Your plan in four answers
Set for February 28, 2027, about 18 weeks out.
- Distances
- 5K, 10K, Half marathon, Marathon, 50K
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- More than 29,000 runners registered across the 2026 weekend, a record
- Taper starts
- February 10, 2027
Course
The Cowtown course
The marathon starts and finishes at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth's Cultural District at 7:00 AM. The route heads north to the Historic Stockyards, where some streets are brick, then runs south down Main Street into downtown, through the Near Southside and on to the TCU campus.
Read the full course notes
From there it loops past Bluebonnet Circle, the Foster Park trail, Hogan's Alley at Colonial Country Club and the Fort Worth Zoo before following the Trinity River through Trinity Park back to Will Rogers. The first miles are mostly flat with gentle rollers; the Main Street bridge climb around mile 8 is the one runners talk about. The 50K ultra runs the same course plus about five extra miles through the Trinity River parks, and the course stays open 7.5 hours.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 5K, 10K, Half marathon, Marathon, 50K
- Field
- More than 29,000 runners registered across the 2026 weekend, a record
- Weather on race day
- Late February in Fort Worth usually brings start temperatures in the upper 30s to upper 40s °F, with afternoon highs around 60 °F. Expect a breezy southerly wind of around 10 mph on many mornings and the occasional front that swings conditions either way, so pack layers and a throwaway top. Humidity is low this time of year, which makes for comfortable, honest pacing.
What to train for
Cowtown rewards runners who stay patient through the gentle opening miles and save strength for the bridges and the climb out of the Stockyards around mile 8 to 9.
Add one weekly run with two or three sustained 3 to 5 minute climbs at steady effort, and practise easing back to goal pace on the flat that follows.
Most of your training happens in winter, so do at least two long runs in the clothing you plan to race in. Ultra runners should build back-to-back weekend long runs and rehearse fuelling every 30 to 40 minutes past the 26-mile mark.
Sample week
A sample Cowtown training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 mile at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6–7 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 10 mi with 6 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–18 mi, the last 4 mi at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Cowtown
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on February 28, 2027, your taper starts around February 10, 2027.
Also in Claude
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Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the The Cowtown Marathon on February 28, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Cowtown training questions
How long should I train for the Cowtown?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the Cowtown course hilly?
Rolling. The marathon starts and finishes at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth's Cultural District at 7:00 AM.
What is the weather usually like at the Cowtown?
Late February in Fort Worth usually brings start temperatures in the upper 30s to upper 40s °F, with afternoon highs around 60 °F. Expect a breezy southerly wind of around 10 mph on many mornings and the occasional front that swings conditions either way, so pack layers and a throwaway top. Humidity is low this time of year, which makes for comfortable, honest pacing.
When should I start tapering for the Cowtown?
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on February 28, 2027, your taper starts around February 10, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Cowtown training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.