I registered for the Cowtown almost as an experiment. I had the opportunity to get to Texas the weekend of the race, and decided to use the Cowtown as an opportunity to try some new things. New race-day breakfast, new in-race nutrition, new shorts, new sunglasses, and new shoes. Basically, I broke every rule of marathoning. But let's get to the review of the event.

First, let's talk expo. The Cowtown expo goes on Friday and Saturday and is held in the events center right by the start/finish line. This is relevant because bag check for the 5 and 10k were inside, but it also meant Sunday runners (Half, Full, Ultra) could sit inside before the start of the race.

I hit the expo after my shakeout run on Saturday morning. I watched the start of the 10k, and then headed inside to grab my stuff. And let me say, this was the greatest packet pickup experience I've ever had. Since it was early, and the races were going on, there were zero crowds at the expo. Zero. It was amazing. I could walk wherever I wanted, and look at whatever products and gear I wanted. If you've been to other large races and had to weave through throngs of people, you know how great this is. The only thing I didn't like (SUPER minor) was that the bib and shirts were at opposite sides of the exhibit hall. So if it was crowded and you wanted to make a quick getaway, that would have been impossible to do.

Fast forward to race morning. I can't comment too much on parking. I stayed at an AirBnB that was less than a half mile from the start line, so I walked it. Unlike on Saturday, the bag check was outside for Sunday runners, but it was very easy to use. We just had to zip tie (those were provided) our tag onto the race bag and give it to a volunteer. This might have been one of the best bag checks I've seen.

For the race itself, I was in Corral 1. I know a lot of races say they check bibs, but we've all been in races where folks bump themselves up a corral and that can create some early congestion. Not at Cowtown. They have multiple volunteers checking every single bib that tried to walk into the corral. I can honestly say I really appreciated this.

Side note, I ended up lining up right behind a female elite (they have different bibs) in the Corral. Intimidating? Yes. But still really neat.

The race course itself was really interesting, and was a great way to tour Fort Worth. We started off weaving through the Cultural District (which has some amazing restaurants by the way) before working our way into some parks before heading over to the Stockyards. The Stockyards are kind of the touristy part of the city, complete with brick roads for running.

From there we ascended out of the Stockyards into downtown Ft Worth. And by ascended, I mean we ran up a beast of a hill at Mile 9 to get into the city. The hill isn't overly steep, but it is literally the whole mile (and then some) so be ready to climb. We didn't spend too much time in the downtown area before going into the neighborhoods. Mile 13-23 are almost all in neighborhoods, and the TCU campus. You get a little secluded bike path time as well.

The last few miles runs you along the river trail before you turn back toward the finish. This is a weird comparison, but if you've ever run the Lincoln Marathon in Nebraska, this part has a very similar feel to the back half at Lincoln.

Overall, the crowd support at the Cowtown is excellent! While there are some solitary parts, there are folks watching and cheering you on for most of the race. Is it at the level of a big city race? No, but it has been the best crowd support I've seen in a smaller city marathon.

Oh, and the aid stations! Very good and VERY plentiful. Stations are about 1.5 miles apart, which I think is a bit excessive, but if the weather was hot, then it would have been great. The only complaint I have here, is that at some of the aid stations water was first and Gatorade at the back, then at some it was reversed. So we never know coming into the station which was which unless we asked a volunteer.

Now for the Swag. The participant shirt is honestly one of the ugliest race shirts I've ever received. I'm sure not everyone would agree with that, but a royal blue shirt with tie-dye side panels just doesn't do it for me. The tie-dye is too much! The finisher's shirt, however, is super nice; a plain red long sleeve. The cool thing here is that there are different finisher's shirts for the Half (purple), Full (red), and Ultra (green) so the race doesn't run into the issue of giving "Marathon Finisher" shirts to those who ran the half. I love having the actual race you ran on the shirt.

More importantly. This race had the literal best thing ever. You know how almost every marathon gives out those (in my opinion) worthless space blankets? Not the Cowtown. We got DISPOSABLE JACKETS. I mean, it feels like you're wearing a reusable grocery bag. But it's branded with the race and zips up. Basically, the Cowtown has given me the ultimate jacket to wear/throwaway before an early race. Every race should take Cowtown's lead and give these out.

Overall, there's a reason the Half, 10k, and 5k all make the BibRave 100 best in their categories. The race organizers at the Cowtown have their act together and out on a fantastic event. The race didn't go great for me (because remember I tried new everything) but this is a top notch event. Would return.