I really enjoyed the race. For a small town, the crowd, the organization, the support and the post-run food were great. I do not really think the hills were as horrible as others commented. I will definitely run this marathon next year again.

This was my first time at Fort Worth, and I must say it was a nice little race. We went to the EXPO on Friday night, and I must say it was a really small expo, but it had quality stuff. You could buy essentials you forgot such as Gus and Clif Bars (I've been to some big-time expos where you couldn't buy simple things like that). They also had free beer. Picking up the packet was a breeze and the shirt designs are some of my favorites. My only real complaint is the lack of a solid information sheet in the packet. There was no sheet detailing where the start was, what time, where or how often water stops were and what type of sports drink was being provided. That simple addition would up my organization rating from 3 to 5 stars right there.

We were staying in one of the race hotels, so I cannot comment on race morning parking. There was a decent-sized line for bag check - not a terrible delay or anything. The course itself was mainly through nice neighborhoods, though some extra police protection in the neighborhoods would've been nice as a lot of the intersections weren't blocked off and there were a lot of angry drivers. The water stops were well manned and very frequent.

As for the mixed comments on the hills, it is all relative. If you are from a hilly area, I'm sure it's not bad at all, but I am a flat-lander, and I do qualify it as the most difficult course I've done. I thought it was a lot harder than Austin or the Big D in Dallas. I talked to some people from Little Rock, and their opinion was that it had some decent hills but not too bad, so it's all relative. My advice is: flat-landers, beware.

I need to clarify the 5 stars for spectators. I think there were about 10 spectators the whole race (not being sarcastic). However, ever spectator I came across had noisemakers, fruit, candy, water, etc. They were the most supportive, just genuinely nice people I've seen on any course. So it gets props for quality over quantity.

Now the best part for last: the beer. There was beer at mile 7, full cans of beer at mile 19 (thanks TCU!) and more beer at mile 22. Then there was beer at the finish. Having the hills eat my lunch and the hope of a sub-4-hour marathon long gone, I made sure to have a blast on the course drinking the beer and talking to the spectators - and it was a good time!

My first marathon was in Waco, and the hills at the end killed me. So I trained for hills this time, because I had heard this course was hilly. But aside from the gradual incline going up Seventh Street toward the end, I had no problems. Compared to Waco, it felt like I was flying, and I took more than 20 minutes off my time. I'd recommend this marathon.

This was my first, so I cannot really compare. Course was what I expected. Parking was easy in the morning and so was getting out. In some neighborhoods we were honked at by drivers wanting to go through! Not what I expected.

I was fairly nervous about this marathon - regarding the organization, weather, course, spectators, etc. from previous posts. All of that was laid to rest after I experienced one of the best marathons I've run in in a while. Packet pick up was very easy. The course was great, with its own Heartbreak Hill at the end (more like two hills). There were plenty of fluids, GU, and food on the course (and porta-johns). Nice finisher's medal and long-sleeve shirt (I like the shirt the best). Overall, a great place to run; I'll be back next year!

I heard it was hilly so I trained with some hills. They were not nearly as bad as some people are whining about. Packet pickup could use some work - I agree with the guy that said you can only pick up on Friday. Plenty of fluids all the way to the end. I will definitely be back. The spectators and police rocked!

Being local to the Ft. Worth area, and in training for Boston, I just had to give Cowtown a try. In the past I've run the shorter races - including the half in 2007. I had heard about how terrible the hills were, but thought it would be good training for Boston. So I ran it.

The weather was a little unusual for this time of year in Ft. Worth - in the past we've had rain and gail-force winds. This year was a little on the chilly side, but the winds were definitely not too bad this year. And NO RAIN!!! Woo hoo.

I enjoyed the course. The hills were a little challenging... and probably added a few minutes to my overall finish time, but they were nothing like those I ran in Waco. The last couple miles were the toughest... with a few good hills going back toward the finish area.

I thought the organization was exceptional this year - aid stations were well-stocked and plentiful (I finished in the top 10%, so I can't speak for how stocked they were for the mid to back packers) The finisher's medal and finisher's technical shirt are keepers! (Though I wouldn't have known about the finisher's shirts if my buddy had stumbled across them handing them out in a tent a little way from the finish line.... I'm sure a lot of marathon finisher's didn't get their shirts.)

One possible minor improvement - paper cups would have been better at aid stations. It's difficult to drink out of plastic Miller beer cups while running and I'm pretty sure paper is more environmentally friendly. :-)

The spectators were excellent. I only gave them 3 of 5 stars due to numbers. This is a medium-town marathon, and you can't expect the crowd support that you get at NYC or Chicago. I appreciated the people with tables in front of their houses passing out orange slices and bananas.

Excellent race in 2008! I'll be back.

I enjoyed this marathon, despite the chaos in the first mile. I believe the criticisms of past years have been addressed and corrected. It was really nice to park free close to the start line. Sports drinks and gels were provided on the course. Packet pickup was provided on race morning, which saved me a trip to Ft. Worth the day before. There is a race for every category of runner: 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, and even a 50K ultra. I would recommend this race to anyone.

First of all I really like this race. Plenty of parking, no hassle to get to the starting line, great volunteers, free beer at the end. Only problem, and it is a big problem, is packet pickup. You can only pick up packets in downtown Ft. Worth at an outdoor tent, is the day before the race. This is a big hassle because the race is on a Saturday. Not only do you have to deal with Friday traffic, and finding a parking place; you also have to wait, wait, and wait to pick up your packets at the expo. Because it's totally not organized, and everybody from the 5K to the 10K to the 1/2 runners are picking up their packets. Let me tell you, the 5K and the 10K are huge. Just imagine everyone converging to a small expo tent; it was total chaos. That's the only improvement that this marathon needs. I will not run this race again, until they change.

This race has a history of being bad. There are never enough fluids, especially at the end. The weather is always bad, and the hills are some of the worst in the state! There is never a pasta dinner, sometimes no expo, no spectators.... Just don't do it. If you would like to do a Texas Marathon, do Austin, Houston, or even White Rock.