Fort Worth welcomes back thousands of runners for return of the Cowtown Marathon
The annual Cowtown Marathon, which saw format changes and a three-month delay last year due to COVID-19 concerns, is back home in its usual time slot.
Over 15,000 individuals planned to participate in the weekend’s races, which returned to Fort Worth on Friday for its 44th year. People from all over the country, and even internationally, found their way to the Will Rogers Memorial Center to participate in Saturday’s events, which consisted of a 5K and 10K run.
“Especially coming off COVID, this is to get to some level of normalcy, but also, this race always brings people together, which is really special,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker told the Star-Telegram. “Forty-eight of the 50 states are being represented, which is pretty phenomenal, and four different countries. … [The marathon] is a challenge, but still really special and to just bring people together, that’s the most important part and you’re seeing that today in full force.”
Parker noted that her favorite part of the marathon, besides the community aspect, was seeing all the different types of runners, whether they be elite, those looking to establish a personal best, some wanting to try a new challenge or others who just wanted to walk to participate.
One of this year’s new participants was Tina Rogers, 67, of Fort Worth, who, dressed in a Wonder Woman bodysuit and a patch on her arm that read “for Skip,” ran in the race in honor of her husband, who died four years ago.
“He loved the Cowtown,” Rogers said. “When he was in ICU, we were having one of those freak snowstorms and he saw this woman in a long red coat, and he said, ‘Do you see Wonder Woman?’ and I said, ‘Yes I do.’”
Rogers said she planned to participate in the 10K since her husband died, but she needed to prepare. She was ready last year, but then some of races were bumped from late February to late May, and the full marathon was turned into a virtual race. But after seven months of training by running around her neighborhood, Rogers said that this “was just the perfect year.
“It helped having those rah-rah people on the side and they end up cheering you on,” Rogers said. “It gave me a burst of energy.”
Others, like friends Leslie Burke, of Mansfield, and Elizabeth Northern, a Fort Worth native, have been participating in the run for over a decade.
“Every time you do Cowtown, you learn a little more,” Burke said. “It pays off to keep repeating and keep coming back. … They give you good snacks and good medals, and it makes [the race] easier because you know what to expect versus if you go to a different race.”
Both women, like Parker, said their favorite part is having all the support from the crowd.
“There’s some people I haven’t seen until I get on the start line,” Burke said. “I live in Mansfield, so I run with a different group and to see fellow runners that I’ve known for a long time, in a race, means a lot.”
The pair of friends were just some of the thousands who have made participating an annual tradition.
Angela Diaz, 15, was joined by her father, Joe, and her 12-year-old sister, in what was her fifth Cowtown race.
“We just wake up every morning around 6:30 a.m. and just go run up some hills on Ranch View,” Diaz said, adding that daily runs not only helped train for the marathon, but also participating on a local track team.
For her dad, it wasn’t so second nature, but he enjoyed the challenge.
“[My favorite part] is that it’s a family thing,” Joe Diaz said. “But also, it’s a thing that you’re competing against yourself compared to when you play in a team.”
The Cowtown Marathon will continue Sunday with a half marathon, Healthy Hig Full Relay, full marathon and ultra marathon.
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 12:03 PM.
