Austin half marathoner, former foster kid gifted with car

Austin Half Marathon finisher and former foster kid Abel Marron Rodriguez was gifted a brand-new car Sunday, courtesy City Limits Subaru and the foster care nonprofit Austin Angels.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Sunday, runner Abel Marron Rodriguez thought he was just completing another half marathon. But a bigger victory awaited him just past the finish line, where he was gifted a brand new Subaru car.

Now a student at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Marron Rodriguez had been spending three hours commuting to campus via bus, taking city buses to the Greyhound station before boarding one to and from San Antonio. Marron Rodriguez said he had grown accustomed to the trip, spending time doing his homework or taking a quick nap along the commute.

Now? The world's at his fingertips.

"Now that I got a car, I could just drive myself from campus all the way to Austin," he said. "It's gonna be a whole lot different than it once was."

The surprise gift came through a partnership between City Limits Subaru and Austin Angels, a nonprofit organization created to aid foster children, youth and their families — including those like Marron Rodriguez, who was formerly a foster child.

Some of the core focuses of Austin Angels include long-term support services, mentorship opportunities and help in creating relationship permanence in foster kids' lives.

"Austin Angels has been very, very gracious to me. They've been awesome," he said. "I can't thank them enough."

A special gratitude Marron Rodriguez shared Sunday was for Connor Copeland, his mentor match through Austin Angels' Dare to Dream program. The program centers around one-on-one mentorship and support for those in the foster care system, providing them with advice and support.

On Sunday, Copeland and Marron Rodriguez ran the half marathon together — a testament, Copeland said, to the bond the two have been able to build.

"It's just a really amazing way to kind of — the culmination of everything we've been through together," Copeland added. "Our [Dare to Dream] match is officially going to end later this year, but we're gonna be friends forever. And I think this is just a great way to cap it off."

As for where Marron Rodriguez hopes to take his car for a spin first, that'll need to wait. He needed a shower first, he joked — after all, he had just run 13.1 miles.

"Knowing my siblings, it'll probably be one of their errands," he said with a smile.