The Austin Marathon will be changing tracks next February, metaphorically speaking.
Freescale Semiconductor, a technology company based in Austin, announced this morning that it will sponsor the 2014 race, which takes place on Feb. 16. Livestrong has sponsored the race for the previous three years.
According to Austin Marathon spokesman Jeff Hahn, sponsorships are based upon a year-to-year agreement with an annual review, and the decision to end with Livestrong was a mutual agreement between the two organizations.
“We had hit our marks and decided to move on to the next thing,” Hahn says.
Freescale helped to begin the race in 1991 as part of Motorola and sponsored it until 2006 when AT&T took it over for two years. The race ran with no sponsor in 2009, and Livestrong began its contract the following year.
"Freescale and the Austin Marathon are Austin's original power couple – and together we're bringing the race back home," said Gregg Lowe, president and CEO of Freescale in a prepared statement.
No major changes will be made to the marathon structure or route, according to Freescale Public Relations Manager Andy.
Proceeds from the race will go to the recently created Freescale Foundation for science, math, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives. The foundation aims to encourage students to pursue careers in these fields.
