My marathons

Cowtown Marathon

07:007:00 AM Fort Worth
Fort Worth Stockyards
Fort Worth Stockyards. Photograph by Mark Fisher, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The organiser's route description starts and finishes at Will Rogers Memorial Center and passes the Stockyards, Main Street, TCU, the Fort Worth Zoo and Trinity Park.

The course in short 2 lines
  • From the Stockyards to the zoo and Trinity ParkNorth to the Stockyards, south down Main Street, TCU, Hogan's Alley, then back along the Trinity River.
  • Water every 1.5 miles and a 7.5-hour limitThe marathon has a 7.5-hour time frame, with sag vehicles behind the last runners.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
Whole courseLandmarkFrom the Stockyards to the zoo and Trinity ParkNorth to the Stockyards, south down Main Street, TCU, Hogan's Alley, then back along the Trinity River.

The organiser describes the course as starting at Will Rogers Memorial Center, home of the Stock Show and Rodeo, in the Cultural District. It turns north to the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards, then heads south past Joe T. Garcia’s and down Main Street into downtown, and veers west through the Near Southside.

From there it turns south to the TCU campus, goes around Bluebonnet Circle and along the Foster Park Trail, and heads north past Hogan’s Alley at the Colonial Country Club and the Fort Worth Zoo. The last section follows the Trinity River into Trinity Park, and the finish is back at Will Rogers.

Sourced

Whole courseTacticsWater every 1.5 miles and a 7.5-hour limitThe marathon has a 7.5-hour time frame, with sag vehicles behind the last runners.

Cowtown lists water stops every 1.5 miles on all course distances, with cups and refill stations for runners who carry bottles or wear hydration vests. Gatorade is on all courses, and e-Gel is the official on-course gel for the half, full and ultra marathons. The organiser also puts entertainment every 1 to 1.5 miles along the route.

For the full marathon the organiser asks runners to weigh a 7.5-hour time frame. Sag vehicles trail the marathoners and give rides back to the start and finish area, and there is no support on the course after the 7.5 hours.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Fort Worth, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
cut-off
7:30 h

Race week

Timetable

Before race week 1 key date

  1. 26 Feb 2027 · 23:5911:59 PM

    Online registration deadline Unless a distance reaches capacity first, in which case it closes earlier. On-site registration at the expo on Friday and Saturday if space allows.

Sunday 28 February Race day

  1. 07:007:00 AM

    Marathon start Will Rogers Memorial Center, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. Runners start in assigned corrals; a runner can move back to a later corral but not forward.

  2. Time not published

    Course closes The organiser's time frame for the marathon is 7.5 hours; sag vehicles trail the marathoners and there is no support on the course after that. 7:30 limit: 10:39/km for 42.195 km7:30 limit: 17:09/mi for 26.2 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Fort Worth time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Fort Worth time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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