Journal Entry #5

Sunday, Mar 2, 2026

I got the chance to run the Cowtown half marathon yesterday. It was a lot of time outside, unfortunately not very much of it was in true nature or in area with few people, but it was still much better than running in the rec on a treadmill. I ran the half last year as well, and it is one of the coolest opportunities to run around most of the city. You go through the Cultural District, the Stockyards, and through Downtown Fort Worth, all of which I have attached a picture from. After running it, I feel much more connected to the city. 

For a brief section, we get to run along the trinity, and that is one thing I wish the half got more of that the full marathon does. It is a very peaceful feeling to run along the water. In class we have discussed how all of us feel much more at peace when we are near some sort of water. Maybe one day I will run the full marathon and get the change to run longer on the trinity river. Or maybe I’ll just go run down there myself instead of running 26 miles. Either way, I love that even in this sometimes seemingly landlocked city, we have access to go run, walk, bike or just sit along the water. 

I am not sure what the trails in the nature refuge look like quite yet, but I would think I’d be interested in running there as well. A couple years back I would do the running section of a triathlon with my family, and it was around this lake in western Montana that just had one trail going around the whole thing. I would always be a little frightened I’d find a bear or mountain lion while I was running, because you could go a mile or so without seeing any other runners, but it was also lovely to run all by yourself. This is why running at the nature refuge intrigues me because I sometimes find myself missing that serenity of running alone. Needless to say, I am looking forward to visiting the nature center next week, and just a little bit glad we aren’t going tomorrow because I believe I will still be hobbling around.