UT Southwestern student Travis Dowd wins 2024 BMW Dallas Marathon in his debut

Win a marathon on your first time running the distance? That’s exactly what Travis Dowd did Sunday morning at the 2024 BMW Dallas Marathon.

The current UT Southwestern medical student and Rice alumnus broke the tape in a time of 2:26:08, beating second-place finisher Al Maeder by just over four minutes.

“I’m just so blessed, I ran in college and never had a race with this much support. Every single time I felt like I was about to die, I went by a crowd [gesturing for crowd support] and they’re all screaming for me,” Dowd said.

A rain-soaked Dowd soaked in the crowd as he crossed the finish line at Dallas City Hall Plaza. He fell to the ground shortly after finishing due to exhaustion, before making his way to the side, out of the oncoming traffic from runners finishing the half-marathon.

It was 57 degrees at the start of both the half and full marathons, rising to 65 by the time the winners crossed the finish line. However, the over 80% humidity and light rain throughout created some adverse conditions for runners.

After a standout prep running career in Austin at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Dowd was a key member of Rice’s track and cross-country teams. He said he drew upon his experience training in the Houston heat during his marathon debut Sunday.

“I know the weather wasn’t ideal for a marathon, but I loved it. I came from Houston, nice and humid and hot. I felt good right away and felt like I was walking the first 10 miles,” Dowd said.

Woodward wins women’s marathon

Almost exactly 20 minutes after Dowd crossed the line, Arkansas physical therapist and elite runner Erin Woodward won the women’s marathon in 2:46:51.

“I’m very grateful. It was my second-ever marathon. My first one was about 11 months ago and I’ve changed a lot of things with life and training. It’s an affirmation that I’m going in the right direction,” Woodward said.

Woodward saw the course visibility and conditions as advantageous.

“I love the fog. I felt like I was in a movie. It helped me also to not focus too much on the people in front of me because you couldn’t see them and just focusing on running my race,” Woodward said.

posted Monday December 16th
by Kellen Bulger