Formula Run, Circuit of the Americas, Austin
Austin's Running Legacy
The RunTex Story
Established 1988
1988
Founded by Paul Carrozza
NCAA All-American, 1500m, Abilene Christian University
"To build endurance into the citizens of our city, state and nation through proper gear, events, training and teamwork."
The Store
One of the World's Largest Running-Only Stores
RunTex grew from a single location into five Austin-area stores — including Triangle, Georgetown, and Far West — with more than 50 staff and over $6 million in annual sales. Runner's World named it the #1 Running Store in America and awarded it multiple Golden Shoe Awards.
Founder Paul Carrozza wrote the Runner's World shoe review column and consulted on footwear for Adidas, Nike, Asics, Mizuno, Brooks, Saucony, Scott, and New Balance. For 20 years, RunTex maintained water stations on the Lady Bird Lake trail — serving approximately 1.5 million visits a year.
5
Austin-area locations
#1
Running Store in America — Runner's World
50+
Staff members
$6M+
Annual sales
1.5M
Lady Bird Lake trail visits served per year
20 yrs
Water stations on the trail
The Races
100+ Events a Year
RunTex founded, produced, or sponsored more than 100 events annually and hosted packet pickup for 100+ nonprofit races every year for two decades.
Austin Marathon
Produced for 20 years — grown to a $1.5M event
3M Half Marathon
Produced for 19 years
Congress Avenue Mile
Austin's iconic one-mile street race
Capitol 10,000
Austin's largest 10K
Formula Run at COTA
First two editions at Circuit of the Americas
Willie Nelson's 10K for Farm Aid
6,000+ runners
Also produced or sponsored:
Decker Challenge · Bun Run · Capital of Texas Triathlon · Austin Race for the Cure · Freedom 5000 · Margarita Run · Motive Stampede · Pervasive 10 Miler · SiLabs Marathon Relay · Run for the Water
Building a Running City
Beyond the Store
Marathon Kids
Co-founded and produced by RunTex. Grew from 5,000 to a peak of 50,000 Central Texas kids per year, each running 26.2 miles over the school year.
RunTex University
Coached 2,500+ people a year with programs for the City of Austin, H-E-B, Dell, and Travis County.
Gazelle Foundation
Founded with Olympian Gilbert Tuhabonye to bring clean water to East Africa through running.
Austin Distance Challenge
A season-long series celebrating Austin's running community.
Shoes for Austin
Donated running shoes to those in need across Central Texas.
Civic Leadership
Paul Carrozza served on the President's Council on Fitness and Sports, co-chaired the Governor's Fitness Council, and chaired the Austin Mayor's Fitness Council.
Lions & Gazelles
"Every morning a gazelle wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest lion. Every morning a lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle. Lion or gazelle, when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
The Legacy
The Runners RunTex Made
RunTex alumni went on to found and lead some of the most beloved running stores in the country. The culture Paul Carrozza built scattered across the country and kept running.
Stores Born From RunTex
The RunTex brand is back at runtex.run.