This was my first marathon and, while the weather was awful, the crowd support, Expo, and swag made up for it! Can't believe how many people were out cheering us on despite the cold and rain! I do wish the mile markers were easier to spot, AND I wish there were some shuttles from the finish to the parking lots. I was so freezing afterward and felt like I walked forever to get to my car. It took hours and a hot shower to warm back up. I also didn't see anywhere to change in the finishers' building, but I didn't look that hard.

I really love this event (have done the half several times before) and am really glad it was the site for my first full. I will just hope for better weather next year!

This course was simply spectacular! We ran through some of the fancier neighborhoods of Dallas, and the homes were decorated for the holidays. Fantastic course support (loved the HUGE cup of beer at mile 9 or so). Now, everyone is talking about the weather. It was so bad that it actually became funny. I felt like a warrior (or some kind of middle-earth creature) battling nature in addition to the run itself. I would do this course again... no doubt! Thanks for the great run, Dallas. I'll be back!

After reading that Dallas was one of the top 25 marathons to do and then finally getting run it. I have to agree. The crowd support was awesome despite the fact that it was pouring people were still out there. The mile markers were off but in the end it was the right distance. My only issue was the finish where the half marathoners and marathoners merged. It was crowded and I found myself trying not to run over other runners. But I was happy despite the pouring rain I got a PR and will certainly mark this as one of my favorite marathons.

I have participated in the White Rock Marathon either as a spectator or as a participant for the past 10 years. This marathon has an excellent course and amazing crowd support,even in the uncommonly nasty weather, but moving this event to the fair park has ruined it. It is a complete mad house, and ridiculously inconvenient for the race and the packet pick up. There is no way to park close to the finish or the start unless you opt for some VIP packages for an extra $150!!! I was forced to park in the fair shuttle parking lot (no shuttle service for the marathon) , the police would not let our line of traffic go to the gate we planned out using the map, the attendant told us that we were in the closest spot to the start which was absolutely incorrect. I later mapped out the distance on Map My Run and it was 1.1 miles from the finish line to the car. After running 26.2 or 13.1 miles in the cold rain (which no one to blame for the weather) i do not want to walk 1.1 miles to my car!!! Last year was the same issue, only at least the weather was nice. I remember last year saying I wouldnt do WR Marathon again and NOW I KNOW I wont. Next year I will do Houston or San Antonio. Sorry White Rock, apparently your goal is to be as big as the New York Marathon, that just ain't gonna happen! Let me know when you start caring about the participants again you bring it back to the AA center.

Pros:
- Lots of water/aid stations - seemed like every mile!
- Lots of volunteers manning the stations in VERY tough conditions - thank you!
- Love the start/finish in same location!
- No lines at the expo for packet pick-up (at 10am on Sat)
- Nice expo - lots of vendors
- Awesome that there is building in the State Fair Park where you could wait INSIDE prior to event (especially considering the poor weather)
- Loved the ability to go inside after the race to get food, etc. (again especially considering the weather)
- DART was super easy - took it (stayed at downtown hotel) to the Expo and to the Race
- Nice course - mostly flat - I did my first negative split ever!

Cons:
- No clocks on the course to determine your time (might be unnecessary with today's technology - but one at 13.1 would have been nice).
- Starting line was a bit narrow which meant it took me 24 minutes to get to the starting line (I planned on a 4:20 pace)

The weather (cold with hard rain during 95% of the race) really sucked - but you can't blame anyone for that. (Well, I understand that it is typically a pretty sketchy time of the year for weather.)

The biggest hassle was the packet pick-up and getting to / from the race from the hotel. It took almost 2 hours to pick up my packet: wait for the next bus, 30 minute bus ride, pick up packet then be forced to wind through a maze to get t-shirt - being treated like dumb cattle to be hearded around for the convenience of the expo sellers and promoters . . . it should be optional whether you want to shop or not - wait for the return bus, another bus ride home. It's really a shame they don't have packet pickup at the hotel or the near-by convention center. It took me longer to pick up my packet than the flight took to get to Dallas.

The race announcer went on about the good race weather (it wasn't raining yet at the very start) . . . saying there might be some moisture later but all you'd need to wear is shorts and a shirt. That was a dangerous thing to say . . . I saw people ditching soon-to-be-very-needed clothing / garbage bags / poncho's based on that bad weather and clothing advice.

Fans and aid station staffers were unbelievable - especially considering the horrible weather!

The course should have been very beautiful (around White Rock Reservoir) + running through some very attractive neighborhoods . . . but the rain and bad weather sort of ruined all of that.

but it was my own fault.

I ended up running the half instead of the full due to undertraining. Sad because I ave run this twice before with the old course and loved it.

Pros:

Nice expo, good variety of stuff, a children's play area

DART worked well for us. No need to drive and fight traffic, which I had heard was bad.

Nice course. Pretty darn flat and easy.

Pretty course. Scenic, Xmas decorations.

Two shirts.

Pancakes and soup.

Cons:

I do prefer the old AA start because it was easier to get to from hotelsI could walk. If it hadn't been so rainy and cold, maybe I could have walked to Fair Park?

The weather.

Volunteers who didn't show due to weather.

Congested where the full and half merged at the end. I was running the half with no goal, but had I been running the full with a time goal....I hope no one had trouble.

Overall, it was positive and I'll do it again.

I ran a 9 min PR in foul weather and frankly spent to much time dodging puddles! Silly enterprise...

Pros:
1. Packet pick up and getting to start were a breeze on DART, why anyone bothers with trying to drive in I just dont know.
2. Outsatnding volunteer support, the weather was filthy and standing out there in it and providing us water/gatorade etc Kudos to all
3. Nice course, mostly flat, hills negilble
4. Love post race graphic tool showing race breakdown

Cons:
1. Weather but really moaning here, nothing can change it
2. Total chaos inside bulding after the race no clue, I got my medals and left
3. Ok, this is a disturbing trend I see repeatedly. The half marathoner merge. They need their own lane coned off, otherwise the 4 and 5 abreast nonsense that blocks the course occurs. Really frustrating when you are trying to sprint to finish when you have to literally go through a wall of people, one 'wall' is enough tyvm
4. Random non-runners on the course, to include vehicles backing up out of drive ways, really? Come on now.

Overall DWRM is a good event but they need to tighten up race course security and post race event.

This was my 4th White Rock, I believe the AAC gives the race a more prestigious feeling especially with the TV station right there. We can grow Dallas marathon into one of the greatest in the circuit without the larger organizations taking over, if we return it to AAC. We have everything right there with the arts district and soon the park over the freeway. We want to encourage out of towners to come to the city and enjoy a clean and safe place to visit and show the best Dallas has to offer by way of the great hotels, restaurants and museums all within walking distance or short taxi ride away. As for Fair Park, it's not the easiest place to get to, and the sprawling distance to get from one building to another is further than someone wants to walk following running a marathon. Then following that with another long walk to the car. However, the chicken broth this year, was...well THANK YOU, it was the best!

As I'm sure many others will comment, the weather for this race was miserable - 40, raining, and windy. That being said, there's nothing race organizers can do about it. The race has a nice size expo and I attended the race-sponsored pasta party at the Omni, which was the host hotel. I did not notice any organizational issues until the start.

The corrals were not enforced at all, and many people went to the earlier corrals because the entrances to the corrals were few and far between and it was easier to go to the front. This caused a great deal of congestion in the early miles. I started in Corral D, which did not cross the start line until 25 minutes after the start. I know this was better than last year, but it still seemed ridiculous. The first 9 miles were incredibly crowded because of the half marathoners (happens in a lot of races) but because of the puddles and conditions, it was actually dangerous. My pace group had a hard time staying together and on the right pace because of the congestion, but that was substantially improved after mile 9.

Probably because of the poor weather, there were not many volunteers at the early water stops, resulting in people having to stop to get cups filled, get their own cup off the table, etc. With the congestion, it was sometimes easier just not to stop. Again, this was alleviated in the later miles. I found the course to be very fair and generally pretty. I have run some very hilly races (Atlanta, Baltimore) so I did not think this course was hilly at all. The 9 miles around White Rock lake are beautiful. The spectators and volunteers who braved these conditions cannot be thanked enough! They were enthusiastic and cheerful and I was so appreciative of each one. The finisher's medal is good quality and MetroPCS is a great sponsor- they handed out free ponchos, gloves, and chapstick at the start and had cell phones available for runners to call their families at the finish! I've never seen anything like that before. I was so cold when I finished the race that I wasn't thinking coherently and missed the finisher's shirts entirely.

The layout of the area where runners get their medals, food, bags, etc, is somewhat confusing. Basically, if you didn't have a checked bag (I didn't) you would never have seen the beer or finisher's shirts. Overall, I enjoyed the race and I came close to a PR despite the conditions. The city really gets into the marathon and there is a ton of news coverage about it. The host hotel was great. If I wasn't trying to complete the 50 states, I would probably come back.