Jake Epple has always been active in sports, but never as a competitive runner. This changed a few months ago when he signed up for the 2026 Austin Marathon. Not only did he take on the challenge of running the full 26.2 miles, he also committed to raising $1,000 for the Autism Society of Texas.
The desire to support individuals with Autism isn’t new to Jake. Growing up in a small town in New York, Jake volunteered at school and in the community for programs that promoted inclusion and independence for children with special needs. “This is something I have been passionate about my entire life,” Jake says, “and I am excited to have the opportunity to stay involved while I am at school at the University of Texas at Austin.”
Jake has been training for the marathon for a little over 3 months now and has seen huge improvements in his strength, stamina, and distance. On January 13th, Jake launched his fundraising campaign with emails to friends and family. Many of them reached out to him after they donated to tell him about their connection to Autism. It didn’t take long for Jake to reach his goal, raising a total of $1,006 in just one week!
We are so grateful to Jake for selecting the Autism Society of Texas as his charitable cause for the Austin Marathon. We’ll be cheering for him and our other marathon fundraisers as they race to the finish line on February 15th. They are all champions to us and the thousands of individuals and families across Texas they are supporting!