It was a perfectly crisp Saturday morning for a road race… actually three of them. The Cowtown 10K, adult 5K and kids 5K happened back to back to back.
"I like running, it's fun and it's athletic," said 9-year old Kaylee Cox who ran the kids 5K after her parents ran the 10K.
More than 15,000 people ran in the shorter races Saturday morning.
About as many are expected to run in the half marathon, marathon and 50K Sunday morning. And there is cause here... money goes toward promoting fitness among kids in Fort Worth.
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"That's our whole goal," said Heidi Swartz with the Cowtown Marathon. "That's why we're here to get kids out and exercising and fit because it's an inexpensive sport that anybody can go out and do and you don't have to have a lot of expensive equipment for it."
According to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, one in three kids in America is overweight or obese. This event help buy kids running shoes and even pays for their entry fee for road races throughout the year.
"There are a lot of kids who have childhood obesity and I think it could change their lives by being a good example and giving them the means to do that," said Debbie Jacob who ran the 10K. She talked to NBC 5 while her husband ran the 5k and while her two kids were waiting to run the kids 5K. About 100 kids, teacher and parents from Daggett Montessori ran in the kids 5K. We talked to one of the coaches before the race who told us many of them likely wouldn't be here if it weren't for what Cowtown does.
"A lot of our students were able to get a reduced rate for registration and got some really awesome shoes," said Natalie Williams. "They got the shoes for free. That was a big motivation. Parents were like 'yes' let's do that so we got the parents involved, too."
The Cox family all ran today. Dad William was thrilled to see his daughter do her first 5k.
"With all the kids sitting playing video games, just to see not only her but as many kids as there are out here that means a whole lot," said Cox.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price was there to encourage the kids before the start of their 5k.
"The good news is you get these kids running and their parents come with them and so the whole family gets engaged and it's great for the city," Mayor Price said.
"It increases productivity and saves us costs and makes us a healthier stronger city."
