Why two Navy veterans renewed their vows after finishing the 2025 Cowtown Marathon
A marathon isn’t your typical locale for a vow renewal, however, that didn’t stop two military veterans from renewing their vows after they joined approximately 26,000 runners who descended on Fort Worth for the 2025 Cowtown Marathon.
Chad and Paula Ludwick ran the half marathon on Sunday, finishing with a time of 3:55:03. Afterward, the duo explained why the Cowtown Marathon was the perfect place to renew their vows.
“Well, so the past few years, the Cowtown has been a special place for me,” Paula Ludwick said. “It was the first 5k I ran after focusing on getting healthy again ... and it’s always fallen on our anniversary weekend, so we always make a weekend of it. Last year, when we realized it was going to be on our anniversary, I asked him ...’Why don’t we do the half together and renew our vows afterward?’ And his answer was ‘okay, sure,’ thinking I wouldn’t take them seriously and here we are.”
The ceremony lasted approximately 10 minutes as the couple was joined by friends and family members who made the trip to the Will Rodgers Complex for the celebration.
Paula, a nurse at Baylor Scott and White, explained how her job has led her to want to give back.
“That’s how I learned about Cowtown, working there and seeing how they always sponsor it,” she said. “It’s been very important to me and I see how ... [Cowtown Marathon] gets involved in the community and helps children’s programs and different outreach programs to promote fitness. That’s really important, because so many schools don’t have the funding for PE and stuff like that. So, you know, I’m always happy to get involved with the Cowtown to see, like just to help give back to the community.”
Service is important for Ludwicks, both former members of the U.S. Navy, and they explained the impact that the organization had on their lives.
“If we didn’t have the Navy, we wouldn’t have met, I mean, we met in the Navy. We got married while we were in the Navy. Our officiant is one of our best friends, godmother to all of our children. So wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.
Big weekend for the city
Mayor Mattie Parker, who also ran last year’s marathon, talked about what this weekend means to the city.
“I was able to PR (personal record), which is pretty great, the weather was perfect,” said Parker. “The best part, though, is to run the city and see how much core support there is. People are making crazy signs, their kids are out there, they’re cheering and yelling and of course, when you come up at North Main Bridge, and it’s all the Gold Star families and flags. It’s pretty special.”
Parker praised the marathon’s organizing committee for turning the Cowtown Marathon into an international event.
On Saturday and Sunday, 18 runners from Fort Worth’s sister city, Nimes, France, participated and Parker credited Fort Worth as being one of the best cities for support while running a marathon as a reason it attracts runners inside and outside of the United States.
That support was a frequent comment by the event winners especially those not from Fort Worth.
Lauren Kelly, from Philadelphia, decided to run the marathon because of her sister, who had a work event in the area and won the marathon with a time of 2:52:51. Despite her calling it one of the more difficult marathons because of the hilly terrain, she said the energy and vibes were amazing.
The champions
Jarrett Kirk, from Flower Mound, won the men’s marathon finishing in 2:26:00 in his first Cowtown Marathon. Kirk was just focused on having fun and said he was shocked by how good the music was throughout his run.
Maxwell Murphy, from Fort Worth, and the day’s first finisher in the half marathon ( 1:08:47) said the crowd pumped him up during his run, while Jennifer Pope running in her third Cowtown Marathon ran her slowest time in the event yet (1:18:59), but surprised herself still pulling out the victory.
Kristen Beiza is an avid runner who competed in her first ultra-marathon, won (4:04:52) and vowed to return next year and bring her husband.
Aledo resident Brent Williams won the men’s ultra-marathon (3:19:14) and said he was using the race as preparation for the Boston Marathon.
After setting her new personal record of 1:49:30 in the half marathon, Parker said she would be back running again in Cowtown next year.
“I’ll be here next year. It’s humbling to get to be out here and see your city show up like this,” said Parker, “To work hard and perform well, and again God thank you for the beautiful weather.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM.
