This past Sunday, I had the awesome experience of running the Cowtown Half marathon! The Cowtown is one of the largest multi-event races in the state of Texas and was voted favorite marathon by Competitor Magazine readers in 2015. It’s held in Ft. Worth, Texas, which is about 30-40 minutes outside of Dallas. Not only did I get to complete my 7th half marathon, I ran it with a group of my running friends who are more like family. Check out my Cowtown Marathon recap and experience how I hang with my running crew.
The Cowtown Marathon Recap
Travel Information to the Cowtown Marathon
I live in Dallas so I didn’t travel per say to the race. I wanted to offer tips since I do live in the city and in case folks want to travel here.
- The closet airport to Ft. Worth is DFW airport.
- Love field airport is at least a 30-40 minute ride away. That can be a pretty expensive uber for you so I highly suggest renting a car for the weekend. The city doesn’t have the best public transportation for most travelers so this is my cheaper and best option for most.
I stay in Dallas and wished I would have gotten a hotel just to stay in Ft.Worth. I had my friends in town for the weekend so I was basically an uber. Tim is a dear friend and like a running brother of mine that is on the board of the St. Louis Marathon and is a Running Influencer there. Yal know I got manners and southern hospital so I picked him up from Love Field airport and showed him around Dallas.
The City – Funky Town
Ft. Worth is unique and folks that live there love, Love, LOVE the city. There is a lot to see and do in Ft. Worth but it’s very different than Dallas. You can expect cowboy boots, trailers and western stores every few miles in Ft. Worth. They are the true Western Texan over there. There is a lot to see in Ft. Worth so take advantage of walking around the various sections of the city such as Magnolia, Fairmont and Sundance.
Places to Eat in Ft. Worth
In Dallas/ Ft. Worth, we love to eat on a good patio. Patio’ing is a thing around here so you have a million options with great Southern food, craft and local beer, strong cocktails, good service and more in the warm weather. Here are a few of my favorites in Ft. Worth.
- Heim BBQ: If you can, get there early or be prepared to stand for a bit. This BBQ joint always has a line but it’s worth the wait. Nothing like some good old fashion Texas BBQ.
- Istanbul Bar & Grill: I am a big fan of Mediterranean food. Their baba ghanoush, and gyros are perfect anytime of the day. This location has a bar so you can grab a tasty beverage if you desire as well.
- Mash’d: If you can go for brunch, go!! They have a 14inch pancake called the “Manhole cover pancake,” which is stuffed with blueberries butterscotch chips. Yeah! It’s that serious there. Oh should I also mention the mixology bar and they serve moonshine??!!
- Gus’s Fried Chicken: It’s a Memphis-based spicy fried chicken joint that has juicy fried chicken and the best sweet tea ever!
- Nammi at the Farmers Market: Head over the Farmers Market and roam around. When you do, stop at my favorite food truck Nammi, which serves Vietnamese food. My favorite dish is always their veggie tofu tacos and basil lemonade.
- Tom Thumb off 7th Street: Sounds really crazy to put this on here but this Tom Thumb is like a restaurant. You can grab a drink at the bar and watch a game, order pho, pickup toilet paper and so much more in one store. This location is also right by a lot of other restaurants as well.
Weekend Socials With My Running Family
Friday Night
Since Tim was in town, we ended up having a happy hour for him and my local running groups We Run Things and Pint Striders. Founder’s beer came out and gave some swag while chatting about a few local things with me. After that, we enjoyed beer, laughter and good times through the night. Beer is rather normal for us runners to drink as it’s technically just a bunch of carbs and we need it run.
Saturday Night
Saturday I opted to ditch the 5k and go for a walk with Tim and my other running friend Alex. We ended up wakling to the the Alamo Draft House, which isn’t to far from house, to go see Black Panther. I probably have seen this movie at least 5 times now and can’t stop still! Also this is my favorite movie theater and they had a great Black Panther food and beverage menu too!
After that we showered and ran to the Black Marathoners Pre-race dinner. It was great time to just meet folks from all over the country before we lace up for the following day. I had a great time meeting al to of fellow runners who live in Atlanta and I will be seeing again in October at the Baltimore Running Festival.
The Cowtown Marathon
Race day started bright and early at 4:45AM and it was greatness. I made it there at 6am and was able to get a close free parking space and wait inside in the warm building. I didn’t start until about 7:30 because I switched to a later corral but let me say, all 9,100 of us truly enjoyed the morning jams and tunes while waiting. I always have a mantra song of each race, so for this race, Anita Ward’s Ring my Bell was it!
The race was everything! This has been one of my favorite races and I truly mean it. It was really cool to start the race with my running Coach Tony Reed. While I work with him on the board, this is the firs time I have had a true running coach and boy is he tough! However, since working with him each month I do see improvements. This was his 20th cowtown and my first of what I hope to be many more.
There was so much crowd support and they were there every half mile but these folks were TRUE SUPPORTERS! While I am in Ft. Worth often, I saw the city in a different light while running. My favorite parts of the race was going through the stockyards although I hated running on the cobblestone. Also, there are tons of cowboys and western stuff during the race. The race has one major hill on it but it also ends up hill, which killed me in the end!
Finishing & Post-Race Party
It was a rare and nice treat to see my family out but they were! (Thank Mom & Xavier!). I was also covering the race for media so I actually had to go back and video, take pictures and such of other. With me, my work is never completed. But before I got a little celebration on with some my post-race champagne tradition thanks to Barefoot being sponsors. They had an entire party trailer right next to the DJ and boy did we have fun.
I connected with family and waited for the rest of my friends who were running too. It was great and honestly I would do this race again each year. I just loved it so much! After this, I kicked back with the crew over some wings, drinks and French fries until the late hours of the day. We had a blast! It was the perfect runners weekend.
Thank You!
- Major thanks to Jeremy Stewart of 52 Visuals. He was our Visual Capture Chief for the weekend. Without his eyes behind the lens I wouldn’t have half these pictures.
- Brooks Running: I lost some weight and most of my workout clothes don’t really fit. So Brooks hooked me up with some new gear for the weekend. Below is a list of what I wore.. I will do a operate post of my running attire. Brooks Juno Bra, Ghost Short sleeve & capris, GTS Adrenaline, Run Happy Visor.
- The Cowtown Marathon Staff: For an awesome race and assistance.
