When 26,000 runners converge on Fort Worth the weekend of Feb. 21–23 for the annual Cowtown races, some familiar civic and community leaders will be part of the herd.

Fort Worth City Councilwoman Macy Hill started running in 2008 after the birth of her second child.

“I had horrible, debilitating vertigo that never went away,” she says. After multiple doctor visits and tests, an ear, nose and throat doctor had an unexpected solution—running. “Sure enough, I started running with two friends, and six weeks later the vertigo was gone!”

She found that running was a great stress reliever too. 

“It clears my head for the day,” Hill says. “I feel like I’m a better person, that I’m better prepared.” 

These days, Hill tries to log 8 to 10 miles, seven days a week, often at 4:30 a.m. 

“It’s a great way to start my day, she says. “I feel like I truly have time between me and God.”

Hill found that she loved racing, and set her sights on qualifying for the Boston Marathon. She qualified for and ran the race twice, virtually in 2020 (due to COVID) and then in person in 2021. Her next goal was to complete the six World Marathon Majors—races in Boston, Chicago, New York City, Berlin, Tokyo and London. In March 2024, she completed a 10-year journey and became one of only 2,547 runners worldwide to earn a Six Star Finisher designation after completing the Tokyo marathon. 

Her next goal is to run the Sydney Marathon, which will be added to the World Marathon Majors in August 2025. 

As president of the Cowtown Marathon Board of Directors, Hill will volunteer at this year’s race instead of running. But she and many fellow board and staff members will run the half marathon route together later this spring to earn their Cowtown medals.

Hill, 44, completes her second year as the representative for District 7 and plans to run for reelection in May 2025.

Patrick Newman, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the Botanic Research Institute of Texas, started running while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Azerbaijan from 2003 to 2005. Having no available gym, Newman started running at an abandoned Soviet soccer stadium, increasing his runs from 15 minutes to two hours as he improved. 

“To me it became a physical outlet, but also a huge mental and emotional health benefit for me,” Newman says. “I really became hooked on running in the Peace Corps.”

Newman ran his first marathon in 2006. “For the next two days I felt invincible,” he says. “I crossed the finish line and knew I’d be doing this for a very long time.”

Soon after, he and a Peace Corps friend thought, “What if we run a marathon in every state?” Since then, Newman has completed 58 marathons, including races in 42 U.S. states, and has the remaining eight state races on his calendar. He plans to finish his 50th state marathon in Connecticut in October 2026, almost 20 years after running his first marathon. Newman’s next goal will be to complete the World Marathon Majors, having already raced in Chicago, Boston and New York City.

Newman, 47, is a morning runner, often leaving his house at 5 a.m. to get in five or more miles on weekdays and longer weekend runs. He runs rain or shine and has even run in snow. 

“I will run in anything as long as there isn’t lightning or ice,” he says.

Finding similarities between training for a marathon and overseeing a capital campaign, Newman says it’s all about the planning. 

“A marathon isn’t won at the race, it’s all about the miles you’ve put in beforehand,” he says. “That’s true about a capital campaign, it’s true about a strategic planning initiative, and it’s true about the growth of an organization.”

As a Cowtown board member, Newman plans to work the race this year, helping at the start and finish lines. 

“When the Cowtown is happening, that weekend is second to none,” he says. “I just love it!”

Troy Langston, principal of Fort Worth’s Paschal High School, ran his first Cowtown Marathon 20 years ago. 

“I wanted to do one before I turned 35,” he says. Since then, he’s run a total of 14 Cowtown races including the Ultra Marathon (31.1 miles) in 2016. He’s scheduled to run the Cowtown Marathon again this month.

After 29 years in public education, including 14 years as a principal, Langston sees running as a way to help with the physical and mental stress of overseeing the largest public school in Fort Worth ISD with 2,135 students and a staff of 175. 

He says his job has been likened to being “the mayor of a small town. You have thousands of people that you support and supervise.” 

Running is an important part of his job preparation. 

“It is the best de-stressor I can imagine,” he says. “It opens up the bloodstream into your brain, and allows you to freely think.”

Before he became a principal, Langston taught biology and was able to run on weekdays. These days, he fits in long runs on Saturdays and gets in his weekday steps walking the Paschal campus including multiple stairs throughout the day.

Many of the Paschal students and faculty know that Langston is a marathon runner. Last year, some of the teachers and cheerleaders did a pep rally send-off for him the day before the Cowtown. 

“It felt good to have that group of people cheer you on,” he says. 

More than 4,000 volunteers helped at various Cowtown events on race weekend last year, including some Paschal National Honor Society members.

One of Langston’s favorite Cowtown Marathon memories was crossing the finish line in 2024. 

“A Paschal student put the medal on me,” he says. “It was the highlight of my day!”

Langston, 53, says in the future he’d like to do a 50-mile race, a half iron man, a half triathlon and hike the Appalachian Trail. “Those are on my bucket list,” he says.

Former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price is a familiar face at The Cowtown. This year she’ll compete in the half marathon, marking her 34th year of running the Cowtown. During the few years that she couldn’t run because of an injury, she still worked at a water station or greeted runners while on crutches.

“I think you have to lead by example,” she says. “If you want your community to be engaged, if you want them to think about their own health, what better way than to set an example?”

Not just a Cowtown runner, Price received an award last year from the Fort Worth YMCA for completing the most Turkey Trot races in Fort Worth, having run or walked 42 of the last 43 years.

Price also holds the record at 10 years as the longest-serving mayor in Fort Worth history, after serving 10 years as Tarrant County’s Tax Assessor. Running and exercise have always been an integral part of her day. 

“For me, it’s a tremendous stress reliever,” Price says. “It’s all about your quality of life.”

Now 75, Price still runs, swims and bikes. She and her husband Tom bike together and are completing a bike race or tour in all 50 U.S. states. 

“We’re down to four states,” she says, and they plan to finish this spring. “Our last state is going to be Alaska,” she says, where they’ll complete a bike tour and go fishing with their children and grandchildren. “It will be a big celebration.”