I just ran the 2007 CowTown Marathon, and what a surprise it was. The weather was perfect, the course was scenic and mostly flat at advertised, the organization was first rate, and the finisher's rewards were unique and top quality. I fell just short of a PR and BQ time, but this race is DEFINITELY one that you want to consider for both. My THANKS to Rich and all his staff for a wonderful experience - keep up the good work. I will certainly be back next year and I urge you to give it a try.

This was a nice, flat-as-promised marathon with nice weather. Some issues, though, were - for one - the lack of gel at mile 17 (even though gel was promised). There was an anouncement this year that rates will increase, but my question is for what? More bread rolls at the finish? Don't get me wrong - it's a good, fast course. But wow, you'd think at least having the race date on the "finisher's cowbell" would be nice. Also, this is Sacramento. It seems there is much more to incorporate in showing off this city than just a southern area two-time tour. I just think raising prices of this marathon out-prices what you get for it in comparison to what is offered at CIM. It is still a nice marathon, however.

I ran the 1/2 marathon this year. Last year I ran the marathon course. It is a double-loop, not a bad course, very flat and the weather was perfect. Doing the marathon can be boring. Cowbell medals are cool.

I ran the half, last year I ran whole (twice around is pretty boring). The half was great, and the weather was perfect.

This was my 17th marathon and I was pleasantly surprised by the scenery despite seeing it twice (double loop), outstanding enthusiastic volunteer support for the slow (cow)pokes like myself, and the traffic support (the traffic cones stayed up throughout the time of cut-off!). I loved the medals (cowbells), too! During the 2nd loop, the volunteer support dropped significantly but the ones who stayed out there were a real morale booster. I got concerned about getting fluids for a long stretch but the wonderful cooler weather made it bearable. If it was my first marathon, I would have been disappointed but I felt okay knowing by experience I could finish feeling strong. Great job on the 2nd Cowtown Marathon!

A good starter marathon. Course was relatively flat. Well organized. Need more porta-johns at first aid station. I waited almost seven minutes at the first stop where there was only one porta-john.

I was impressed by the beautiful flat course through shady neighborhoods with large trees. The spectators were amazingly cheerful (at least for the half-marathoners) with fully stocked aid stations that seemed to be at every mile. The tech tee and the cowbell finisher's medal were also cool! I'll hopefully be back next year.

The Sacramento CowTown Marathon is a wonderful smaller marathon with some of the big marathon features. Features like water and replenishment drink as promised, gels fairly frequently, easy access for spectators, and attentive volunteers.
The course is a 13.1-mile loop, which was helpful for knowing what to expect the second time around and actually having a strategy and the chance to 'negative split' a course. The CowTown theme was fun and the medal is unique. So, dollar for dollar this race is a value - add it to your fall race list.

Course was flat as promised, lot of turns but well marked. Rather lonely for the 2nd loop of the marathon. Very well organized, with traffic control at all intersections, well stocked aid stations with Cytomax, water and gels, and excellent finish-line festival.

I ran this marathon last year as well and added comments. This year it was a much bigger event and even better. They changed the course for the better, except that now it includes a railroad crossing. There were no trains; I am not sure if there ever are, but it would be a bummer if one had to wait. Temperature was nice, warm, not too hot, but sunny with some clouds. I, for one, prefer warmer weather, so this was great. They had more music and more participants than last year. Cytomax/water every mile or so and cookies near the end. More parking than last year but still not enough porta-johns. Bagels, fruit, brown cow yogurt (yummy) all available post-race. Will do it again. Not that many spectators but lots of half-marathoners to cheer you on. Too bad they did not have enough CoolMax shirts.