The Austin Marathon course

Two blocks off the start you cross Lady Bird Lake on the Congress Avenue bridge, and the road tilts up on the far side. What begins here does not level off for another two and a half miles, so let the fast corral go and run your own opening.

South Congress past the shop fronts, and this is the steepest mile of the opening climb. Glance back over your shoulder: the Capitol sits framed at the top of the avenue, which tells you exactly how much you have already gained.

The grade finally softens near the top of South Congress. Climbing has been constant since the bridge and it does not quit until halfway through the next mile, so hold the effort steady and let the pace be whatever it is.

Right onto Ben White, then right again onto South 1st. This is the roof of the course and the hinge of the whole race: two turns in quick succession, run them wide, get your legs organized before the road starts falling.

South 1st gives back everything you paid for, and this is the biggest drop of the day. Let it roll, but do not attack it. The quads you spend here are the ones you will want at 25.

Descending again on South 1st with the skyline growing in front of you. Two straight miles of free elevation is a good feeling and a bad plan, so resist banking time you cannot keep.

Over the water a second time, then a turn west on Cesar Chavez past Block 185, the Google sail tower. Level pavement and open road: the first honest read on your fitness now that the course is neither helping nor hurting.

Cesar Chavez bends onto Veterans Drive and the ground starts rising again. The pull runs all the way to 10.3, so shorten your stride early rather than fighting to hold the same numbers.

Lake Austin Boulevard, and the grade has not let go. Gentler than South Congress but a good deal longer, which is how a climb sneaks up on you in the first hour.

Onto Enfield Road, where the climb finally tops out just past the marker. West Austin from here, quieter road, narrower lanes, and a fair place to reset your breathing before the ground turns friendly.

The last of that climb goes by early, then Old Enfield tips downhill through big houses and short blocks. Nothing to manage on this one. Relax your shoulders and let the mile come to you.

A short kick upward arrives before Enfield straightens out into West 15th and drops away. The bump is done inside half a mile, so treat it as a speed bump, not a wall.

West 15th along the north edge of the Capitol grounds, then a turn north onto Guadalupe. Biggest sustained climb since South Congress, and it lands exactly where you start doing arithmetic about the second half.

Halfway comes on the Drag with the UT campus off your right shoulder and the road finally reading level. The first thirteen are banked. The only live question is what the next thirteen are going to cost you.

Off Guadalupe, east on 38th, then north on Speedway into the neighborhoods. Barely any elevation to speak of, but the road narrows and the field strings out for the first time in a while.

Speedway through Hyde Park, then across to Red River on 45th. Flat, residential, and the quietest running of the day, which is precisely why the pace drifts if you stop paying attention.

Back south on Duval, tipping gently downhill past porches and small cross streets. This is a mile to spend nothing on, because the next one asks for something.

A real pitch waits before Dean Keeton: two percent, the sharpest thing you have run since South Congress. It hands the elevation straight back on the far side, so the mile nets out level. Climb it honestly and take the descent.

Dean Keeton feeds you onto Chicon and into East Austin with a genuine descent underway. Twenty is close, and this is the stretch where a disciplined first half starts to pay you back.

Out toward Pleasant Valley by way of 12th, still dropping. A course that is still going your way at mile twenty is a gift, so use it: this is the cheapest speed left on the day.

Webberville and Tillery, east side streets, the descent flattening out under you. From here to downtown the ground is basically honest, so pick one rhythm and stop negotiating with it.

East 5th now, level pavement and open sky overhead. Mid-February in Austin can start cold and turn warm by mid-morning, and this is where an unseasonable year begins to show up in your splits.

Shady Lane puts you onto Cesar Chavez, dead flat with nothing to hide behind. Take the tangents seriously through here. The turns come often and the shortest line is worth real seconds you would rather not run.

Linden and 2nd Street, with downtown filling the whole view ahead. Still flat, three to go, and the last clean split you will get before the course turns against you.

Waller Street, and the ground turns upward for the first real time in nearly ten miles. The tilt is slight on paper and unmistakable in your legs. Consider it the front porch of the last climb.

Sixth Street, then up 11th and Red River into Enfield Hill: seventy feet of climbing at 25.3, when there is nothing left in the tank to pay for it. Grind the whole thing, then it is a few blocks over to Congress and down to the finish at 9th, seven blocks from where you stood this morning.