Austin’s Biggest Race Day: The 2026 Ascension Seton Austin Marathon Is Here
Today, the streets of Austin belong to the runners. The 35th annual Ascension Seton Austin Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K is officially underway, and the city is alive with the energy of more than 30,000 registered runners from all 50 U.S. states and over 35 countries — all converging on one of America’s most beloved race courses. An estimated 100,000 spectators and volunteers have packed the streets to cheer them on.
A Course Built for the City
ROAD CLOSURES
The marathon kicks off at 7:00 a.m. at 2nd Street and Congress Avenue, winding runners through Austin’s most iconic neighborhoods — South Congress, the Colorado River corridor, historic Hyde Park, East Austin, and the University of Texas campus. It’s a rolling-hills loop course with a memorable final stretch, dropping 33 feet per mile over the last 9 miles as runners close in on the finish line in front of the Texas State Capitol on Congress Avenue. True to Austin’s identity as the Live Music Capital of the World, bands perform live along the route at every mile, turning 26.2 miles into a rolling concert experience.
VIDEO FROM THIS MORNING
The lead pack of runners head down South 1st Street this morning about thirty minutes after the race’s start.
LIVE FROM THE MARATHON
For those not tackling the full distance, the Half Marathon and 5K offer equally scenic routes through downtown, making the weekend accessible to runners of every level.
A Major Economic Engine
The Austin Marathon is more than a race — it’s a significant driver of the local economy. The event’s economic impact has grown from $22.4 million in 2014 to an estimated $64 million in 2025, generating approximately 17,500 hotel room nights and pumping tens of millions into the city’s hospitality, dining, and retail sectors each year. For Austin’s hotels, restaurants, and shops, marathon weekend is one of the biggest weekends of the year.
Austin: A Premier Running Destination
Since its founding in 1992, the Austin Marathon has helped cement the city’s reputation as one of America’s top running destinations. The event holds both Boston Qualifier and World Marathon Major Qualifier status, drawing serious competitive athletes alongside casual participants. With a robust calendar of 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, and trail runs filling out the year, Austin has built a culture where running isn’t just an event — it’s a lifestyle. The marathon’s Run Forward Initiative further reflects that spirit, donating hundreds of race entries to individuals facing financial or health-related barriers to entry.
Whether you’re crossing the finish line today or cheering from South Congress, this is Austin at its best — loud, welcoming, and running full speed ahead.
(Sources: Ascension Seton Austin Marathon, Visit Austin, My Neighborhood News, Wikipedia, Austin Marathon Economic Impact Archive, PR Newswire, KXAN-TV and KVUE-TV.)
Police have opened a homicide investigation after a man and a woman were found dead inside a South Austin home on Saturday.
Austin police say officers responded around 11:30 a.m. to a welfare check at the Cannon Ridge neighborhood in the 6700 block of Windrift Way, near West William Cannon Drive and Menchaca Road.
Reports of an overnight shooting downtown:
(Timestamp is PST. Actual time of call was 2:35 a.m. CST)
No other information has been provided.
FOX 7 Austin has this week’s edition of Crime Watch:
Time for some @AustinJustice:
— Austin Justice (@AustinJustice) February 14, 2026
PODCAST
Rumors of a serial killer still cloud Mitchell Gutierrez’s mind years after his little brother, Martin, disappeared from a shoreside entertainment district in downtown Austin. For days, their family joined police searching for the young man, before his body surfaced in Lady Bird Lake. A KXAN analysis of autopsy reports and law enforcement records reveals he was among at least 30 drowning victims – many intoxicated – over the past decade in this urban waterway.
As criminal conspiracies spread through social media, we sought answers by comparing Austin’s drowning numbers to other cities with similar features. Our data-driven, multi-platform investigation also examines solutions effectively preventing tragedies elsewhere – tactics local leaders are now exploring after our findings.
(Episode from February 14, 2026)
A student protester says she was threatened with a taser during an ICE walkout protest in Round Rock earlier this week.
PODCAST
All eyes have been on the Twin Cities lately, including Austinites’. Operation Metro Surge is reportedly ending in Minnesota, with the withdrawal of immigration agents expected over the next week. Over the last two months, though, residents of the Twin Cities have organized a range of local collective action efforts including protests, mutual aid, and monitoring ICE — and they’ve done it quickly. In this inaugural episode of “Your City Could Be Better,” City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with City Cast Twin Cities podcast host Sean McPherson about how his community self-organized, why these networks have been so successful, and what other cities can take away from Minnesotans’ response to Operation Metro Surge. Plus, we have a D.C. vs. Twin Cities face-off on local cultural norms.
(Episode from February 14, 2026)
Volunteers at Festival Beach Food Forest spent Valentine’s Day digging up trees instead of planting them — a last‑ditch effort to rescue more than 90 plants that sit directly in the path of a temporary wastewater line tied to the I‑35 expansion project.
Crews repaired a water main break affecting customers in Leander on Saturday afternoon.
WEATHER
SATURDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
PRECIPITAION: FEBRUARY 14, 2026
5-DAY FORECAST /AUSTIN, TEXAS
The Houston area saw winds as high as 70 mph yesterday.
A beautiful rainbow was captured on video via Lake Travis Weather Timelapse:
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston) is accusing the campaign team for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) of “doxxing,” after a social media post accused the congressman of voter fraud.
Matt Mackowiak is Cornyn’s campaign senior adviser.
VOTER FRAUD COMMITTED BY WESLEY HUNT: Hunt Campaign Releases 2016 Provisional Ballot Proving Hunt Committed Voter Fraud, Lied to Election Judge and Lied on Sworn Statement
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) February 14, 2026
He Falsely Claimed He Was Discharged in 2016 in Attempt to Illegally Vote
AUSTIN, TX — In a bombshell… pic.twitter.com/4aAQGIajwl
Cornyn’s campaign took a shot at Ken Paxton on Valentine’s Day:
Sara McGee is running unopposed as a Democrat in the swingy 132nd Texas House District, inspired by a rude experience with incumbent Republican Mike Schofield, one of our most do-nothing and boot-licking lawmakers. A former school librarian and community advocate, Sara is focused on protecting Texans’ reproductive rights, increasing public education funding, and expanding healthcare access.
(Episode from February 14, 2026)
In this week’s episode of Party Politics, co-hosts Brandon Rottinghaus and Jeronimo Cortina break down how Washington brinkmanship and Texas political warfare converged, underscoring how national chaos and state-level power struggles increasingly mirror one another.At the federal level, the threat of a government shutdown resurfaced—this time over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. While shutdown politics are nothing new, DHS occupies a critical role in border enforcement, disaster response, and national security, making the standoff especially consequential for Texas, where immigration remains a defining political issue.The U.S. House also pushed back on former President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, signaling renewed concern about the economic costs of trade wars. Lawmakers from both parties are increasingly wary of tariffs as inflationary tools that hit consumers and manufacturers alike.Trump, undeterred, floated the idea of sanctions on Switzerland—a proposal that startled foreign policy watchers given the country’s central role in global finance and diplomacy. Whether serious or rhetorical, the suggestion fit a familiar campaign posture: confrontation over cooperation.
In Texas, political conflict played out through costly ad wars. Democratic lawmakers Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico exchanged high-profile messaging, a reminder that even policy-aligned figures now battle for narrative dominance in an attention-driven media landscape.Attorney General Ken Paxton raised the stakes further, spending more than $3 million on ads targeting Congressman Wesley Hunt. The move signals Paxton’s continued effort to shape Republican primaries and enforce ideological discipline within the party.Labor weighed in on the governor’s race, with unions splitting endorsements between Governor Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa. The divide reflects both Abbott’s appeal to some working-class voters and Democrats’ ongoing struggle to consolidate labor support statewide.The courts also made waves. A federal judge shut down Texas Senate Bill 13, halting enforcement of the controversial law and reopening debates over state power and constitutional limits.And as politics collided with pop culture, a resurfaced clip of State Representative Gene Wu during Super Bowl weekend reignited online debate.From shutdown threats to sanction talk and Texas ad blitzes, the throughline is escalation. The volume is rising, the spending is climbing, and the next election cycle is already taking shape.
(Episode from February 13, 2026)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized nearly $7 million worth of cocaine from a tractor-trailer claiming to be carrying fresh flowers. (FOX 7 Austin)
Five years after a 2021 winter storm led to at least 246 deaths statewide and hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, Texans still get worried and still scramble to prepare whenever frigid weather is approaching. (NPR)
A new $44 million sports park appears poised for construction to begin soon near Houston.
Firefighters in Breckenridge responded to a wind turbine on fire yesterday. Local officials believe the fire was caused by a lightning strike.
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Junior guard/forward Dailyn Swain scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, while sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis added a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Texas (16-9, 7-5 SEC) to an 85-68 victory over Missouri (17-8, 7-5 SEC) on Saturday night in Mizzou Arena. This marked UT’s fourth consecutive league win, marking the first time since the 2020-21 season that the Longhorns have recorded four consecutive regular-season conference victories. (Texas Longhorns)
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17:
In other NCAA action Saturday…
Texas Tech’s JT Tippin made a 3-pointer that was crucial to No. 16 Texas Tech finishing a 78-75 road victory over No. 1 Arizona on Saturday. (Associated Press)
For the second straight game, junior Ethan Mendoza smacked a home run, propelling No. 3 Texas to a series-securing 6-4 win over UC Davis on Saturday evening at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. (Texas Longhorns)
TODAY
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz came to Dallas and Fort Worth in February 1956.
Here’s the story behind Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s 1956 Texas visit—and how it connects to Forever, Darling.
⭐ What Brought Lucy & Desi to Texas in 1956
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz traveled to Dallas and Fort Worth in February 1956 as part of a national promotional tour for their new MGM film Forever, Darling. Their stop in Texas drew big crowds and plenty of local media attention.
Key documented highlights
- They visited Dallas and Fort Worth to promote Forever, Darling
- A WBAP-TV news clip shows them being welcomed at the Western Hills Hotel in Fort Worth on February 12, 1956 during the tour
- Their Texas appearances were part of a broader publicity campaign tied to the film’s release on February 9, 1956
- Fans and historians have reconstructed the tour timeline, noting that the Texas stop included public events and even train‑departure photos as they left the state
🎬 About Forever, Darling (1956)
The film they were promoting was a fantasy romantic comedy starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and James Mason. It follows a wife (Ball) trying to save her marriage with help from a guardian angel (Mason). It premiered just days before their Texas visit.
