Downtown Austin is about to trade Sunday sleep-ins for sweat, sneakers, and street closures. The 49th Statesman Cap10K hits the pavement on Sunday, April 12, 2026, sending thousands of runners and walkers through downtown and across the Congress Avenue Bridge.
Wheelchair athletes get rolling first, followed by a long train of corral-wave starts that send runners out from roughly 8:00 a.m. through 8:50 a.m. When it is all over, the party shifts to a finish-line festival along Riverside, while the city slowly pieces its streets back together.
Packet Pickup, Expo and Late Registration
Race weekend really starts at the Palmer Events Center, where packet pickup and the Health & Fitness Expo take over Exhibit Hall #2 (900 Barton Springs Road). Hours are Friday, April 10 from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Race organizers are blunt about one thing: there is no packet pickup or registration on race morning. The final window for in-person late registration is a tight one, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, according to Cap10K.
Teams, Registration Deadline and Virtual Runners
Larger squads get a small break from the chaos. Teams with five or more members who opt in can have their race packets grouped and picked up in bulk at an Austin American-Statesman drive-up location (8000 Metropolis Drive, Bldg. A, Ste. 100) from April 6 through 8. Team captains have to meet the minimum-size deadline to qualify for that perk.
The clock also ticks on solo runners. The last day to register online is Saturday, April 11 at 4:00 p.m., and both registration fees and beneficiary donations are nonrefundable. For those who prefer to log their miles elsewhere, virtual participants get a runner kit shipped to them with a personalized virtual bib, race-day swag and a commemorative finisher's medal, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
Start Sequence and Corrals
This is not a free-for-all start line. The race uses corral wave starts, and each set of gates shuts five minutes before that group is sent out to keep the herd moving.
- Corral A: gates close at 7:55 a.m., start at 8:00 a.m.
- Corral B: starts at 8:10 a.m.
- Corral C: starts at 8:20 a.m.
- Corral D: starts at 8:30 a.m., baby joggers welcome.
- Corral E: starts at 8:40 a.m.
- Corral F: starts at 8:50 a.m.
Miss your assigned corral gate, and you are expected to drop back and start with the next available group, per the official corral schedule on Cap10K.
Getting There and Where to Park
Race morning will not be kind to anyone trying to wing it by car. Expect downtown street closures and clearly signed no-parking zones in the race footprint. City officials urge participants and spectators to use transit or park in garages instead of circling for a curbside unicorn spot.
The City of Austin provides a street-closure map along with listings of downtown parking options specific to the event. On the venue side, Long Center and Palmer Events Center information pages spell out garage entrances, bike rack locations, and expo parking rates.
If driving is non-negotiable, build in extra time and aim for garages that are friendly to race-day traffic patterns, such as State Garage N or the Long Center/Palmer garage near the expo and finish area, according to the Long Center.
