100 of anything is pretty epic in the grand scheme of things. I have had the pleasure of running my…read more100th marathon/ultra distance event here at the 2018 Cowtown marathon in Fort Worth Texas. Who could believe I would come this far and conquer this milestone with reckless abandon? Not even I could have predicted this.
After hearing rave reviews about the Cowtown marathon, I decided to place that one as my 100 and work my way towards it. In the end, I ran 6 marathons/ultras that year (2017) to set the stage for the grand milestone. I was working on my 50 States marathon journey - 2nd round, so returning to Texas was a treat. It was nice to see other cities in Texas, so running through Fort Worth was very nice and I can see why the Cowtown marathon was very nice and scenic. Once I knew I was going to rock Cowtown marathon in 2018, I registered sometime in March 2017 just to save on the registration fee. They have 5km and 10km race distances, as well as a half marathon and the marathon. For those of y'all who feel adventurous, they also have a 50k distance as well. 50km is basically a marathon plus 5 bonus miles. Fast forward to race weekend, where I drove into Fort Worth Texas from Houston brunch meet up with friends. I missed going to the expo, but had a friend of mine pick up my race packet. On race morning though, I got to see the expo inside while waiting for the race to start. It was basically in a medium sized expo in a large convention center hall.
The Cowtown marathon, half marathon, and ultra marathon attract thousands of runners and participants from almost all of the 50 states and around the world too. In 2018, the only US state that wasn't represented was Maine. I represented Hawaii, of course. During the later months of 2017, I exchanged emails with the administration of the Cowtown marathon, hoping that I could possibly get a special bib number 100. I was assured that I would get it, per the race director, but as it turned out, I didn't get it when I looked up my race information a week before the race and that got me disappointed. Still, it would have been a good souvenir when all was said and done. I guess they couldn't do anything about it or they didn't care. The race start and finish was held at the Will Rogers Memorial Center / Amon G Carter Exhibition Center near W. Lancaster Avenue in downtown Fort Worth. The marathon course was basically a big loop, with scenic points through the historic stockyards, the TCU campus, a few miles through city parks in the later miles, and many miles along the urban corridor of Fort Worth. The weather on race day was ideally perfect, starting in the low 40's F, but rose to upper 60's mid day.
I didn't really enjoy the corral system on race morning though. We waited 15 minutes after the gun to go off and we were finally on our way. I did enjoy hanging out with friends and talking about race strategy though before getting my mind right for the day's activity. It was my 100th marathon/ultra attempt and I was trying to enjoy every moment of it. The first few miles were to get my intitall footing. I was trying to overcome a cold/flu on race morning, so I had to endure and enjoy 26.2 miles the hard way. It was a definite challenge, but I crossed every mile and saw every mile marker. These mile markers kept me from going nuts and it was always "one foot in front of the other" mantra, which kept me going. I did enjoy the sites and sounds of race morning. The aid stations were stocked with water and Gatorade. Thank you to the volunteers at the aid stations! There were other aid stations put on by area residents. Thanks to them for the (warm) shots of tequilla at mile 11 and a cold can of beer at mile 19. Those hit the spot and definitely helped me re-energized for the miles ahead. The Cowtown marathon, half marathon, and ultra event is basically an all road race event. The time limit, per the race website is 7 1/2 hours, but they wait for the last runners (providing that they are close enough and moving forward to the finish line). I enjoyed my time here at the 2018 Cowtown marathon and would definitely love to recommend running here in the heart of Fort Worth Texas. Race morning is typically the last Sunday in February. Not too cold, but not too hot either for running. If you want to run your first marathon or come to pick up Texas for your marathon or half marathon state, consider running Cowtown marathon
The most memorable experience from this event is when I was approaching the finish line. About 50 yards away in the finishing chute, the race announcer told everyone via the PA system, that it was my 100th marathon today and that made me pick up the pace and cross the finish line. They also announced that I was from Honolulu, HI, which was always special too. I guess you just had to be there. 5.0 stars for the overall experience. Definitely the best time ever.
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