FORT WORTH

The Cowtown Marathon took place this weekend and the annual race based at the Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomed over 29,000 runners to Fort Worth and their times are being posted on the race’s website.

Former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price received t-shirt from Heidi Swartz for running the Cowtown 35 for years during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price received t-shirt from Heidi Swartz for running the Cowtown 35 for years during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram

Half Marathon winner Sergio Mena, a native of Spain and Arlington resident, talked about his performance in the Cowtown Marathon and explained what makes it a special race. He finished in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 2 seconds.

Sergio Mena does not cross the finish line in the traditional way, he ripped the banner apart by hand, during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Sergio Mena does not cross the finish line in the traditional way, he ripped the banner apart by hand, during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram

“After Christmas, getting to spend time with family, enjoying family, friends, eating, drinking all those kind of things, I didn’t know how I was going to feel, so I just got out there and just went for it,” said Mena, “First race of 2026, I was just very inconsistent with my pace, taking it easy the first half and then the second half, I was like, OK, just go for it. I’m coming from winning the BMW the last half-marathon. So that motivated me a lot.”

“Running through places like the Stockyards that makes this race special, because that is very historic place that we love. So just running on those places going through those streets is just amazing. I was running over there, and I was like, Man, I used to come here, just to enjoy the night and go to bars, dance, drink and now I’m running through the same places,” Mena said.

Half-marathon winner Jennifer Pope, who won the woman’s event for the second year in a row, echoed Mena’s sentiments talking about the feeling of support from your community.

“I love these ones because they feel like hometowns. I mean, when you’re out there, you see all your friends on the side just cheering for you, I probably passed no short of like 15 friends yelling out there and so it just things like that just make [that] little bit of difference to keep you going when it’s feeling tough, and when you leave your hometown or have to travel somewhere, you don’t get that,” said Pope, who finished in 1:19:42.

Jeannifer Pope wins the half marathon for the second consecutive year during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Jeannifer Pope wins the half marathon for the second consecutive year during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram

Saturday’s race results are in and while Sunday’s official results are still coming in, unofficial times have been posted and the winners of each race are listed below.

Top finishers in each event

5K: Male – Glen Shumaker (16:47:10), Femaile – Kaitlin Walker (18:17:00)

10K: M-Zachary Smith (35:43:00), F-Jessica Smith (39:13:10)

Half-marathon: M-Sergio Mena (1:07:02), F-Jennifer Pope (1:19:42)

Marathon: M-Chris Mizener (2:13:38), F-Sadie Smith (2:59:35)

Sadie Smith wins the women’s marathon with a time of 2:59:37 during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Sadie Smith wins the women’s marathon with a time of 2:59:37 during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram

Ultra-marathon: M-Dustin Darakhshan (3:34:00), F-McKale Montgomery (3:33:00)

Dustin Darakhshan wins the mens ultra marathon with a time of 3:34:00 during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Dustin Darakhshan wins the mens ultra marathon with a time of 3:34:00 during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram McKale Montgomery wins the ultra marathon with a time of 3:33:11 during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. McKale Montgomery wins the ultra marathon with a time of 3:33:11 during the 48th running of the Cowtown Marathon at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Mar. 01, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram

This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 3:59 PM.


Profile Image of Lawrence Dow

Lawrence Dow

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.