This is my 5th marathon after running Denver, Philadelphia, New York and then Chicago on 10/10/10. I stayed at the Aloft Hotel downtown and took the train to both the expo and race and had no problems. I loved the course and thought there were plenty of downhill sections. The uphills were really not that big of a deal. I had a great time cruising around the lake with the 3:30 pace group. Who cares if there weren't spectators out there? I didn't expect it and it was great to stick with a group of runners. I ran a 3:28:27 after finishing 3:38:44 in NY last year so I was stoked at the finish line! Great volunteers and I really enjoyed the spectators and music. The many turns broke up the course nicely. I liked focusing my mind on running the tangents. It was a wonderful experience and I got my food and everything at the finish. The starting line was cool because they shot confetti and flames at the starting line. Would definitely run this again.

This was my 5th consecutive White Rock marathon, and while it was still a good experience, but a big step backwards from previous years.

Things I liked: the course was 90% the same - great scenery, minimal hills, good bands (way better than the R'n'R marathons I've been to).

Things not to like: 1) Switching the start/finish from AA Arena to Fair Park. The reason publicized by race management was that they want to grow the race and need more parking and facilities; if so, it does no good to have more parking if the access to parking lots is backed up for miles. Increasing the numbers but not the space allocated for start corrals, and having a 30-foot wide bottleneck 600 meters into the race, makes for a crowded and dangerous start. Touting free parking on race day but charging $10 for expo parking isn't good. A cynic would say the race management wants to grow the race alright, but only in terms of revenue/profit, not in terms of making the race experience more enjoyable for non-fun run participants. That's to be expected from for-profit races but I thought White Rock was different.

2) Merging full marathon racers and half marathon walkers onto the same course the last 1.5 miles made the marathon finish unpleasant. It was actually worse than in past years when the half started an hour after the full - this year 3-hour marathoners were "sharing" the road with walkers who had gone 12 miles in 3 hours. That's OK if the walkers would pick one side or the other, but most of them were walking 2 or 3 abreast with their BFFs. It didn't help to holler "on your left/right" as most of them were babbling to each other or cranking their iPods. Really disconcerting after 24+ miles.

3) Volunteer staffing was great and they did a fine job for the most part, but next year the gear bag pickup needs to be better organized. Most other large races have multiple drop-off points/trucks, categorized by bib number or name, which makes it easy for the pick-up afterward to be arranged similarly. White Rock's crew had only 2 drop-off points so it was no wonder the bag sorting at pickup was messed up. I found my bag after looking 20 minutes and am sure others went missing for hours. Think "Horton Hears a Who."

All in all, the race was OK, but it felt a lot more like an R'n'R event than previous White Rock Marathons. It seems that race organizers are embracing the "It's not a race; it's an event!" philosophy. If that increases fundraising for the Scottish Rite Hospital, that's OK; but I think next year I'll send the hospital a check and run somewhere else.

I thought the expo was very nice, but even in the middle of the day on a Friday, the traffic was bad (when did Dallas become LA?).

On race day I got a drop-off ride with a local who knew a back road but could see that ingress was a little tortured; not sure why though - with a 92,000-seat stadium on the grounds, it shouldn't be that hard.

First time with a wave start. The corral assignments seemed odd. I predicted 4:10 but had to jump forward from corral "I" at least one (maybe two) to start with the 4-hour pacers. We were passing slower runners for miles. I guess that still beats the mess of a really big race starting all at once. How the assignments were made should be looked at (but it did feel great passing gobs of people at the end of my 3:56 PR).

Nice course; more bands would have been good but I guess I'm spoiled in Columbus where there were 80 this year (seriously).

Best for last: having the post-race inside was AWESOME even though the weather really wasn't as bad as reported.

It was a long trip for me but I could be back.

The move to Fair Park was supposed to ease congestion, but it may have been worse. I would suggest either riding DART or getting there early, and I do mean early. I was parked by 6:30 a.m. The corrals were the right plan, but they weren't monitored. Lots of slow runners were in the wrong corrals. Also, we had to pay $10 to park the day before to get to the expo. I wasn't happy about that. If race officials plan to increase the cap next year, remember to give yourself plenty of time to get there. Otherwise, the course is great. I will be back next year.

First and most importantly... this was a beautiful, even and fast course. The fans were great - the city really does turn out to cheer on runners. Definitely worth running. That being said...

The organizers did a poor job all around. The course wasn't released in a timely manner and there was hardly any communication about it. There were not enough port-a-potties and bag check vans to accommodate all of the runners quickly on race day. After the race the bag check was a complete nightmare... you had to go look for your own bag. After 26.2 miles, bending down to search through bags is pretty hard.

I really hope the organizers get their act together. I'd hate to see yet another local race be taken over by "Rock and Roll" or another large group, but a race organizer's job is to minimize the stress on runners and this time it was a failure all around.

The traffic getting to the race was shocking! I barely made the start after leaving over two hours early... and I live only 15 miles away. This was my 71st marathon and I have never seen such a mess "trying to get to a race!"

The volunteers were great; there were enough water stops on a cold day, and the course was well known to me as I run most of it every Saturday. There was very little food at the end, and finding my car was a challenge... and a long walk! The half-marathoners got all of the food before I finished.

I'm disappointed that Dallas, my home town, can't seem to have a marathon that is better prepared. Year after year, White Rock seems to have some type of major snafu and thus remains a third-tier marathon that never attracts runners from out-of-state.

Maybe next year they will do better? However... I will not be there to see it.

This was my 6th Dallas Marathon. The starting corrals were combined for all runners. This included the halfers and relay runners, arranged by projected finish/pace. This made the start overcrowded, with too much congestion. It didn't thin out until mile 3. Around mile 24 the entire race merged so you had high-2-hour marathoners and low-3-hour folks merging with half marathoners. This was horrible. I trust next year this won't transpire. I also suggest a separate start time for the half and relay - perhaps 20-30 minutes after the full.

It's a pretty flat course, until you hit the hills after mile 20... then it's pretty rough. The new Fair Park venue is a bottleneck for both the expo and race-day. Also, there's a $10 parking fee for the expo. There were very few spectators in the middle of the race (around the lake). In 2010, the weather was cold and breezy (37 degrees/ 12-15 mph wind). Only the 20 elite full marathon runners started at the gun; corral A was held for a minute.

In '07, WR was my first-ever marathon. Two years and 10 marathons later, I came back and chopped almost a full hour off 2007's finish.

For the uncontrollable factor, weather was almost ideal.

As for the venue, I preferred Fair Park over AAC, mainly because of the larger space, plus I think the atmosphere is more festive. Parking was free until 8 a.m. on race day, and there were trams to haul you to/from the parking lot. Expo parking was $10, which bothers me, but not sure how much control the race has over that. Too bad the new DART Green Line didn't open until the day after the race, as it may have helped some people out.

On to the race: as advertised, the majority of the course remains the same. One thing I noticed as being new was the staggered start, and for a race this large, it was helpful. In my opinion, adding an additional 30 seconds between waves would be even better. I haven't figured out why all of the walkers get in the early corrals.

Definite improvement in the medals over '07. The long-sleeve shirt and the tech shirt were both very nice.

As always, hats off to the great volunteers and fans! I counted 3 beer stops and a mai-tai stop this year. No, I did not partake.

Good time was had!

I'm somewhat of a marathon snob and I must say this is one of the best I've done. Great course: perfect mix of urban setting, neighborhoods, and scenic lakefront. Great volunteers: handing out tissues on a chilly day was a great idea. Nice swag: two great shirts, nice medal, and good expo. Obviously logistics of the start need reworking - there is no reason it should be so difficult to drive into Fair Park, a place built for big events. Otherwise, though, Fair Park is a great venue for start/finish. Having the indoor area post-race for the runners is an excellent idea. I think the race could and should be larger, with a bit more planning of the start.