A great mid-winter race with about 4,000 runners in the marathon, 3,000 in the half marathon and 2,500 in the relay race. It?s a little crowded at the start, but the race featured ChampionChip timing. This race is put on by a group of volunteer runners who have been around for a while. While some of the other runners complain about things that are beyond the control of the race organizers (the security checks are a requirement for all events at the American Airlines Center, and have you ever been to an indoor arena where you didn't walk down stairs to get to the arena floor?), everything the organizers are in control of is first-class. Bus transportation, bands and aid stations, t-shirts and medals are some of the best in the business.

Plenty of bathrooms at the start, even getting to use the bathrooms pre-race in the AAC. Most aid stations have 2 or more bathrooms, and there are extra ones around the lake that are there year-round. The course is beautiful, with the lake coming at miles 9 through 17. Great slight downhill section in miles 22 ? 25. The weather has been perfect the past couple of years and the race recognizes the first-time marathoners in a special way. The expo grows every year and features all kind of vendors.

Dallas is a great city to visit as well. There?s plenty to do all weekend around the host hotel, and there?s a Friday night pre-pre-race dinner at a local honky-tonk that serves Texas BBQ. A small 5k Saturday morning, the expo most of the day Saturday, and a pre-race pasta dinner Saturday night.

The race organizers are easy to reach and happy to share information. When is the last time you received a response from THE Race Director telling you the best place to park race morning? Running Bob says 4.5 Stars ? check it out!

As a Dallas resident, it never ceases to amaze me at how little interest the community has for this event. The City doesn't get behind it and the race organizers just don't seem to care about the runners either. The 'expo' is nothing more than a waste of time, and the post-race water and refreshments are pretty scarce as well - that is, if you can even get to them.

I have participated in this race 2 times for the entire marathon and 4 times as part of the relay.

A nice course, weather can be 'iffy' in December in Dallas, but this past year it was great. I just wish there were more spectators on the course; it can get very lonely as this is a pretty small marathon.

The police officers who directed traffic during the race were great though! They cheered and encouraged more than the spectators!

My third marathon and the best so far, by a lot. The course is very beautiful during the several miles around the lake and we had perfect weather - low 30's to start and blue skies all day. What a day to run past a lake and many small parks! The expo was beyond awesome (I've been to more expos than marathons.) I have never seen so many colors, sizes, and types of running clothes and accessories in my life. I spent a ton of money and don't regret any of my purchases.

Staying at the host hotel (Hyatt) is a great convenience and eliminated a lot of stress. Pasta dinner was well-priced and convenient. There were plenty of porta-potties along the course - a real plus and a stress reliever for me. Fans were good, but not as many as I expected - maybe due to the cold. Food at the finish was tasty, varied, and plentiful. The start at the AA Center allows hanging out in the warm building and using real toilets - a luxury for sure.

Only downsides: some of the roads were rather rough or too crowded; having to walk down about 50 steps to get to the post-race food; very hard to find water post-race (not everyone wants beer). If you don't run this race (you should), at least don't miss the expo.

This was not only my first marathon but my first race at all. I researched December marathons on this guide and came from NYC to run Dallas. I was intimidated by the comments on hills, but they turned out to be no problem at all. There was a mix-up with the shuttle buses and we got to the starting line just a few minutes before the start, and it was a mob scene and I never did see any organized line-up - had to walk along the side and then jump a fence and a barricade to get going. Other than that, a wonderful experience - great volunteers, bands, scenic course. The steady downhill at the end is a real plus. Definitely recommend this race.

This was my fourth marathon. I thought the course was perfect for a PR, though I was running it more for training. The pasta dinner was well organized, unfortunately that was about all that was well thought out. The pre-race use of indoor toilets was good at the AA Center, but making runners walk down steep stairs in the stadium after 26.2 is cruel. Only having one porta-john at the aid stations was not a good idea a set of 3 or so at each would be nice. I used over 12 minutes waiting in lines to get to one. My suggestion for change would be to have the post-race food outside at the finish and not in the center, it took me almost 40 minutes to get through the crowd and down to what was left of the food, and probably should not let people other than the runners at the food. Seems there were a lot of non-runners in there as well, taking for themselves. I loved the course and would run it again. The medal was excellent, as was having a finisher's shirt and marathon shirt.

After much research, I selected White Rock for my first attempt at a marathon, and couldn't be more happy that I did. The weather was perfect, a great (mostly flat) course, and despite some of the other comments, I never went more than a couple of hundred yards without being cheered on or entertained by the live bands. The stations were easy to navigate and never too far apart.

If I had to offer one criticism, it would be the pre-race organization. The (completely unnecessary) security check made it very slow going to get in and out of the arena. Finally, it was kind of a guess where to go when lining up for the start. The chip timing makes it less significant, but it was a little stressful as a first timer not to know if I was in the right place.

EXCELLENT RACE!

My 7th marathon, including Houston and Chicago -- I honestly think this might be the fastest one (my PR by 4 minutes). The last 5 miles are slight downhill the whole way, which is a great way to finish.

Organization kinda sucks, especially the bag dropoff, and having to walk down the stairs for finisher's food.

Spectators are pretty sparse.

But it's a faaaaast course. Highly recommended for a BQ.

The good stuff: the flyover at the beginning was great, the water stops were well stocked and the volunteers were great. The bad stuff: the organization at the start was non-existent, the expo was a nightmare (small, laid-out poorly, a handful of vendors were horribly rude - mostly to the volunteers generous with their time to staff the event), there were NO spectators the first 6 miles of the race other than a couple of folks here and there and they didn't clap, cheer, smile, anything.

The course was nice. The hills were minimal and the scenery was good, though it would've been much better had there been the crowds there that are usually out for this race. I've run the relays for this race in the past and the crowd support was great. However, it never could compare to the crowds in Chicago, New York, DC or Portland. The crowd was even bigger and more boisterous in Dublin a few years ago in really crummy weather.

I hope the new organizers work out some of the kinks with the expo next year and I hope they order enough medals (they ran out of medals for the folks running the half marathon). If they really want to make this a premier marathon and draw folks from all over the country, the organizers have some serious work ahead of them.

Running in the Dallas White Rock Marathon was one of the best experiences of my life. This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed every minute of it. I think it is a great idea to give ?first-timers? a different bib color, so that spectators know that this is their first marathon. I received so much crowd support, it was truly unbelievable! I not only completed this marathon but I even qualified for the Boston Marathon! Thanks so much and keep of the great work! I will definitely try and run this one again next year!

It was everything I anticipated and I came in below my 4:00 goal. The flyover at the end of the National Anthem was something I will never forget and it sent a vibe through the crowd that got everyone ready to run. The hills are very manageable, just be ready for miles 19-21. The crowd was great, but somewhat sparse towards the very end when you come back into downtown. Many, though, seemed to recognize the 1st-timer bib and direct their encouragement which was very nice. I would not hesitate to do this run again.