I would like to say that the Dallas White Rock Marathon was an awesome experience. I had tempered expectations prior to the event due to some of the negative comments posted by other users of this site. The race was well organized and the course support was the best I have seen yet. There were more than enough aid stations - some even offered orange slices and pretzels in addition to water and Gatorade. At some point, I even said to the others running with me, "Already another aid station?" The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the spectators were unbelievable (only rivaled by OKC, in my opinion).

Contrary to other comments, there were plenty of medals and finisher's shirts for marathoners and half-marathoners. Also, the finisher's shirts were really nice, New Balance, technical running shirts. There was also plenty of food and water at the finish. However, to be honest, the selection of food left a bit to be desired. They only had bagels, granola bars, and fruit. But that is the only negative thing I can say about it, and it is nit-picky at best. Kudos to the organizers and volunteers of the Dallas White Rock Marathon. They definitely know what they are doing. My wife and I have added this event to our annual racing calendar and look forward to it again next year. Thanks for a great experience.

All I can compliment are the frequent, well-staffed water/Gatorade stops. Everything else was mediocre at best. The medal is ugly. The course is boring, and too crowded at the beginning by the halfers (and then later by the relayers). I heard (but did not try it myself) that the post-race food/drink was overcrowded.

The 2009 Dallas White Rock was my first marathon. I read the comments on here and corresponded with race officials before the race to see if some of the problems had been fixed. I have to say, it went pretty well for me.

The course is fantastic and the crowds and volunteers were all great. Absolutely no complaints about any of that. The weather was perfect too.

Really, the organization was pretty good and much better than I expected after reading the comments from year's past. They could use more bathroom facilities at the start (a lot more) and they could better organize the waves at the start, but really it went off very well. I was pointed to the food and water area after the race and also braved the steps down the arena for beer. There seemed to be plenty of everything. I was disappointed that my finisher shirt was just a plain, albeit technical, shirt with nothing noting that I was a finisher.

Great course, expo, aid stations, and weather. The best thing is the full-strength Gatorade. The Dallas Police Department provided their usual excellent traffic control, and most importantly they cheer for the runners. The shirts were really lame, but I stopped expecting decent shirts from races a long time ago. The finisher's shirt is just a tech shirt, and it doesn't mention "finisher" on it anywhere. The finisher's medal is nice. The start was once again a mess. They were supposed assign slower runners to their correct corrals. Corral placement was not enforced and they had hundreds of relay runners in the first corral who couldn't even run a 10-minute-per-mile pace. DWR will remain a third class race if they can't get this fixed. This was my 8th DWR and I can't believe they can't get this right.

I really liked the marathon; this was my first time to run this one. The course was challenging, but it wasn't boring... there were quite a few spectators out, especially in the neighborhoods and in the downtown area. My only real problem was with the pace groups. I had planned to hang with the 3:40 pacer and then move up gradually closer to 3:30. I had been set to run in wave B, and I saw there was no 3:30 pace group in wave B. So, I started with the 3:40 guy and I was a bit disappointed in the way he paced because he was running way too fast for a 3:40. When I had politely told him that we were averaging an 8:09 at mile 3, he responded in a very rude manner. I was more concerned for the folks that had run with him who had trained to run 8:20's to get a 3:40 (particularly the women who wanted to qualify for Boston), and they didn't train to run sub-8's during the first 3 miles of a marathon. Also, this 3:40 guy should have been placed to the front of Wave B, so he wouldn't have felt the need to have to "bank" time, which just does not work. After I left that group and went ahead, I was able to settle into a more even pace for most of the rest of the run.

Another thing I wanted to comment on is something that I thought was really touching and really impressed me. Just before I reached Mile 11, I had passed this woman on one of those prosthetic running feet pushing a disabled child in a wheelchair. I was surprised that more people that were passing by the same time as I did weren't cheering her on. I waved at the kid and got a smile and told her she was doing awesome and resumed my run. I really am inspired by people who do stuff like that because it shows people that the "impossible" can be achieved, regardless of your limitations. I hope that lady and the kiddo with her had an enjoyable marathon experience.

Also, I don't know where to write this, but I just wanted to say, "THANKS" to all of the police officers who worked the marathon. There was a lot of traffic on the intersections that weren't closed off and they did an awesome job to keep the course safe.

The organization of the water stops was great; the cups were clearly different for Gatorade and for water, and that made it pretty easy to navigate through the water stops.

I also couldn't find the food at the finish... I think there was some, but I didn't bother looking since I had food back at the hotel.

I plan on coming back to run another one of these marathons. Thank you.

What a great, well organized marathon. It has a nice expo; plentiful, well stocked, enthusiastic water stations; friendly local support; and perfect weather. Would definitely recommend it to all.

I am a leisurely-paced marathoner. I ran the White Rock Marathon and enjoyed the race, but I must say that after five hours on the course, I was very disappointed to see that the slower runners were treated like second-class citizens and there was NO FOOD left - seriously, NONE. That was really disappointing. If the finish line is going to be open for six and a half hours, then they need to treat everyone who finishes that marathon like a FINISHER - not just those who finish fast.

This was my first marathon and I loved it. The weather was way less than ideal with temps around 80 or so at the finish with high humidity throughout. It was one of those weather patterns that produce 80+ degrees one day and 28-degree mornings the next day. However, the blustery headwinds around the second half of the lake did me in more than the temps. I missed my goal time by 29 minutes because my hamstrings cramped up after running into the wind for so long. The start was pure adrenaline. I laughed my tail off at all of the people peeing next to the road around mile 2, especially the poor women. Spectators throughout were wonderful. It's a pure rush entering downtown around mile 24 or so. they really carried me home at a time when I was really crashing. Yes, the finish is chaos. And apparently, they've never had food left over for people finishing over 4 hours. There have been gripes for years on this website about that and the race director hasn't changed anything. I think it suffices to say that he never will. And oh yeah, I never got my finisher's certificate.

If you plan to finish in less than 4:30, I think you'll find this race to be one of your best. If not, I guess it could go either way. But really, who runs a race for what happens AFTER the finish?

Having said all of that, I will be running this race again this December.

Great water stops and overall a good course - other than the really windy day we ran on. Others in years past have commented on the bad finish line area and I have to agree. I finished in 5:45. When I crossed the finish line, there were not a lot of people around. I had to ask for my medal, and the only t-shirts left were extra small. There worst part: THERE WAS NO FOOD OR WATER LEFT when I got there. I'm glad that I had water in the car. Most vendors that where left were packing up. The finish was a big disappointment. :-( I read other posts about this in the past, but did not think that it would happen to me. The only plus was that the AA Center is open before and after the race, with real bathrooms and a place to stay warm before the run.

I ran this race in '08 and absolutely loved it. It was my first marathon and the best so far. It was such a wonderful experience and I am ready to do it again!!