Flying High with the AFM Distance Challenge
New award recognizes improvement in AFMDC results
As the 2012 AFM Distance Challenge comes to a close this month with the LiveStrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, a small number of people are on track to receive an award in a new category this year, the HIGHFLYER Award. In order to qualify, the runner must match these criteria:
- Finished all six races in the AFMDC;
- Have a lower cumulative time in the five races that were available in last year’s AFM Distance Challenge; the IBM Uptown Classic, Run for the Water, Decker Chal- lenge Half Marathon, 3M Half Marathon, and LiveStrong Austin Marathon; or
- Have completed the full track option in this year’s series if you completed the half- track option last yea
At the beginning of the current series in 2012, 135 people were eligible for this award. After the Decker Half Marathon results were posted, only 17 remained. While the 3M Half Marathon results were not yet computed as of print, it’s safe to bet these same runners will be gearing up to earn their prize as this year’s series to a close. The LiveStrong Austin Marathon is sure to be a challenge for the remaining HIGHFLYER hopefuls. Nine of these competitors remain ahead of last year’s running time, while the rest have ground to gain back on this last leg.
Awards will be announced and distributed at the AFMDC dinner in March, so watch austinfitmagazine.com and the Austin Runners Club website (austinrunners.org/austindistancechallenge) for breaking news about this event. And don’t forget to visit both sites for the updated AFMDC Leaderboard to check who’s out in front of the pack in this exciting challenge.
