This is my 4th Cowtown and plan to run it again next year. However, next time my water bottle will have more than just water. I was counting on drinking Gatorade the last half of the course, but to my surprise there was none found. Kudos to the Grapevine Runners Club for gaving me a cup when I needed it most. Thanks guys. Overall, I enjoyed the course. The last couple of miles are the most challenging.

I've run the Cowtown once and the relay once. The course is improved, but the traffic seemed tied in knots along University. I'm still not sure it's the best course. The water stops were good, but where was the Gatorade? Conventional wisdom encourages Gatorade every other water stop. I saw lots of people who could have used some Gu or food--especially those of us who are slower runners.

The crowd support was poor. There were some 'interesting' people such as the Irish dancers and the group in the park, but they were few and far between. I also was disappointed not to receive a finisher t-shirt. While Cowtown never has had them, a lot of marathons do provide finisher shirts. There was food at the end for the slower runners which has not always been the case. However, I did miss the atmosphere of the stockyards. It's a little less picturesque without it.

If you enjoy running, this is the race for you. You can kick back and enjoy the ride. If you enjoy the attention, then you may want to pass. There was less than 1000 runners and even less spectators. Fort Worth seems to be a simple town, with simple people, which makes for a very nice run. The people were great, and the course was beautiful.

The City of Fort Worth can do better than this. Great volunteers can't make up for poor race management and precious little support. A new course is a good start but the 'every man for himself' ideal doesn't cut it. Thanks for the support from the FWPD, FWFD, and all the volunteers.

This is the third time that I ran the Marathon Relay. I really felt sorry for those doing the entire marathon. There was no Powerade at any of the stations that I passed. I did the last leg of the marathon and people were really hurting. They could have used more food and something other than water at that point. Plus, some stations had plastic cups which make it even more difficult to drink out of. I have done several other marathon relays outside of FW and this one was one of the worst I have seen. When I get ready to do a full marathon, I will not choose the Cowtown. Hats off to all those that completed the entire marathon despite the lack of food and Powerade. I don't know how you did it!

The course was better than last year -- more scenic and interesting; however, the start was a bit of a disaster in that you took a hard left within 1/2 block of the starting line. Hopefully, this can be fixed... I must say that I do miss the finish at the Stockyards.

Everyone has pretty much nailed the big miss at the water stations -- if it had been as warm as last year, this would have been disasterous.

Lastly, the food was much better than last year.

Thanks for the improvements race organizers; please keep working to make it better. I love Ft. Worth so I'll be back again next year.

How does a marathon with Coca-Cola as the sponsor not have Powerade at the water stations? I ran this sorry excuse for a marathon and I can say that I will never be back. The whole time all I can think of is that this must be some sort of sick joke. The Cowtown Marathon does nothing more than provide a name for the 10K. After all, there isn't much appeal to 'Cowtown 10K'.

I really felt sorry for the volunteers. You could tell they really took a lot of pride in their city. Unfortunately the race organization really blew it and made the whole city look bad. I would even go as far as to put some of the blame on NBC5. After all, they were the main sponsor and did a very poor job of promoting the event to the city. I think they need to re-evaluate which local events they want to sponsor because the Cowtown Marathon is a losing proposition.

This was my fourth marathon and my first Cowtown Marathon and I really enjoyed the Cowtown. I have only read about the old course but the new course was challenging to me. Mile 24 and 25 had some hills and a 20 mph wind was right in your face. The marathon started before the other more populated races (5K and 10K) and most of the marathoners finished after the big crowd was gone. The course did have plenty of water on the course but no sports drink or gels. So, bring your own gels (most everybody does). This is a smaller marathon than the others that I've run (Dallas and Austin). However, it is very intimate and everyone was friendly. I thought the food after the marathon was great. I would definitely do this marathon again!

This was my first marathon. I was physically prepared, but was extremely disappointed that my fair city couldn't muster up anything besides water until Mile 18. I was fortunate since I was supplied GU by my loving husband at strategic points along the course... my running partner, however, (who prefers fruit/Gatorade for food) faired terribly after her initial food supply dwindled. We had both expected to find SOMETHING other than water at the fueling stations. (Although one group of misinformed folks were serving beer at mile 13 & 22...) The fans were extremely supportive (although few). Overall, (as much as I love my own city) I do not recommend this marathon unless you do well with JUST water.

The Cowtown Marathon is a great 10K that adds an un-supported marathon as an afterthought every year. New, different course? Yes. Water only? Yes. Chip timing? Heresay. The organizers follow a 26 year old format and aren't interested in change. Be cautious and use a 'crew' to support yourself (fluid, gels, etc) if you run this in '05.