BEAUMONT, Texas - Former Belmont Women's Soccer student-athlete Tara Austin qualified for the Boston Marathon that was scheduled to take place on April 20, but the 123-year-old race was suspended due to COVID-19.
With Austin completing months of training, she decided to use her training to benefit her community.
Austin set up her own charity run in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas, completing a 14-mile course on Monday and managed to collect proceeds to donate to 14 different local business and non-profit organizations.
"It was kind of a spiral effect," Austin told BelmontBruins.com. "I was thinking of what I could do to help the community. I was training for the Boston Marathon and I put the two and two together. 'Why don't I use my training and still create my own run here and use it as a fundraiser and help the local businesses and nonprofits?'"
Competing for the Bruins from 2014-17, Austin finished her senior season with All-OVC Second Team honors in addition to earning the OVC Medal of Honor, given to student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA, three times. Austin developed an interest in running competitively after watching the Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon four years straight as a student at Belmont.
Following graduation, Austin signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon in 2019. Needing to finish the 26-mile race in three hours and 30 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon, Austin finished third in her division and 47th overall with a time of 03:15:54 to earn her bid into the Boston Marathon.
"I actually didn't go into the Nashville Marathon with the idea that I could qualify (for the Boston Marathon)," Austin said. "I set my goal for the qualification time, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to hit it. It was my first marathon. I didn't know how tough it really would be to run 26 miles. I had only run 20 (miles) in my training.
"I was fortunate enough to run a good race and everything fell in line for me. I had the qualifying time, so I thought I might not have another chance to do the Boston (Marathon) and I might as well go for it."
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After Austin received the news that the Boston Marathon would be suspended until September 14, she started her idea of running her own charity race in her hometown. Austin organized a GoFundMe page to donate money to 14 different local business and non-profit organizations, having a goal of raising $1,400.
She has raised over $4,100 to date.
Austin set up her own 14-mile race course with different donation stations on Monday, marking 14 days after the original date of the Boston Marathon. Having the support of family, friends and locals, Austin finished the race course in addition to surpassing her donation goal.
"You just gotta take it in stride and know that there are worse issues going on," Austin said. "I just tried to have a positive mindset about it and that's how I was able to think of this new opportunity. It wouldn't have happened if the Boston (Marathon) hadn't of gotten (suspended). I just tried to make the most of a tough situation."
Still planning to run the Boston Marathon in September, Austin's new mindset is not all about her training for one of the country's largest marathons. It is about helping those in need in her community.
"That was the whole point of the run. It wasn't for me to run super fast and get a great time or anything," Austin said. "It was really about raising all the money for the local businesses and nonprofits...I was so inspired by how generous people have been during this time. It's a great thing and definitely bigger than myself and I'm very grateful for everybody that has contributed to it."
Austin has left her GoFundMe page open for fans who want to donate. To make a donation, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/charity-amp-local-business-fundraiser
