Sunday morning runners took to the streets in Downtown Austin to take part of one of the largest half marathons in Central Texas.
Proceeds from the race go to the organization Any Baby Can, which helps parents and families with disabled children.
About 5,000 people took part in the 15th annual 3M Half Marathon & Relay, and one person came through with a record time of 1:01:05, beating the previous record in 1999 of 1:01:16.
Of course, a hoard of runners followed, with fans cheering them on along the way. At the back of that hoard were a few people, in it, not to win it, but just to finish and they don't care how many people are in front of them.
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3M Marathon
News 8's Karina Kling was there to see the race and find out who will benefit from the funds raised.
 
Personal Records
Kling tells us about another crowd
setting some records of their own.
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Suzette Moser and Jody Frierson met along the course. About three and a half hours had gone by when a News 8 crew met up with them around mile 11 of the 13.1 mile course.
Their spirits were up and they had a goal in mind.
"As long as I'm walking with her, I'm not the last one. I think there's one or two back there," Frierson said.
It's not about winning the race for many walkers and occasional runners rounding out the race. It's about the journey.
Karen Covert came in under four hours. And while the crowds may have dispersed and just a handful of fans remained to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line, her personal victory was something she'll celebrate for a lifetime.
"Just happy to finish and know that I can do it," Covert said.
Many runners said they are not only out to accomplish a goal for
themselves, but for a good cause.
"We are so happy to be here this morning for the 3M Half Marathon, or as we call it, the race to give kids a running start," Ellen Balthazar, with Any Baby Can, said. "We have a wide range of programs at Any Baby Can that bring help and hope to the youngest, the sickest and poorest children in our community."
The organization also provides intensive home based services to about 1,500 families.
As the beneficiary of the marathon, the sponsor 3M has guaranteed Any Baby Can $30,000, which will go toward supporting one of the organizations' highly-trained staff members who provides the intensive home-based services.
"That means almost 30 families will specifically benefit from this race today," Balthazar said. "Having the community support activities such as this, particularly in these tough times, to have a corporate partner like 3M, who year after year supports us and other organizations in the community, really gives us not only the financial resources we need, but really gives us that extra moral support."
For more information about how you can help, visit, www.abcaus.org.
