Mon
Rest
Rest
4-Day Cowtown Marathon Training Plan
Fort Worth, TXFebruary 28, 2027
Four runs per week for 18 weeks: two easy runs, one midweek aerobic run, and one long run. The schedule stays fixed; the guidance below shows how to choose terrain, rehearse conditions, and prepare for the Cowtown Marathon course.
The Cowtown Marathon puts you on the brick streets of the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards at mile 6 and into a mile run in silence at mile 8. It's a single city loop out of the Will Rogers Memorial Center with 736 feet of climbing in it, which is more than most people expect from Fort Worth.
- Race day
- February 28, 2027
- 18-week window
- Around October 25, 2026
- Course
- Rolling Hills · Loop
- Peak week
- 40 miles
- Longest run
- 20 miles
Your complete Cowtown Marathon schedule
The 18-week window opens around October 25, 2026. Weeks one through 17 keep the normal Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday rhythm. Only race week moves so the marathon lands on its actual weekday. If the window has passed, do not skip ahead or cram missed mileage into the time left.
Open any week to see all seven days. Week 1 is open to start.
1Week 1Foundation · 15 mi
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Easy
3 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
6 mi long run, conversational effort
2Week 2Foundation · 17 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Easy
4 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
7 mi long run, conversational effort
3Week 3Recovery week · 15 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 20 min gentle mobility
Thu
Easy
3 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
6 mi long run, conversational effort
4Week 4Build · 19 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run + 4 relaxed strides
Sun
Long run
8 mi long run, conversational effort
5Week 5Build · 22 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
10 mi long run; practice fluids
6Week 6Recovery week · 18 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
4 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
8 mi long run, conversational effort
7Week 7Build · 25 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Quality
6 mi steady run; final 1 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
12 mi long run; practice fuel and fluids
8Week 8Recovery week · 23 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run + 4 relaxed strides
Sun
Long run
10 mi long run, conversational effort
9Week 9Build · 29 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Quality
7 mi steady run; middle 2 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
14 mi long run; use race-day fuel timing
10Week 10Recovery week · 24 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
5 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
11 mi long run, conversational effort
11Week 11Build · 32 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
5 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30–40 min easy cross-training
Thu
Quality
7 mi steady run; final 2 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
16 mi long run; rehearse fuel, fluids, and kit
12Week 12Recovery week · 26 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
6 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run + 4 relaxed strides
Sun
Long run
12 mi long run, conversational effort
13Week 13Peak week · 36 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
5 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Quality
8 mi steady run; middle 3 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
5 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
18 mi long run; full race-day fueling rehearsal
14Week 14Recovery week · 29 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
5 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 25 min gentle cross-training
Thu
Easy
6 mi relaxed aerobic run
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
14 mi long run, conversational effort
15Week 15Peak week · 40 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
6 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
30 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Quality
9 mi steady run; middle 4 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
5 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
20 mi long run; complete race-day rehearsal
16Week 16Taper · 26 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
4 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
25 min easy cross-training or mobility
Thu
Quality
6 mi relaxed run; 2 mi at planned marathon effort
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
4 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
12 mi long run, controlled effort
17Week 17Taper · 18 mi
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Cross-training
Rest or 20 min gentle mobility
Thu
Easy
4 mi relaxed run + 4 short strides
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
3 mi easy run
Sun
Long run
8 mi long run, conversational effort
18Week 18Taper · 8 mi + race
Mon
Rest
Rest
Tue
Easy
3 mi easy run
Wed
Rest
Rest or 15 min gentle mobility
Thu
Easy
3 mi easy run + 4 short strides
Fri
Rest
Rest
Sat
Easy
2 mi shakeout, or rest
Sun
Race
Marathon — 26.2 mi
This free plan is complete, fixed, and ready to use.
It begins at 15 miles per week, peaks at 40, and asks you to manage schedule changes and missed training yourself.
A Stride plan ranks from your running, then dates to race day.
Current mileage, recent longest run, marathon experience, goal, and available days decide which plans rank first.
How to use this plan for Cowtown Marathon
The mileage builds your engine. Your long-run route, pacing, fueling, and clothing rehearsals make that fitness specific to this race.
How to train for the Cowtown Marathon
Train for the Cowtown Marathon on rolling terrain, not flat roads. 736 feet of climbing spread around a city loop arrives in small repeated doses rather than as one named hill, and that's the pattern that quietly drains runners who did every long run on level ground. Practice holding effort steady while your pace swings 20 seconds either way.
Two specifics deserve their own sessions. First, the Stockyards bricks at mile 6: put some easy miles on uneven surfaces so your feet and ankles aren't meeting cobbled brick for the first time on race day. Second, the late rollers. Put your hilliest 4 miles at the end of a long run rather than the start, because Overton Park at mile 20 is where the whole day collects.
Then train the temperature swing. A late February race in Fort Worth starts around 47F and warms toward an average high near 64F, so what feels right in the corral will be wrong by the Blue Mile. Rehearse shedding layers mid run, and drink on a schedule rather than by thirst, since a cool 7:00 a.m. start hides how much you're actually losing.
Keep the plan honest. This free schedule contains no speedwork. Apply the course guidance through route choice and race rehearsal without turning easy days into extra workouts. If your goal calls for marathon-pace work, compare it with First Marathon Plus.
Match the terrain
Run part of your Cowtown Marathon long-run mileage on terrain that rises and falls. Hold effort steady on climbs, let pace change, and practice cresting without surging.
Rehearse race morning
Race morning in Fort Worth typically starts near 47F with humidity around 77%, clear skies and a light southerly, warming to an average high close to 64F. That's a seventeen degree swing across a race that starts at 7:00 a.m. and can run seven hours. Do some long runs that begin cold and finish warm so the clothing decision is one you've already made.
Prepare for the hard part
Overton Park at mile 20, after the accumulated rollers through TCU and Colonial have already taken more out of you than your splits suggest.
Check the starting line before you commit.
Beginner-friendly does not mean couch-to-marathon. Week one asks for four runs, 15 total miles, and a six-mile long run.
- Fifteen miles in week one is close to the volume you already handle.
- You can protect four run days most weeks, including a weekend long run.
- Your priority is a steady first-marathon build without speedwork.
- You can start around October 25, 2026 without forcing the early weeks.
Cowtown Marathon course facts
- Course
- Loop · Rolling Hills · Road/Pavement
- Elevation gain / loss
- 736 ft gain, 734 ft loss
- Highest / lowest point
- 691 ft / 534 ft
- Marathon finishers
- 2,134 in 2026 (mid-size field)
- Boston qualifier
- Certified Boston qualifying course
- Finishers running a qualifying time
- 2.5% in 2026
- Typical race morning
- 47°F at the start, 77% humidity, clear
- Race day high / low
- 64°F / 40°F on average
Cowtown Marathon questions, answered.
When should I start this 18-week Cowtown Marathon plan?
The 2027 Cowtown Marathon is scheduled for February 28, 2027, so the 18-week window opens around October 25, 2026. Weeks one through 17 keep the normal weekly rhythm and Sunday long run; only the final race week shifts to the event's actual weekday. If that date has already passed, do not compress 18 weeks of mileage into a shorter window.
How should I adapt the four-day plan for the Cowtown Marathon course?
Run part of your Cowtown Marathon long-run mileage on terrain that rises and falls. Hold effort steady on climbs, let pace change, and practice cresting without surging. Train for the Cowtown Marathon on rolling terrain, not flat roads. 736 feet of climbing spread around a city loop arrives in small repeated doses rather than as one named hill, and that's the pattern that quietly drains runners who did every long run on level ground. Practice holding effort steady while your pace swings 20 seconds either way.
Is four days a week enough to train for the Cowtown Marathon?
Four run days can be enough when 15 miles in week one is not a sudden jump and you can protect the long run most weeks. This schedule builds to a 40-mile peak and a 20-mile long run. A runner chasing an aggressive time or already supporting more volume may fit a higher-mileage plan better.
Is the Cowtown Marathon hilly?
It rolls. The Cowtown Marathon has about 736 feet of climbing and 734 feet of descent across its Fort Worth loop, running between roughly 534 and 691 feet of elevation with essentially no net change. There's no single famous hill, just constant small ones, which is why runners who train flat tend to fade after mile 20.
What is the Blue Mile at the Cowtown Marathon?
The Blue Mile falls at mile 8, crossing the Main Street bridge into downtown Fort Worth. It honors fallen military members and first responders and is run in silence, without music or crowd noise. It arrives early, while you're still comfortable, which is worth knowing so it doesn't catch you off guard mid race.
The same four-day schedule, shaped around the course ahead.
Choose your race for its current date, course profile, typical race-morning conditions, and specific long-run guidance.