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☰
Cowtown Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Cowtown Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 3.7 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 184 [displaying comments 41 to 51]
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D. G. from Cornwall, UK.
(3/8/2011)
"hot" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 My thirteenth marathon and I'm glad I came to Fort Worth. There is a daily service on BA from London LHR to DFW, so no excuses from my British compatriots for putting this one off. The National Guard and local police are out in force, and they need to be because the road closures and marshaling are phenomenal! It's not the most glamorous town, but they all come out in force to encourage the runners. I am informed that this year was a vast improvement on 2010 due to the staging of the lesser runs on Saturday, which allowed spouses and children to run on Saturday and then cheer for us on Sunday. Great rodeo show and theater the day before, and a real man's t-bone afterwards; I may return from the UK in 2012 ! | |
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J. A. from oakland, calif.
(3/5/2011)
"Good, but can be improved." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I ran the 10K on Saturday so I didn't participate in the big show on Sunday. However... let's talk about the expo. Packets weren't organized by last name, but by bib number. I've been to lots of expos in the past 33 years of running and never has it been by number. Really annoying. As far as the race, the footing was poor because of potholes and breaks in the pavement. That said, splits, aid stations, and safety were just fine. How about leaving the race area? Well, now, that's a story. The 10K started at 7, while the 5K started at 8:15. We used one of the suggested parking areas which was in the middle of the 5K loop. Guess what? We were TRAPPED in the 5K! We don't live in Fort Worth so we don't know all the tricks. This race does have lots and lots of potential. | |
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j. v. from The Great State of Texas
(3/1/2011)
"I still love Cowtown... number 2 in Texas" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 What makes a Texas marathon? Great finisher's shirt. Hot food. Ice cream. Unlimited beer. Cowtown is probably my second-favorite Texas marathon. This year Cowtown had a lot of changes that may remove them from being a "Texas Marathon" soon. They limited the beer - ran out of beer, too - heck, they were out of ice cream and beer by the time I finished, but I was out there a LONG time on the ultra. I run the ultra and get everything most years... I love Cowtown!!! This year just did not work that well.... The new course was great! All my friends, and my wife, disagree with me and hated it. Go figure. We ran most of the last course backwards... sort of interesting. I think that it was WAY harder than the last course despite the elevation comparison chart that they have been bragging about for the last year. It was a tough course with several discouraging hills. The neighborhoods were "full" of spectators relative to the old courses. I saw more spectators this year than in the last 5 years combined. You still reading? Here are the bad things about the current Cowtown: no race-day registration. No big deal, but a huge change. No race-day packet pickup; now that hurts for us locals who don't live in Ft. Worth - it sucks actually! The new location made for a traffic tie-up getting in. There has never been traffic and the race has been large for the last few years. Running the course I saw that the race had stopped traffic so badly that they had turned off their motors... so the racers were not the only ones who were gridlocked. They HAVE to fix this... very bad change. I liked the new route, but the climbs seemed way worse than on the previous routes despite printed course profiles to the contrary (have you ever run a race where the course profile felt like the race, or vice versa??? I haven't!). The walk to get your shirt was stupid. I did not check a bag, but I don't remember seeing that after the race. I saw where it was before the race... but I am not sure where we finished relative to the start (I was lost). I hate change... but overall this change has promise. I still recommend this race... it is a good event! | |
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L. M. from Arlington, TX
(3/1/2011)
"Not so sure about the new course" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I understand the need to move to the Stock Show so that the race could grow, but I'm not so crazy about the new course. While most commenters seemed to like it, I much prefer the old one. As a veteran of previous races starting both at the Stockyards and Sundance Square, something was missing this time. I miss the cruise through the high-end neighborhoods up north, Botanic Gardens and other locations, which made for a series of interesting scene changes. I do not miss Camp Bowie - good riddance to the bricks. And like White Rock, shifting locations reveals the need to fine tune how things are done, which I'm sure will be done before next year. Just my two cents. | |
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c. R. from Fort Worth, Tx
(2/28/2011)
"liked the new course but..." (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Garmin had the course as a half-mile long. But that's ok; I did the Big Bend 50K and it came in a half-mile short, so it averaged out in the end. It had more elevation change than last year. That's ok too; I don't mind the hills. Be careful if you don't understand what 90% humidity along with a 70-degree start temperature and rolling hills all in the same marathon will do to your legs. Learn to adjust your pace and you will do fine. My complaints: keep the marathon a marathon and move the half marathoners with the 5K and 10K runners - they always consume all the fluids in the early stages of the run. Who came up with the idea to make a distance challenge out of picking up your finisher shirt after just running 26+ miles? They should have given another medal just for that. Other than that, it was Cowtown - not too small and too large of a marathon. | |
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J. S. from Nebraska
(2/28/2011)
"Extremely well supported course" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 With aid stations every 1.5 miles, wet paper towels handed out at at least 4 different stations, porta-potties at every aid station, and plenty of volunteers and crowd support, this is an excellent marathon! The course went through some scenic areas of Ft. Worth - some small hills but nothing too serious. Very good communication with the race directors, too. They were fast to e-mail back or respond on their Facebook page. Thank you! I will recommend this marathon to my friends. | |
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T. T. from Arkansas
(2/28/2011)
"Nice course; disappointing logistics" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 For a large marathon that has been a staple for years, the organizers surprisingly dropped the ball in several aspects. From the totally disorganized corral start, to the inadequate water stops the first few miles, to the very confusing and disappointing post-race food and organization, it just seems that no one had thought everything through. | |
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A. H. from West Texas
(5/21/2010)
"My first half and a great experience!" (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first ever half marathon and I REALLY enjoyed myself. The half marathon course itself was pretty. We ran through older and newer neighborhoods and along a golf course. It was hillier than what I expected, but I didn't mind it. The start was tough because we were all crammed in so tightly, but after I finally started the run, it thinned out pretty quickly. There were plenty of water stops and they had 3-4 porta-potties at each stop. I never stopped for the restroom though because the lines were so long and I didn't want to stop. The post-race food was AWESOME! I came out with a plastic bag full of good healthy foods and some junk food, which I chowed down on after the run! I loved the tech shirt too and I wear it often. I thought the expo was average in comparison to other major triathlon expos that I have been to. | |
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William Tichenor from Dallas, TX
(3/6/2010)
"1st Ultra, and really liked Ft. Worth" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Cowtown Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Ft. Worth is a gem. A tough course, but excellent organization and weather! Get a dirty love burger from The Love Shack afterwards! | |
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A. H. from Wylie, Texas
(3/4/2010)
"Disappointed after 2009" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Cowtown Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The 2009 marathon was great, so I expected this year to be just as good. The wave start was a complete mess. I'm not sure why they need the wave start with so few actual runners. The start is very crowded with all of the running options: 5K, 10K, half, full, ultra, kids' race. Then the finish is crowded as well. Lots of walkers in the way of runners. I don't mind the walkers, but walking four- or five-across the road is unnecessary. The course was similar this year, except for a few places. Crossing a four-lane, busy road is not ideal. A runner in front of me almost got hit by a car. Then a dump truck almost pulled out in front of me while running next to a building construction site. Hopefully all that will be addressed next year. I plan on being back. This year had great weather for a race that typically has lots of wind or cold rain. Plus I am now two years into the five-year medal series. |
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