2008 Texas Independence Relay to draw 3,000 runners

    2008 Texas Independence Relay to draw 3,000 runners

/24-7PressRelease/ - AUSTIN, TX, January 10, 2007 — The Texas Independence Relay, a 200-mile running event retracing the path the Republic of Texas army took from Gonzalez to San Jacinto in 1836, will be held March 1-2, 2008, and is expected to draw an estimated 3,000 runners, organizers of the event announced here today.

Jay Hilscher, a principal in Lone Star Relays, LLC, the sanctioning organization for the Texas Independence Relay, said the event will be one of the longest runs ever organized in Texas, and among the longest in the United States.

"We expect some 350 teams of 8 to 12 runners from running clubs, corporations, non-profit bodies and other groups to participate in the Texas Independence Relay," said Hilscher, who is a Race Director of the event.

The event will benefit the Ronald McDonald Houses in Austin and Houston, and the San Jacinto Museum of History Association.

The event will begin in Gonzalez, east of Austin, on March 1, 2008, and end the following day at the famed San Jacinto Monument, east of Houston, where in 1836 the Republic of Texas army headed by Sam Houston defeated Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

The route runners will follow retraces the path the Texas army took from Gonzales to San Jacinto. The Texas Revolution actually began in Gonzales in October, 1835, where a group of 18 colonists dared Mexican troops to retrieve a small cannon in their possession. "Come and take it," became the colonists' taunt and led to a small skirmish that historians cite as the beginning of the battle for Texas' independence.

The cities and towns along the route the Texas Independence Relay will follow include Shiner, Moulton, Flatonia, Schulenburg, Weimar, Columbus, Altair, Eagle Lake, Wallis, Orchard, Simonton, Fulshear, Cinco Ranch, Houston and LaPorte.

The teams will cross Houston using a route that includes George Bush Park, Terry Hershey Park, Memorial Park, Buffalo Bayou and Texas Street by Minute Maid Park, and then east to the Houston Ship Channel.

The Texas Independence Relay will finish at San Jacinto Battleground, at the foot of the San Jacinto Monument in La Porte. At 570 feet high, the San Jacinto Monument is the world's tallest memorial, topping the Washington Monument by some 15 feet. It is also the world's tallest war memorial.

"The Independence Relay route is scenic one, very runnable, with good roads that have wide shoulders so that the runners will be safe," Hilscher said.

The teams will run the first and last miles together, and then individual team members will run in relays along the remainder of the 200-mile route.

Hilscher said there will be three divisions of teams: Open, Corporate and Corporate Preferred. In keeping with the historical "Come and Take It" theme of the Independence Relay, teams can also challenge each other in side competitions called "Texas Tough Throwdowns." These "throwdowns" give teams the opportunity to compete with specific teams of their choice within the larger framework of the race and earn additional prizes.

The race website, www.texasindependencerelay.com, will post periodic updates on the event, Hilscher said.

"The Texas Independence Relay will be a continuing event that we expect will grow into one of the premier running events in the nation. It combines the bold history of Texas with the sport of running and raises money for worthwhile charities...that's a combination that makes it an attractive, must-run event," Hilscher said.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Jay & Joy Hilscher, Race Directors
Texas Independence Relay
8102 Miller Falls Dr.
Round Rock, TX 78681
512-341-7986
[email protected], www.texasindependencerelay.com

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