Cowtown Marathon training plan: course, start dates, and plan options
Fort Worth, TXFebruary 28, 2027
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.
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That mile 8 stretch, the Blue Mile across the Main Street bridge, honors fallen military members and first responders and runs without music or cheering. Then the course keeps rolling: downtown, the Near Southside, TCU, Colonial Country Club, the zoo, and Trinity Park. In 2026, 2,134 people finished it, up from 939 in 2022.
157 days to race day
Cowtown Marathon · February 28, 2027 · about 22 weeks out
Your plan starts with your race and works backward. Every week lands on a real calendar, with race day at the end.
When to start training for the Cowtown Marathon 2027
Race day is February 28, 2027, which is 157 days from today. Counting back from that date, here is when each length of build starts.
- 30-week buildWindow has passed
- 24-week buildWindow has passed
- 18-week buildStart October 25, 2026
- 16-week buildStart November 8, 2026
- 12-week buildshortest Stride acceptsStart December 6, 2026
You have about 22 weeks until race day, so there is still room for a full build. Stride reads the runway you actually have and maps every week from today to February 28, 2027.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
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
Let’s find the plan for you.
Your race, current mileage, longest run, marathon experience, and available days decide the best fit. Stride maps the plan you choose to race day at the Cowtown Marathon.
- Stride Run-Walk FinisherThree sessions a week with planned walk breaks, cover the full distance before race day.
- Stride First MarathonThe classic four-day first-marathon build: easy running and one weekly long run, no speedwork.
- Stride First Marathon PlusA first-marathon build with a little more volume and weekly race-pace miles.
- Stride 6-Day FinisherFinish your first marathon on frequency: six easy-leaning runs a week, no monster long runs.
- Stride 5-Day Pace BuilderFive days a week with race-pace runs before your long runs, built for a mid-pack time goal.
- Stride 6-Day RhythmSix days a week with three quality sessions, steady fatigue that teaches you to finish strong.
- Stride Time-Based FoundationFive time-based runs a week, mostly easy, the injury-averse way to a strong finish.
- Stride Time-Based BuilderSix time-based runs a week at a strict 80% easy / 20% hard split, chase a time goal without breaking.
- Stride 3-Day Cross-TrainThree runs plus two cross-training days over 24 weeks, marathon fitness on a busy schedule.
- Stride 3-Day QualityExactly three hard runs plus two mandatory cross-training sessions, every workout counts.
- Stride 6-Day CumulativeThe six-day cumulative-fatigue build with quality from week two, for PR chasers with a base.
- Stride Threshold 55The serious BQ/PR build to 55 miles a week: threshold work, medium-long runs, and 20-milers.
- Stride Threshold 70The high-mileage BQ/PR build to 70 miles a week for veterans with a deep base.
- Stride 2-Quality FlexTwo fixed quality sessions a week, everything else flexible easy running, fits any schedule.
Answer a few questions, choose your plan, then create your account and subscribe to start training in Stride.
Choose your Cowtown Marathon training window.
Compare 12, 16, 18, and 20 weeks counted back from race day. The 18-week option includes the complete four-day schedule.
The course: a rolling city loop with the wall at Overton Park
The Cowtown Marathon starts at 7:00 a.m. on Gendy Street beside the Will Rogers Memorial Center and loops 26.2 miles through Fort Worth before returning to the same place. It gains about 736 feet and gives back about 734, running between roughly 534 and 691 feet of elevation, so there's no net drop anywhere in it.
The landmarks arrive in a specific order and each one changes the running. Mile 6 puts you on the brick of the Stockyards, which is a highlight and also uneven underfoot. Mile 8 is the Blue Mile across the Main Street bridge, kept quiet on purpose. Sundance Square comes at 9.5, the halfway point at Park Place Village around 13, then the course works south to TCU, Bluebonnet Circle, Foster Park Trail, and past Hogan's Alley at Colonial Country Club.
Mile 20 is Overton Park, and the race says plainly that this is where most runners find the wall. The last stretch runs north along the Trinity River into Trinity Park and back to Will Rogers. Water stops come every 1.5 miles the whole way, and the course stays open 7.5 hours after the last corral crosses the line.
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.
Getting in
Cowtown doesn't sell out the way a marquee city race does, and the marathon has room. The field has grown steadily, from 939 finishers in 2022 to 2,134 in 2026, so it's getting more popular rather than harder to enter. Registration runs on the race's own site, prices step up as race weekend approaches, and the full marathon is 18 and over. Gear check sits at the north end of the Swine Barn, which is a sentence you only get to write about Fort Worth.
Where does the Cowtown Marathon get hard?
Overton Park at mile 20, after the accumulated rollers through TCU and Colonial have already taken more out of you than your splits suggest.
What is the weather like at the Cowtown Marathon?
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.
Is the Cowtown Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Cowtown is a Boston eligible certified course, but it isn't a fast one. 2.5% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026 and 3.0% in 2025, down from 5.9% in 2023. With 736 feet of climbing and no net drop, it attracts no downhill adjustment, and it also hands you no free time. If a qualifier is the point of your season, this is not the course for it.
Is the Cowtown Marathon a good first marathon?
Yes, this is a sensible first marathon. The course stays open 7.5 hours after the last corral, water comes every 1.5 miles, 2,134 people finished in 2026 so you won't be running alone, and there's entertainment every mile or so. The one thing to respect is the rolling profile, which makes it easy to start too fast in cool 7:00 a.m. air.
Cowtown Marathon questions, answered.
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.
Is the Cowtown Marathon good for a first marathon?
Yes. The course stays open 7.5 hours after the last corral starts, water stops come every 1.5 miles, and 2,134 runners finished in 2026, so there's company at almost every pace. The one caution is the rolling profile, which makes even pacing harder than a flat course would.
Where does the Cowtown Marathon get hard?
Overton Park at mile 20. The race says outright that this is where most runners find the wall, and it lands after the course has already worked south through TCU, Bluebonnet Circle and Colonial Country Club. The closing miles run north along the Trinity River into Trinity Park and back to Will Rogers Memorial Center.
Where does the Cowtown Marathon get hard?
Overton Park at mile 20, after the accumulated rollers through TCU and Colonial have already taken more out of you than your splits suggest.
What is the weather like at the Cowtown Marathon?
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.
Is the Cowtown Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Cowtown is a Boston eligible certified course, but it isn't a fast one. 2.5% of finishers ran qualifying times in 2026 and 3.0% in 2025, down from 5.9% in 2023. With 736 feet of climbing and no net drop, it attracts no downhill adjustment, and it also hands you no free time. If a qualifier is the point of your season, this is not the course for it.
Is the Cowtown Marathon a good first marathon?
Yes, this is a sensible first marathon. The course stays open 7.5 hours after the last corral, water comes every 1.5 miles, 2,134 people finished in 2026 so you won't be running alone, and there's entertainment every mile or so. The one thing to respect is the rolling profile, which makes it easy to start too fast in cool 7:00 a.m. air.
When should I start training for the Cowtown Marathon 2027?
Race day is February 28, 2027. Counting back from that date, a 20-week build starts around October 11, 2026, a 16-week build around November 8, 2026, and a 12-week build around December 6, 2026. Already inside that window? Stride maps a plan from today to race day, whatever the runway.
How does Stride's Cowtown Marathon plan work?
Download the app, pick the Cowtown Marathon as your race, and answer a few questions about your recent running and your weekly schedule. Stride matches you to one of 14 marathon plans, maps every week from today to February 28, 2027, adjusts when life gets in the way, and puts you in a feed of runners training for the same race.
Choosing a training app?
A Cowtown Marathon buildup is months of your life. See how Stride compares before you commit it to an app.
Find your plan.
Your race, current mileage, recent longest run, goal, and run days determine which plans rank first. Choose one and subscribe, then open every workout in Stride.