This is almost a really good marathon; if the organizers keep moving forward it could be a good one.

The negative: If you are from a flat area, the course is insanely hilly and tough. If you are from the Dallas area or Austin, or anywhere with hills, according to the runners I talked to from those areas anyway, the hills weren't too bad. Some of the areas on the course weren't clearly marked, and I even saw a few runners go the wrong way. A little more in the packet would've been nice, and a finisher's shirt would've been very good (I'm a sucker for the free finisher stuff). The lines for packet pick-up were pretty long. Some of the roads were open to traffic; while the traffic was not heavy, those running with headphones had a problem hearing the cars. This is definitely a race to leave the iPods at home. The first half of the course was beautiful running along the lake. The second half was hilly and very bland, running through a maze of neighborhoods that all looked the same. Also, the water stations were placed pretty far apart.

The positives: With the scenic first half, and just trying to bring more to the race (i.e., finisher stuff, spectators, expo) the race could really move up to what Houston, Austin, and Run The Rock are.

This was my first marathon and I thought they did a great job. The water stations were great with water, PowerAde, candy, oranges, and hoses. They also had great supporters all along the way that entertained you and cheered you on. The hills were not as bad as I thought they would be. They are typical Dallas hills. Nothing extreme. The weather in the morning was great in the 70's, but warmed up around 11:00 to high 80's. The entire course is beautiful! I would run this marathon again.

"Hills and hot weather" are what I remember. "Grueling and gratifying" is the best way to describe it.

From reading previous comments I expected warm weather and some hills, but boy, was I in for a surprise.

It all started well enough with cool weather, pleasant breeze and a reasonably flat course. During the first 12 miles of the race I even managed to cut 8 minutes from my planned time (1:52 vs. 2:00).

But then the sun came out and everything changed quickly. Yesterday's temperature was the highest since 1982 at 32°C/89°F. The rest of the course was very hilly. I probably wouldn't have made it if I hadn't spent 3 weeks running in Brasilia under similar conditions. But as I said - it was grueling and gratifying.

*** Definitely NOT recommended for 1st-timers. ***

It was a very hot day, and I am sure that may have kept many spectators at home. I saw as many runners along the course as I saw people watching the race.

YOU HAVE TO CHANGE the finish of the race! That is maybe the worst finish of any race that I can imagine! It needs to be a straight shot, not a maze of wonderment. People had no idea of where to go at the finish of this race.

If you make it a straight shot - a finish people can see from afar - they will be more inspired to finish with some style.

What is with this, three hot Big D's in row??? Dallas is not hot in early April except during this marathon.

Prepare for hills. Dallas may be a flat, featureless city, but the race course certainly is not!

Great hi-tech race shirt. Sort of would have liked to have the great shirt for marathon finishers, and regular cotton tee for the race... but I am a marathon snob who doesn't share well with the shorter distances.

There was plenty of food for most finishers, but around 6 hours it was gone.... I had some friends that finished that late due to the weather and it was meager by then....

The rest stops had great volunteers, plenty of fluid replacement, water, fruit, etc. I enjoyed the candy as well! An excellent job! Residents also had hoses out to help the hot runners and some houses had sprinkers on as well. Very refreshing on a tough day.

Would I do the race again? Sure! It was a miserable experience for me, a tough route, but it was pretty well done event that deserves a chance to grow and thrive.

Due to being new (and maybe lack of door-to-door advertising with flyers) there are not as many spectators as there should be in that the race runs mostly through neighborhoods. The crowds get better each year, and next year should be even better!

A nice young event, but it is not an easy course!

It was HOT and sunny this year (2006). Temps ranged from 72 to 90 depending on when you could finish. East Texas is generally flat, but there are a dozen significant hills. There are even a few downhills you have to hold up on due to their steepness. It does flatten out for the last 1/4 or so. The crowd sucked and actually was worse as the run progressed (higher temperatures?). The TNT guys/gals did a great job though when anyone passed by. There was plenty of water and PowerAde, but it was also hot by the 2nd half - better than nothing, right? I rested for a while following the run, then went to get some food at about the 5.5-hour mark. Tables were already being broken down and I may have been one of the last to be fed. By the results, 1/3 of the runners were still on course. Fair Park is a huge facility with ample parking, but the single entrance caused many people to start late. No big deal with chip timing of course. I would have started at 5 a.m. if they had let me, considering the weather.

I thought that the course for this marathon was interesting... but water stops every 2 1/2 miles were not frequen enough for this hot Dallas morning. Also, traffic was especially bad on this day, and we had to park really far away from start. Not much to enjoy at the finish. Couldn't stomach the hotdogs that they had.

This was my first marathon. I wish I had taked the advice to train for hills that someone had posted on this page. The volunteers on the course were very encouraging but pretty spread out. It was very hot! There were not enough water stations towards the end of the run. They were about every 2 miles or so but there was only one water station in the last 4 miles. I understand that people can overhydrate but when it is 80+ degrees there really should be a water station every mile at least for the last 6 miles or so. I will say the run around White Rock Lake is beautiful.

The course had many steep inclines that many of the runners were not prepared for. Besides that, the traffic was kept to a minimum, and you get a great view of downtown Dallas, as well as lakeside during the first part of the course. Support alongside the run was great. My advice if you plan to run this: train for some hills!

As a 5K-10K race enthusiast, I have been to my share of race days. As a first-time marathoner, I needed the 'big shabang' of support and encouragement after and race day goodies... none of which did I find at the Big D (the only exception was the girl at the end who helped me take my chip off). A month earlier, I had done the 5K at the Ft. Worth Cowtown Marathon and it was awesome - lots of goodies, fitness expo, and the whole town invited the runners. The Big D was barren except for runners before and after. No goodies except a baked potato, and any booths they had were packed up before the course was closed. Aid stations were good - especially the one that hosed us down, but for this runner, I need all the bonus extras. Sorry Big D - I'm going for the Run the Rock next time.