants to run, and then getting to work on our 45th for 2022,” said Simecek.¹

Because Altrua HealthShare focuses on healthy lifestyles, the Membership is once again a sponsor for the race. “It’s important to commit to healthy habits, even in the midst of challenges, like the ones thrown at the Statesman Cap10K over the last year,” said John Capezutti, COO of Altrua HealthShare. “We’re excited by the innovations the Cap10K has made to continue to engage people in exercise goals and community. We’d love to see lots of Altrua HealthShare Members participate in the virtual race this year.”

₁ https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/2021/02/01/running-2021-capitol-10-000-virtual/4341481001/