Athlete Race Recap: Cowtown Half Marathon

On Sunday, February 23, 2025, Heather Riester ran the Cowtown Half Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas!

One of the most attractive things about this race for Heather was that it was taking place in a southern state in the month of February.  Since Heather lives in Western New York, the idea of traveling south for a race during the Winter was definitely motivating!

However, Mother Nature had other plans.  Race morning dawned and was a brisk 28ºF.  While this actually was slightly warmer than it has recently been in Western New York, it certainly wasn’t the warm race Heather likely imagined when she signed up for it.

That being said, precisely because she is from Western New York and has been training in cold conditions all Winter long, Heather was more than ready to take on the race day conditions that she encountered in Texas.

The Cowtown Half Marathon was not Heather’s A-Race for 2025.  That being said, it provided a wonderful opportunity for her to test out several key things before her A-Race, including her fueling and hydration plan, the gear she is wearing, the travel time frames for a destination race, and her race execution strategy.  There were many things that went really well for Heather during this race, and there were also some areas that we identified that we can focus on a bit more in the remaining time before her A-Race this summer.

Heather had an incredibly positive experience and this race.  Additionally, she felt good post-race, including the day after the race.  Contrary to popular opinion, our goal in endurance sports training and racing is not to destroy ourselves and our bodies (aka to be so sore you cannot move with quality as you go about your day).  To be able to move well and to feel good post-race is a hallmark of a well-executed Annual Training Plan and of a solid race day execution.

Heather has been consistently putting in the work week over week for many months now.  Her dedication to her training combined with her thoughtful approach to this race enabled her to race well and to be able to walk on Monday.

This, my friends, is a job well done.  Congratulations, Heather!