You could tell the organizers tried hard with cops/volunteers at every one of hundreds of intersections. Maybe it was the rain or I might be blind (ha!) but somehow I got off course at ~17.5 miles. I was very isolated in 4th place with nobody within 2 minutes front or back. There was a series of hard turns with several people directing me this way and that and all of the sudden I'm running down a lonely street listening for the ghost-town whistle of an old cowboy flick. When I finally rejoined the course, I had plenty of time on the jog back downtown to enjoy the pretty scenery along the Trinity River, ha!

With 5 races on the same day (marathon, half marathon, 10K and two 5K's) the organizers need to decide if they want the marathon to be a top-notch marathon or a mediocre marathon as it is now. I was extremely disappointed that Cowtown went the cheap route with "TEKCHIP" (a small computer chip on the back of your race bib) timing instead of ChampionChip timing. It doesn't record "chip times" - only gun time and your finish time, so if you want to record your own personal time you have to do it yourself with a watch. Their reasoning is "the USAT&F rules only recognize gun starts as official start times currently anyway" (so you're out of luck if it takes you 5 minutes to cross the starting line after the gun goes off). In my experience, most runners care about their PR's, not the "official time."

I had a jacket on (due to rain) and even though I unzipped it prior to crossing the finish line my chip time still didn't get recorded (at least I got the finisher's medal to show I really did finish). They supposedly made over 100 improvements to the marathon for this year but it is still a mediocre marathon. I almost got hit by a car when an overzealous policeman decided to let some cars through an intersection in front of a group of runners. If you want to run a good marathon in the January/February timeframe go with the Austin or Houston marathons.

I had heard complaints about Cowtown for years, so I didn't have high expectations. I found it to be a very pretty course with some of the friendliest people around, especially the police officers at the intersections. The food at the end was great. However, it is inexcusable to run out of sports drink, and to advertise chip timing when it's not 'really' chip timing is deceptive and was a huge disappointment. Just fix a few things, and you'll have a good marathon! I'll be back, but I'll know what to expect.

This was marathon #5 of the Texas Marathon Challenge for me, and it was the first time I'd run the new course. Compared to the course that used to start at the Stockyards, it was much, much better! I used to absolutely dread the long stretches through Trinity Park and along the river at the end. Talk about no spectators! The race volunteers were extremely nice and helpful. I didn't like the chip that didn't allow for the start, but I will definitely be back!

The course is a fine, somewhat hilly course. The rain highlighted some of the spots with poor drainage but it wasn't anything particularly bad.

At a five hour pace there were long stretches with no more than a handful of fans. At the aid stations, the finish line, and a few locations along the way the fans were appropriately enthusiastic. Everywhere else it was lonely.

And I have no complaints about the organization.

This is a Saturday marathon and so there's a lot more traffic than you would see on a Sunday morning marathon. There are quite a few police directing traffic on all the major intersections. The problem comes up with all the secondary streets and driveways. Since the marathon shares the road with the cars, there were several places where the drivers were trying to drive through the racers. No amount of police coverage can stop a truly obnoxious driver who wants to turn into that driveway right now. Perhaps the worst was the truck load of Shriners who decided they needed to drive across the start line staging area through the mass of waiting racers.

This was the fifth of five marathons completed for the Texas Marathon Challenge. I very much enjoyed every minute of the trip. The race organization was splendid as was the city of Ft. Worth and those who supported the race. Much less expensive than several of the other marathons!

This was my first time to do something like this. I can say with confidence that I will incorporate this experience as part of a lifestyle. Being around a huge crowd like that gave me an overwhelming feeling of joy and motivation. Thank you!

This being my first marathon, I can't compare it with others. The weather was perfect with clouds and 50 degree weather. The course did have some hills at the end, but they provided a challenge. The fans were very supportive. It was a great first marathon.

This was my 28th marathon. First time doing Cowtown. The support was very good. The course was really beautiful! I really liked it. But the chips...it was the only bad thing and it was the worst part of all worlds. It gave you your finishing time exactly & totally ignored the starting time! Regardless, I recommend it! There were lots of friendly people, but heck, all us Texans are!

Ran out of Powerade by mile 2, ran out of blankets and medals for finishers in the half, ugly, hilly course. Austin and White Rock rule compared to this. Where does our entry fee go????