A WHOLE NEW RACE

How to tackle Austin Marathon’s new route

It took Kayleigh Williamson six hours and 23 minutes to run and walk the Austin Half Marathon last year.

The finish line had been dismantled when she got there, but race organizers put it up again. When Williamson crossed, followed by an entourage of police and trainers from a local chiropractor’s clinic, the 27-year-old flipped her hair in triumph. She had just become the first woman with Down syndrome to complete the 13.1-mile race. Someone put a medal around her neck, and later one of her coaches gave her a personalized belt buckle.

“I loved it,” Williamson says.

This year, she returns with two new goals in mind — to finish the half-marathon in less than six hours, and to encourage others with Down syndrome to get running and register for the Paramount Break a Leg 5K, part of the Feb. 18 Austin Marathon and Half Marathon slate of events.

Williamson’s coaches at RunLab, a clinic tucked inside Rogue Running, think she can reach her goals. In the past year, she shaved 40 minutes off her time at the 10-mile Run for the Water and dropped her pace from about 30 minutes per mile to 18 minutes per mile.

“My mom told me I am inspiring to other people,” Williamson, 27, said before a treadmill session at RunLab on a recent chilly day. “I run a lot. It’s hard.”

Williamson began training at RunLab in July 2016, after her mother brought her to Rogue Running to get new shoes. Chiropractor Kim Davis, founder of RunLab, which analyzes gaits and treats runningrelated injuries, offered to check Kayleigh’s running technique.

“At the end of the day, mechanics are mechanics, Down syndrome or not,” Davis says.

After their visit, Davis decided she wanted to help more. She invited Williamson to train with RunLab coaches, and eventually added the athlete to the shop’s roster of elite runners. Since then, Williamson has lost about 50 pounds. Run-