Cowtown Marathon & 10K Run

Well organized race! The Cowtown is a fun race with spectators in all areas (TCU area is the best). The course is not too shabby, just a few hills mainly at mile 8 and smaller ones around mile 21 in the residential neighborhoods. I plan on running the Cowtown every year!

Updating my review since I ran the FULL marathon on Sunday! Awesome course, ran through some beautiful neighborhoods, very hilly but worth the ride. The expo/​packet pickup the day before was fairly small but easy to get in and out of there. Parking on race day is very easy and well executed… plus it’s free! Can’t go wrong with that. I ran the half last year so I knew what to expect for part of the course. Hills, hills hills! Definitely a mental strength test more than anything. I loved running along the Trinity River during the later miles of the race, that had to be my favorite part! There are little brunch spots/​ice houses along the trail with awesome spectators having their beers and cheering you on! Great post race refreshments too… blue bell ice cream, fruits, chocolate milk and a chicken noodle soup that totally hit the spot! This event is for everyone. Saturday they have a 5k/​10k portion and Sunday is the Half Marathon/​Full Marathon and Ultra (crazy) distance. Pick your poison! I will definitely do it again next year!

I loved this race. Extremely organized and well put together. The volunteers were all awesome and it’s incredible to think of all they did for no pay! The run though the Stockyards and downtown was too fun. I’ll be back next year!!!

This was my first road race in Fort Worth. I ran the 5K because I didn’t have to wake up as early as the 10K. And because I got a free race bib. But had I known that you get a medal for completing the 10K, I probably would have run that one. I popped in and out of packet pickup without spending much time at the expo. It was really easy to get my packet and t-​shirt.
As for the race, the course was ok. I liked running down the cobblestone roads of Camp Bowie and the downhill on the backside was nice. The finish however, bothered me. After you crossed the finish line, it funneled straight into photos and water was super hard to find. It was super crowded and was barely moving at all. I actually climbed over a barricade on the side so I could get out of the elbow to elbow crowd and try to find water. Of course I found Miller Lite first. And then Blue Bell ice cream. And then finally I found water. I didn’t even go into the food area since I heard it wasn’t anything good and I was already satisfied with ice cream and beer and I had plans for a post-​race brunch. But am I spoiled from coming from another city with a billion road races that were always super well organized and had lots of space? I hate to complain, but I hope the other races I do up here are better organized at the end so I don’t feel so much like a cow being herded. Or maybe that’s what they’re going for, hence «Cowtown»?? Ha. Probably not.

Good job organizers! Had a ball. So glad I was able to pick up my packet last minute. I tweeted, posted on FB and emailed a question the night before and I received a response almost immediately (thank you)!!! This was great because otherwise I would have been up all night when I should have been resting… wondering. The course was good. Water stops were good, but throw in some more (you can never have too many water stops… with Gatorade). The shirts were great too — we got 2! I love that! And I love that I was able to swap for a small! I would run it again.

I completed the half-​marathon today.
The expo left something to be desired. There were lots of vendors but not many samples. I love samples! There were a few non-​running-​related vendors. «Which company do you use for electricity? Ma’am? Ma’am?» How about ‘None of your freaking business you expo carnie’. Annoying.
Other than that, picking of packets is a breeze.
Race morning:
Corals were nicely arranged. Even running behind, it was easy to find my group.
There were big signs all along the way marking the miles. The path was big enough to keep runners from being cramped up together. At the beginning, there were port-​o-​potties at each hydration station. Toward the end, The disappeared. The last 3 miles of my race were screwed for me b/​c I needed to pee so badly!
Finishing:
There were volunteers giving out space blankets if needed. Immediately after, volunteers were handing out finisher medals. Follow the signs to get snacks and finisher shirt as well as first aid, if you need it. I developed an ocular migraine during the last leg of the half and was helped quickly by the folks in first aid. I felt much, much better when I left! Grab a bag in the food area and fill up with fuel like mini bagels, fruit, ice cream, granola and water. There was a cart with popcorn and soda and a soup station as well. It was easy to find where the finisher shirts were being handed out.
The next room had places to easily find your families.
All in all, it was a great race. Next year I’ll need to drink less or I’ll hope for more restrooms!

2010 was the first time I ran the Cowtown race. I registered for the half marathon making it my 3^rd one to complete. As far as races go, this is well put together in my opinion. The course is well marked and there are plenty of volunteers along the course to keep you on track. Decent amount of water stops, my only complaint with that is they ran out of gatorade early on and it wouldn’t hurt to throw in a couple of more water stops for those of us who need to hydrate a lot during a race. The half race course had more hills than I expected… but hills are my arch enemy. I did not care for the bricked streets & ran on the sidewalk. But overall it was a nice experience and I still managed to beat my personal record. The BEST part was the free beer & ice cream after the race :-). The free beer was awesome & I was there when they ran out of cups, but they filled up my empty water bottle instead :-). Can’t beat that with a stick!
The packet pickup was painless and the Expo was so-so…several stores had discounts and I have a huge weakness for race expos. My only complaint is that it was small… they need a bigger tent to spread it out a little so it isn’t asses & elbows.
Post-​post race… do like we did & make time to sit on the upper patio at the Mothership… aka Flying Saucer… treat yourself to tasty beverages, brats & sauerkraut!

Ran 13.1 and I like the course. The weather was great! I heard it was windier in the past but not this year. Some of the middle miles, 6 – 10 or so, was through some run down neighborhoods but the rest was quite scenic. I know some folks that don’t look around at all during a run but I find it helps take away the pain. I didn’t like the brick paved road during the last third or quarter for the race. I don’t think it mattered except in my head.
The packet pickup was well organized and the Expo was fair. Several stores were there with some deep discounts. More freebies! Always!
The post run had some good recovery food. They had separate area for the 10ker and the half, full, and ultra runners which is good. I like to act like a runner snob at these :). The beer truck was swamped and is always my incentive to run fast so you can avoid the lines. They did run out of cups later on. Kudos to the drinkers with a running problem for that one.
If you run it, block off your afternoon to go rooftop at the flying saucer or hit the Joe T’s patio.