The Cowtown Marathon was the 57th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 62nd largest in 2022.
This year 4.3% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 5.9% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Cowtown Marathon the 309th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 305th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.43 ranks it as the 281st fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 21st fastest course in Texas.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Cowtown Marathon a PR Score of 98.43. This PR Score ranks it as the 220th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 19th fastest in Texas.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Cowtown Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 691 feet (210m) Min Elevation: 534 feet (162m)
I chose this particular marathon due to my granddaughter living near Ft. Worth, as I'm from NC, so it was a shot in the dark. I was pleasantly surprised with everything. It's a relatively small to mid size race that I believe was managed well. Before the '22 marathon, the area had freezing rain and horrible conditions, causing over a 1000 cancelled flights into DFW the Thursday before the expo and races. I was worried that they would cancel the race. I was so glad that they pushed forward and held everything almost as originally planned. Saying this to show how they try to make it happen and are not so quick to cancel.
As for the course, I enjoyed it. After running through the Stockyard area, my wife and I visited it the next day. It's a cool place. It's a little hilly, so prepare for some hills. But the overall course is really nice. City, park, and nice residential areas, with ample water stations, as well as residence handing out supplies from their lawns and road edge tables. That was nice!
Race Tips
As mentioned, prepare for hills if you're not use to hills. It's not terrible, but they're there!
We used The Cowtown hotel list, which put us pretty close to the race start and I believe that by mentioning the reason coming was for the marathon, was discounted some. I'd recommend using their hotel list.
DEL's review of 2019 Cowtown Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
Great all-around race. Water & nutrition every 1.5 miles, plus tons of local folks handing out bananas, gatorade, doughnuts, beer... Strong support from the community, very well organized. Not the fastest course ever, and the weather is anyone's guess, but 2019 was nearly perfect. 38* F at race start, maybe 45* by 10:00 AM. Clear skies but the wind did pick up a bit, maybe around 10-12 mph. Pretty easy to run in the shade, and you pass through the Historic Stockyards, Downtown Fort Worth, Magnolia, and some beautiful neighborhoods before the last 3 miles on the Trinity Trail (along the river).
Race Tips
More hills than you would expect, but they are typically short rollers. Many will mention the sharp incline at Mile 9 up to the Courthouse, but it's short and you have plenty of room to recover right after the crest. I would say the toughest part is 14-18, where you have a subtle but steady incline. Either bank some time early or save up and power through, but plan for it.
Parking is easy, lots of great places to eat/stay/see before and after the race. No race day packet pickup, but the expo is open until 7:00 PM Friday and Saturday.
Marty's review of 2019 Cowtown Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
The review of my performance would be terrible, but that is not due to the course or the race. The race support and the course itself are great. Varied terrain, a lot of parkland, beautiful homes, commercial districts, etc. Hills yes, and that has to be taken into consideration, but not the worst set of hills in the world.
They end by mile 16 so run conservative until then and you will be fine (I did not do that and that's the reason I didn't have a good race).
Race Tips
Like I said above, there are hills at approx. mile 9,10,11,15,16 that will wipe you out if you aren't paying attention. Be ready, run conservative and then let her rip after that.
Get there early to park. Like at least an hour early if not more.
CH's review of 2019 Cowtown Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
The Cowtown is a really great race that the city of Fort Worth and its residents support to the max. I did 2018 and now 2019 and neither disappointed. The course shows you the best of FTW - Stockyards, downtown, Magnolia/Near Southside/Fairmount, TCU (gorgeous homes over here), Tanglewood/Colonial Golf Course, and more. As others have said, the infamous Mile 9 hill is steep, but over relatively quickly and honestly not anything to worry about. The part to worry about is Mile 25 because you think it's in the bag and then BOOM! one more half mile hill - save up for this! Starting at Will Rogers Coliseum is great because it will be cold in the morning and you can stretch/warm up indoors while waiting for the 15min to race announcement. Downside is you're ending, tired and beat up, limping through cow corrals...and it smells like it! But I mean the race is called Cowtown.
Race Tips
While not a fast course here, you can earn a BQ if you're tactical. I got mine this year by following the 10-10-10 strategy: Went out with a pacer (3:00 group) for 10 miles, then in downtown, split and ran 10 seconds faster. Then with 10k to go (it's nice and flat here, as the hills are just ending), I gave it all I had left. I didn't really feel tired until Mile 25, which takes you up one last hill - it can be a heartbreaker if you don't save for it.
I live here, so my fiance and I drove in. Speaking of which, this is a great race to race chase, because it's a big loop that sill has a lot of open roads. I was able to meet her 3x during the race, which was super awesome. In 2018, I think we met 4-5x. If you're from out of town though, there's hotels everywhere so they're affordable and nearby - you could even stay in Dallas. Just know that the TRE train doesn't run on Sunday - so plan to drive.
Gus Mitchem's review of 2018 Cowtown Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
They had great corral discipline, allowing the faster runners to actually separate! There was access to indoor waiting area (out of the weather / flush toilets!) and the volunteers were very well trained, water stops were uniform and well attended.
Race Tips
Northern sections of the course can get desolate, with few spectators and not much scenery...the elevation can be deceiving crossing in and out of the riverbed a few times during the course makes for some decent "hills" for a north Texas race for sure.
Watch out for those antique brick streets through the stockyards !
