Thousands will take to the streets for the Cowtown Marathon race weekend. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker reports among the runners will be a group from one of Fort Worth’s sister cities in France.
The Cowtown, the biggest multi-race event in North Texas, kicked off Friday in Fort Worth as runners from all over the world came to the Health and Fitness Expo to get their race bibs.
"I am coming from Nîmes in the South of France," Jean-Marie Castellvi of the Macadam Club Nîmois. "For some of us, it's the first time they take the plane. It's the first time, so it's a way for us to meet other runners from other countries."
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WATCH HERECastellvi was among members of a running club in Nîmes, France who traveled here to run The Cowtown because Nîmes is Fort Worth's newest 'Sister City.'
"You know sport has the ability to bring people together for cultural understanding," Fort Worth Sister Cities Director of Exchanges Beth Weibel said. "It's a very important way, I feel, for people to learn about each other."
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SIGN UP Fort Worth has 9 Sister Cities across the globe. Weibel said President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Sister Cities program after World War II.
"It was all about you're less likely to go to war with someone if they're your friend," Weibel said. "And so that is the Sister Cities concept; if you know these people, if you've been to their home, if you've seen what's in their refrigerator, if you know their children, you know you care about them."
The running club from Nîmes first ran The Cowtown in 2022, when it was a virtual race during the COVID pandemic. This year, the club wanted to be here in person.
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"Because they meet other runners," Castellvi said. "It's a good thing because it's the way of peace. It's very important, I think."
The Cowtown 5K and 10K races are on Saturday, Feb. 22. The half-marathon, marathon, and ultra-marathon races are Sunday, Feb. 23.
