I ran The Dallas Marathon this year as part of Team VW. Thanks to them for a smooth packet pickup and great runner packet.

I was concerned about traffic and parking Sunday morning, so I used DART. I parked at Kiest Station in South Dallas and paid $5 for a day pass. I only waited 15 minutes and the Blue Line Train picked me up and 6 stops later, dropped me in West End.

The Dallas Convention Center was the Pre-Race Holding Tank with plenty of room to stretch and relax.

A short walk to the Starting Corals and a very organized Starting Line with plenty of Portalets and we were soon off and running.

West Dallas was great. They really turned out, cheered, and welcomed all runners.

Volunteers were plentiful on the course. The water stations were always ready and helpful. There was plenty of room to grab a drink and get out of the way.

The finish line was great. So many cheering spectators. There was plenty of water and gatorade before moving inside to the food and recovery area.

Dallas Marathon was the biggest race I have done with nearly 25,000 runners. I will run it next year and recommend it to others.

This is my 3rd time to run this race (1 full, 2 halves). I thought the course change for the half marathon was a massive downgrade. This felt like we ran 90% of the course in the ghetto and on the freeway ramps just to run over that new bridge near downtown. I got excited when we finally got near Highland Park just to be turned around to go back to downtown.

I'm not sure what they are trying to achieve by changing to the 'Dallas Marathon,' but I really hated to see this non-inspiring course for what was my favorite race every year. If they don't make the course more interesting, I'm going to have a hard time staying loyal to this race.

That being said, I thought the organizers still maintained the great quality that I have always seen from this event. I could still live without the cotton shirt and just have the finisher shirt, but that's not a big deal as I can always use another grease rag.

This race had a record number of participants (22,000) and it showed early on. The water stops were overwhelmed - I had to wait for them to pour me a drink. After the marathon and half-marathons split, the water stops were much better. The only other problem I had was the race goes through some of the less desirable areas of downtown Dallas. I still liked it, but if they can fix the water stops and look at different course options then it would be a better race in my opinion. The expo was really good.

So many good things about this race - updates via email often, race starts on time, medal is beautiful, TWO race shirts (great tech finisher shirt), restrooms and post-race inside convention center worked well, VERY friendly volunteers, great spectators throughout entire course, results posted FAST - including tech data, pics posted quick to Facebook, festive start, easy packet pick-up, multiple gel and orange slices/bananas on course, scenic course, esp. around lake and through stately neighborhoods, course guides that made it impossible to take a wrong turn, and I mention again: VERY friendly volunteers. You never felt alone on the course; all abilities running - including relay participants. Announcer enthusiastic at start and finish - announced many names. Great post-race goodies including chocolate milk!

Things that need work: parking for expo a nightmare (no signs) and $15 to park(!), getting into corrals a colossal nightmare, halfers and full run together for first seven so the field to start is massive, water stops inconsistent, some had water first, then Gatorade and vice versa, volunteers had or didn't have gloves (many handing out with fingers inside cups) the road bed throughout the course rutted, uneven, mostly concrete, and slippery, no clocks at any mile markers - not even at 13.1.

If you run this - arrive EARLY; repeat arrive EARLY. Use DART; their train systemdrops you about 6-7 minutes from the start corrals (again, arrive EXTRA early to avoid the throngs and have enough time for bag-drop, using restrooms, warming up, etc.). This race is a gem that needs just a few things tightened up. This year's high humidity, heat, and headwinds made for a more challenging day - on a cooler day, you can do fairly well - there are some long hills but there are many stretches of downhills as well - thankfully the last 5 miles or so are almost completely downhill.

I have run the Dallas/White Rock Marathon 4 times. 2012 was the first time i ran since 2008. This year brought the second course change in ~ 3 years I believe. Despite chancgng the course a few times in the last few years, not sure why running by a Prison and thru a warehouse district in the first five miles was appealing to organizers for this years race. It wasnt to runners. Yes, it allows you to run over a bridge and pass scottish rite hospital. But, theres no river (with water) under the bridge, and there was very little crowd support from scottish rite hospital staff. Organizers should reconsider the route and put more of the White Rock lake back in the course. Further, while the convention center space was nice to have for runners, it creates an extra long walk for runners to have to travel for a banana / pretzel / milk and their finish shirt. I probably walked a mile just to get into the center to get my shirt and back outside. As for on-course water stations, it was fairly good organization and plenty of volunteers handing out water/gatorade. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in the changes.

I've done the 'Rock' for years now. The route around the lake and now over the bridge is perfect. It's always a joy to run past major Dallas landmarks...

However, this year there are 2 big drawbacks:
1. The race is getting so large that it took until mile 7-8 to start thinning out enough that I didn't have to dodge all of the slower runners or walkers. Why don't slower runners move to the right!

2. The last thing I want to do after running 26 miles is to walk and walk into the convention center, wait among crowds to get on the escalater and walk through the entire expo to get my finisher shirt, and then return back through everything again to get out.

The race is a very well organized event with good hospitality. In 2011 when I ran it the weather was unfortunately poor - 40F and raining pretty hard during a lot of it. I'm fairly sure I even heard thunder as I was entering the finish. The course isn't pancake flat, but it isn't horribly hilly either. You could definitely PR here and I plan to come back to this race in the future.

I have run the half and full over the last couple of years and this race was great the way they had it. The new changes are starting to make me wonder if this race is departing from greatness.

1. The course out of fair park was awesome, straight downhill to the finish. I don't see how downtown can give you any time advantage over what was already there.

2. Changing the name to the 'Dallas Marathon.' That doesn't mean anything, stick with what people know, which is 'White Rock.'

3. Tacking on a $3 'facilities usage fee.' This sends a signal that suckage is starting to seep in. If it costs $3 extra to use the facilities, just put it in the price, don't kick us in the nuts at the checkout line!

4. This has been the same every year, but why do we get the shirt on the first day? Any way to lower the price and get rid of the participant shirt?

I already registered for 2012, I'll give it a chance with all of the new changes. However, what you had going was great and I hate to see it change!

I have ran the half marathon before but this was my first full marathon and boy did we have awful weather for it. The packet pick-up is always fairly easy and the expo has some great freebies.
I was surprised to see so many spectators out due to the weather so that definitely helped keep me going when I was pretty sure my fingers were frozen solid and I was seconds away from hypothermia. Not really, but my goodness low 40's and raining the whole way was miserable!!!! The starting line could definitely use some improvement, I have ran this race two years in a row and each time I have had to wait 30-45 minutes to actually start running after the race starts. It seems a bit ridiculous to me. Another issue I had was at the water stops before the half marathoners split off, I am a middle of the pack runner and I was having to either stop to get water or they were out of water or cups at some of the stations. Not good when you are relying on these stations for water or gatorade to keep you running for 26.2 miles.
My last complaint is that when you finish running and pay a good bit of $$$ I would expect to have bottled water, not tiny cups filled with nasty tasting Dallas City water. GROSS! A race of this size should easily be able to get bottles of water donated so I am not sure who drops the ball on this, but seriously get bottles of water!!!!!

I ran this the previous year on the VIP package. It came with a parking pass that put you right next to the finish (plus some really cool race shwag and VIP diva perks). I noticed however that there were hundreds of runners who parked in the same area just by arriving a few minutes early before the crowd. This year I did likewise and parked within a few feet of my VIP spot from the previous year. This is a great event for anyone who gives it half a chance. The event is well organized, from the Expo all the way through to the Finish celebrations. The course is challenging but not too hilly and takes you through some beautiful parts of Dallas. In addition to there being plenty to see, there is spectator support all along the way. I loved this year's finisher medal as well. For those who wish to skip the drive this event venue is right on the DART light rail line. It works out really well for those from out of town or car free. I have used it in other years to get to and from the event during race weekend with no issues. For those from out of town you can also stay at one of the downtown hotels and have the DART rail line stop right outside your door. You can walk out of your hotel and in ten minutes be on the race site.