Leo Manzano ©Victah Sailer
2018 Statesman Capitol 10K to Feature Leo Manzano, Austin Parks Foundation and Finishers’ Medals
Austin, TX (Sept. 14, 2017) The Statesman Capitol 10,000, presented by Baylor Scott & White Health, has announced that race ambassador Leo Manzano and race beneficiary Austin Parks Foundation will return for the 41st race on April 8, 2018.
Making an appearance for the first time in the race’s history will be finishers’ medals, given to all participants who finish the 2018 Cap10K.
“Both Olympian Leo Manzano and Austin Parks Foundation were an inspirational part of our milestone moment last year,” said Jeff Simecek, Cap10K race director. “I’m pleased that they’ll be returning for the 41st race, which will be the first year in the race’s history that all finishers will receive a commemorative medal.”
Born in Guanajuato, Mexico, Manzano and his family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old, settling in Granite Shoals, Texas. Leo discovered his distance running talent in middle school and went on to become a nine-time Texas High School 4A schoolboy champion. Manzano was a five-time NCAA champion and nine-time All-American at the University of Texas — breaking the 4-minute barrier during his freshman year. Manzano first entered the USA Outdoor Championship in 2006, coming away with a third-place finish. Manzano’s famous finishing kick was on full display at the London Olympic Games in 2012, where he won the silver medal — the first medal for the USA in the marquee 1,500 meters since the great Jim Ryun similarly won silver in 1968. Manzano also serves as a spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Health anti-tobacco campaign.
“I’m thrilled to return as the race ambassador for the third year in a row. Year after year, the Cap10K means so much to so many of us,” said Manzano. “I invite those who joined us in 2017 to come out again in 2018 and claim your finisher’s medal! If you’ve never participated in the largest 10K in Texas before, come see for yourself why this is a beloved annual tradition in Austin.”
The Austin Parks Foundation’s mission is to connect people to resources and partnerships to develop and improve parks in and around Austin. From volunteer workdays and park activation programming to large capital improvement projects, APF has been at the center of promoting park development, maintenance, accessibility and improvements in Austin and Travis County.
“What an honor to be back as the race beneficiary of the Statesman Cap10K,” said Colin Wallis, CEO of Austin Parks Foundation. “Austin parks are fundamental to the exceptional quality of life we enjoy in our city, providing a variety of resources and recreation for tens of thousands of Austinites every day. In 2017, we received more than $40,000 from the Cap10K. Such financial support will ensure our growing city has safe, beautiful and high-quality green spaces today and for generations to come.”
The 2018 race will take place on Sunday, April 8. One dollar from each registration will go to Austin Parks Foundation, the 2018 Statesman Cap10K beneficiary. The Statesman will donate up to $10,000 in additional participant donations. The Cap10K is the largest 10K race in Texas and one of the top 10 in the nation. The Cap10K began in 1978 with 3,400 participants. In 2017, the race had 21,390 registered participants. Additional race information is available at cap10K.com.
About Statesman Media:
Statesman Media is the premier media company in Central Texas. Its brand portfolio spans print and digital, reaching readers on the smartphone, tablet or laptop platform they prefer. The portfolio includes the Austin American-Statesman, named Newspaper of the Year in both 2013 and 2014 by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors; six community newspapers; Austin360, the entertainment publication; ¡ahora si?!, the Spanish-language newspaper; corresponding websites, statesman.com, mystatesman.com and austin360.com; the digital edition, Statesman ePaper; dynamic apps like the Austin360 app; and social media feeds, @statesman and @austin360. The print products reach more than 638,000 readers each week, while digital platforms draw 5 million visitors accessing more than 26 million pages each month. The diverse media company also offers commercial printing, packaging and delivery services. Statesman Media owns and manages Statesman Cap10K as well as several community and charitable efforts including Statesman Season for Caring and Statesman Swim Safe, a local program that teaches at-risk children to swim. Statesman Media is part of Cox Media Group.
About Cox Media Group:
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps. Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America’s leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings. The company’s operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 59 radio stations, seven daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 31 million TV viewers, more than 3.5 million print and online newspaper readers, and more than 14 million radio listeners.
For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.
Source: Statesman Capitol 10K
Date: September 14, 2017