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Cowtown Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Cowtown Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.0 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 3.7 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 3.4 
 
 
Number of comments: 184 [displaying comments 111 to 121]
More Comments: [ < 1 .. 10 11 12 13 14 .. 19 > ]

 

M. B. from Mansfield, TX (2/24/2008)
"I Love Cowtown!" (about: 2008)

2 previous marathons | 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


I heard it was hilly so I trained with some hills. They were not nearly as bad as some people are whining about. Packet pickup could use some work - I agree with the guy that said you can only pick up on Friday. Plenty of fluids all the way to the end. I will definitely be back. The spectators and police rocked!
 

M. E. from North Texas (2/24/2008)
"Mother Nature Was Kind to Cowtown This Year" (about: 2008)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


Being local to the Ft. Worth area, and in training for Boston, I just had to give Cowtown a try. In the past I've run the shorter races - including the half in 2007. I had heard about how terrible the hills were, but thought it would be good training for Boston. So I ran it.

The weather was a little unusual for this time of year in Ft. Worth - in the past we've had rain and gail-force winds. This year was a little on the chilly side, but the winds were definitely not too bad this year. And NO RAIN!!! Woo hoo.

I enjoyed the course. The hills were a little challenging... and probably added a few minutes to my overall finish time, but they were nothing like those I ran in Waco. The last couple miles were the toughest... with a few good hills going back toward the finish area.

I thought the organization was exceptional this year - aid stations were well-stocked and plentiful (I finished in the top 10%, so I can't speak for how stocked they were for the mid to back packers) The finisher's medal and finisher's technical shirt are keepers! (Though I wouldn't have known about the finisher's shirts if my buddy had stumbled across them handing them out in a tent a little way from the finish line.... I'm sure a lot of marathon finisher's didn't get their shirts.)

One possible minor improvement - paper cups would have been better at aid stations. It's difficult to drink out of plastic Miller beer cups while running and I'm pretty sure paper is more environmentally friendly. :-)

The spectators were excellent. I only gave them 3 of 5 stars due to numbers. This is a medium-town marathon, and you can't expect the crowd support that you get at NYC or Chicago. I appreciated the people with tables in front of their houses passing out orange slices and bananas.

Excellent race in 2008! I'll be back.
 

Kendall Black from Grand Prairie, TX (2/23/2008)
"this race is a winner" (about: 2008)

50+ previous marathons | 6+ Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 4


I enjoyed this marathon, despite the chaos in the first mile. I believe the criticisms of past years have been addressed and corrected. It was really nice to park free close to the start line. Sports drinks and gels were provided on the course. Packet pickup was provided on race morning, which saved me a trip to Ft. Worth the day before. There is a race for every category of runner: 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, and even a 50K ultra. I would recommend this race to anyone.
 

c. m. from ft worth (2/18/2008)
"Packet pick up sucks" (about: 2007)

6-10 previous marathons | 4-5 Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 1  FANS: 2


First of all I really like this race. Plenty of parking, no hassle to get to the starting line, great volunteers, free beer at the end. Only problem, and it is a big problem, is packet pickup. You can only pick up packets in downtown Ft. Worth at an outdoor tent, is the day before the race. This is a big hassle because the race is on a Saturday. Not only do you have to deal with Friday traffic, and finding a parking place; you also have to wait, wait, and wait to pick up your packets at the expo. Because it's totally not organized, and everybody from the 5K to the 10K to the 1/2 runners are picking up their packets. Let me tell you, the 5K and the 10K are huge. Just imagine everyone converging to a small expo tent; it was total chaos. That's the only improvement that this marathon needs. I will not run this race again, until they change.
 

C. C. from Minnesota (1/4/2008)
"DON'T DO IT!!!!" (about: 2007)

6-10 previous marathons | 2 Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 1  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 1


This race has a history of being bad. There are never enough fluids, especially at the end. The weather is always bad, and the hills are some of the worst in the state! There is never a pasta dinner, sometimes no expo, no spectators.... Just don't do it. If you would like to do a Texas Marathon, do Austin, Houston, or even White Rock.
 

a. j. from Lewisville, TX (5/29/2007)
"Hills mean hills" (about: 2007)

3 previous marathons | 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 3


The Cowtown Marathon does take you through some beautiful parts of Ft. Worth. However, brace yourself for the hills. There were a lot of them. Also, I noticed that the first one or two water stations had Gatorade, but probably the next 8 or so, only had water. At about mile 10, I started cramping, which I had not done in a very long. I do believe this was a direct result of the lack of Gatorade. I hope in the future that each water station contains Gatorade or some other sports drink. This was my third marathon, but my first Cowtown. Given the difficult course and lack of needed fluids, I probably will never run another Cowtown Marathon, even though I do live in the area.
 

J. B. from USA (5/24/2007)
"It was best thing in my life to do" (about: 2004)

First Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I had a blast running in this race.
 

B. R. from San Antonio, Texas (3/8/2007)
"This event is great! I loved every minute of it." (about: 2007)

2 previous marathons | 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I love Fort Worth. I was worried about the weather - for nothing. I enjoyed everything about this marathon: the course, the people, and the location of start and finish. I'll be back.... Oh, I loved and wore my "I'm back" T-shirt all day on Friday. That is a good touch. Save me a beer at the finish for 2008.
 

M. M. from Grapevine, Texas (3/4/2007)
"Great course; well organized/supported marathon!" (about: 2007)

First Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


This was my first marathon and because it is hilly in the second half it provided an additional, but welcome, challenge. It is is not a big marathon yet (fewer than 600 runners completed the marathon), making it a little lonely after the split between the half marathon and the marathon. Having run the Chicago Half Marathon recently, with more participants and a bigger spectator turnout, this was somewhat of a letdown but overall a very good and well-organized event. The people of Fort Worth and the support staff showed the true spirit of Texas and that made for a very enjoyable run - and more than made up for the lack of spectators in the second half.

Some of the residents in a few sections of the course actually showed their Texas hospitality by handing out fresh orange slices, bananas and even Tootsie Rolls! That was greatly appreciated. The aid stations were plentiful and well staffed. The bottled water was a real nice and welcome touch. The finisher's shirt and medal were exceptionaI; the weather, the wind not withstanding, was perfect. I will definitely run this marathon again next year (hopefully without the gale-like winds that battered the runners through the second half)!

Well done, Ft. Worth Cowtown, and see you next year!
 

Kevin Beam from N. Richland Hills,Tx (3/3/2007)
"Where was the sport drinks?" (about: 2007)

3 previous marathons | 3 Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 5


Great, scenic course! Inclines near the end on Lancaster St. and 7th Ave. are killers. Disappointed that they ran out of sporst drinks way too soon. Wasn't until I got to 11th mile that I found a station with sport drinks still available. I was forced to delay my start by 18 minutes after the gun, but it I shouldn't be penalized by stations not storing enough Gatorade. I passed a couple hundred by the time I got to mile 8, craving salts and electrolytes. Let's stock more for next year. OK?

The cheering crowds and residents who have their streets closed were great and cheered us on. Love the final leg through downtown.
 

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