As the horn sounded to signify the beginning of the race, runners dashed off the starting line at the 33rd annual Statesman Capitol 10K in Austin Sunday.

Despite the drizzly weather, organizers said more than 20,000 showed up to participate in the race, roughly 2,000 more people than anticipated. The race already holds the distinction of the largest 10K in Texas, and the fifth largest in the country.

However, it does not take long to notice there is something else a little different about this race. Among the crowd of participants, were many who left their traditional running attire at home.

Instead, race participants like Jennifer Mccall and her friend Kayla Holtzman wore matching red and white striped shirts, paired with round black-rimmed glasses.

A costume reminiscent of the character Waldo, from the book “Where's Waldo?”.

"We just figured, with a sea of people, maybe people can find us up top, or pictures years down the road," Mccall said.

The two weren’t the only ones dressed to impress. Just to name a few, one couple dressed up as Smurfs, complete with the bright blue face paint, and a group of women dressed up as flowers.

"When else do you honestly get to do this and be fully supported," Holtzman said. "It's in the whole, ‘keep Austin weird’ spirit."

While taking part in the race in costume may be all in fun for some, it is a competition for others.

A costume contest is held in conjunction with the race for those participants who want to take part. This year, entrants were judged in three categories.

Those categories include: "Most Original H-E-B Mad Hatter," "Best H-E-B Dressed," and "My H-E-B Rocks and Recycles".

While many costumes garnered a lot of attention from the crowd, it was one homemade costume in particular that had many people talking.

"I'm a clown balloon artist," Zippy said.

Zippy put his artistic skills to use. Using hundreds of balloons, he created a life size ketchup bottle.

"Hey you know what happens when you squeeze me?" he asked. "I squirt," he said as a red balloon popped out of the top of the bottle.

The winners of the last two categories receive a $1,000 gift card from H-E-B. The winner of the Mad Hatter category receives a $500 gift card.

Organizers said participants in the costume contest had their picture taken at the end of the race. From those pictures, a board will judge the costumes. The winners in each of the categories will be revealed next week.

In this race, community organizations came out winners as well. This year, $129,000 in sponsorship commitments will be donated to the Meals on Wheels program.

"We're going to put that to right here in our community to provide more delicious, nutritious meals to our clients," Meals on Wheels Board Chair Steward Whitehead said.

According to Whitehead, the program serves about 4,000 meals everyday in Central Texas. Among other assistance, they provide include a Handy Wheels program, where they offer home maintenance to homebound elderly and disabled in Central Texas.

Since 1993, when race sponsorship became available, they have donated $2.3 million to 18 Austin-area nonprofit organizations.

In addition to the race on Sunday, a separate race was held on Saturday for children.

The 1-mile junior Dilo Kids Run was held for kids 15 and under, and a Statesman 1/2-mile Dilo Family Fun Run and Walk was open for families with children 6 and under.