I thought the venue for the race was great. There is plenty of parking, and there are great food and drinks at the finish, including beer, pizza and breakfast tacos. There were massage therapists and chiropractors offering free services after the race. I liked the medal because it actually has the date of the run. I like the course because it is rolling, which allows for a nice break in muscle groups. It finishes running through a very prestigious part of town. This race director is really doing something right!

This is a smaller race that's a little disorganized, but a blast to run and very scenic. It's hilly at times, but none of the hills are impassable. Overall, I recommend it.

Before I signed up for this marathon, I saw the reviews on this guide and had a couple of concerns. I contacted the organizer, who quickly and graciously responded.

In a nutshell, this was a very good race. The course was beautiful, with rolling hills at various points. Nothing too crazy (c'mon, this is Texas). The wind picked up for the second half, which was a challenge for me, but now I know I need to adjust training for these conditions. The lake provided a wonderful backdrop and the weather proved to be perfect. The police did an excellent job of directing runners and traffic. There were plenty of fluids and snacks along course. Pre-race there was plenty water and bagels (and other goodies); post-race there was lots of pizza, tacos, and drinks. I have been to larger marathons that did not supply anything pre-race. The bag check was quick and efficient. As soon as I crossed the finish line I was offered water, which I really needed at the time.

My only suggestion would be to increase crowd support along course; that may just take time and word of mouth. This is a great marathon to run if you are a 1st-time marathoner, or a more seasoned one that would like something smaller, and more laid back. I met a man there who had done 200 marathons, another who had done 88, and a third who had done 50. I will definitely do this again.

The marathon course is very nice and gives you a nice tour of some of the neighborhoods in Dallas. The aid stations were very good with great enthusiasm and plenty of Gatorade, water and power gels. The race was very well organized and the fair park location is nice for a place to start and finish - plenty of parking, an inside area for after the marathon, etc. My only complaint pertains to the traffic getting to the race. Granted, it was not helped by some of the construction, but they need some more police letting traffic through. We sat in traffic for about 30 minutes with Fair Park in sight. Overall, though, it was a very enjoyable marathon.

This was the first marathon that I've traveled to participate in. The course was good, and the aid stations were excellent. The only problem that I had was that there weren't enough porta-potties throughout the ENTIRE course. But besides that, it was fine. I got a chance to see parts of Dallas that I would've never seen. The neighborhoods were gorgeous, the people friendly, and the police were on-hand to manage traffic.

I did not know that Dallas had so many hills.

This was my first marathon, and despite leaving in plenty of time to be at the starting line on time, I didn't make it. My actual time is not reflected in the results due to the chip timer not being on when I arrived, which is a bummer to see. Being my first marathon, I was shocked that there was no one that I could look to for direction when I arrived. The course was fantastic. I never felt that I was running in a "race" though.

I think this gets butchered by the running crowd! I ran the half the last two years, and have found it quite nice. Can't help a Dallas accident. They delayed it anyway. Weather was perfect, and the staging at Fair Park is perfect.

I really enjoyed this marathon. I thought the course was really nice, with lots of rolling hills, and the lake was gorgeous. The race was well organized with plenty of aid stations along the way. All the people were very friendly and the volunteers were great! It was done really well for a small event and I really enjoyed it.

This was only my second marathon, so I'm by no means an expert on what a race should look like, but overall I think The Big D was okay.

I'm lucky enough to live in Dallas so I knew the back roads to take to avoid the huge wreck. Delaying the race by 15 minutes was fair for everyone. It gave the people stuck in traffic a little extra time yet it wasn't too long of a delay for the people already waiting at the starting line. The weather was perfect. Blue sky and a cool breeze - what more could you ask for?! The water stations were spaced just fine. If you need water more frequently than every two miles, then you need to bring your own bottle. Offering the best water station a cash prize helped a lot. Each station I ran into was clearly trying to do its best to provide me with what I needed and to cheer me on. I really appreciated that - however: I have no idea where I was supposed to vote for the stations. I never saw any signs or directions on that. Spectators were really scarce this year. I ran the half marathon in '06 and I swear that there were more people cheering us on. Was this race not advertised enough?

My biggest disappointment was the finish line. Not only were the twists and turns in the middle of nowhere that led to the finish line confusing, but food and drinks finally at the finish line, left much to hope for. I finished in the top 200, so there were still another 200+ people behind me, and all that was left to eat were bananas and baked potatos. I managed to grab a piece of bagel, but those ran out within 5 minutes of me finishing. I stuck around at the finish line for a while and was horrified to see that the organizers even ran out of water when there were still another 100+ people yet to arrive. When I ran my first marathon in Montreal, Canada, the organizers let you go through the food line ONE time and then marked your bib number. This not only resulted in EVERYONE getting their fair share, it also allowed the sponsors to have a great variety of foods (fruits, yogurt, apple sauce, cheese, crackers, energy bars, juice packets, etc.). Please, Dallas, make sure to change something up so that EVERYONE has something to eat and drink at the finish line - no matter how long it takes them.

Also, since we already have the Whiterock Marathon to run in East Dallas, couldn't we have a Big D run that actually takes you through the Big D (the city)??? I could picture many people in downtown and uptown cheering us on and there are so many beautiful areas there to run around... just something to think about.

I ran the half, which I enjoyed more than Runtherock in December. There are fewer people. So if you're an amateur runner like me, you're not constantly trying to navigate other runners and walkers the entire race. There were ample water stops and more fanfare than I expected. Both the half and full marathon course ran by White Rock Lake, which was soothing. The course also had a good mix of hills, but nothing too difficult. Dallas PD did a great job but keep in mind much of the course is through neighborhoods, so cars were coming out of everywhere and officers couldn't be at every intersection. I suggest clocks scattered throughout the course and better signage of mile markers. I noticed many water stops were at or close to a mile marker, but not all. It made it a little confusing to gauge my pace. Director made a good decision by delaying the start by 15 minutes due to the traffic accident. It's chip timed anyway... what's the problem? It's unfortunate some runners arrived very late due to traffic from the accident and didn't know where to start or made wrong turns. I was looking forward to the technical shirt, but was changed this year to a cotton shirt and sold the technical shirts for $5. Just increase my fee and give me the technical shirt. Looking forward to next year!