This is what 40 pairs of running shoes looks like - our ode to the Cowtown Marathon, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary when it kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 23. Now imagine 5,000 pairs of running shoes. That's approximately how many low-income North Texas school children received shoes, thanks to Cowtown's C.A.L.F. (Children's Activities for Life and Fitness) program in 2017. Here's one more number - $10.4 million - the amount of money the Cowtown pumps into the Fort Worth economy every year. This year, executive director Heidi Swartz says they expect between 26,000 and 28,000 participants and anticipate that all 50 states will be represented.
1979
The year of the first Cowtown Marathon
28,000
participants expected in 2018
460
The number of runners in the 1979 marathon
5,748
The amount of grants C.A.L.F. awarded in 2017
2:28:00
Marathon time for men's 2017 winner Justin Gable
3:01:29
Marathon time for women's 2017 winner Amy Puzey