I just did the half marathon, but the Fair Park venue was awful! I've done the race 4 other times and this was by far the worst. There was no organization whatsoever at the start, it took too long to get over the start line, people just jumped into whatever corral they felt like, there were not enough bathrooms, etc. The course, however, was great, and the volunteers were awesome.

The end of the race was also a cluster - I had to wait in line for 5-10 minutes to get into the building to get my medal and finisher's shirt. When I went through there was still some food - but nothing compared to previous years. I heard from 5-hour+ marathoners that there was NO food when they got there. That's just wrong.

Move it back to AAC!

Ran this before in 2008, and felt it's better this time. The organization was good. It is easy to complain about the start venue - the American Airlines Center has a different feel to it from Fair Park. The traffic jam at I-30 is very frustrating, but it's ok if you try to get there by 6:30 as the website suggested. My wife and I weren't so lucky; we got stuck in the traffic and were able to get to the start line only about 15 minutes after the gun shot.

The course is perfect; we only had two encounters with the hills: at about 9, and then the Dolly Partons at around 21. Can't complain about the route.

The lake is wonderful but it was too cold to enjoy the run given the low temperatures on Sunday. The breeze really hurt!

The volunteers were WONDERFUL!! All stations were stocked well with water and Gatorade, though I noticed they had less food (no cookies anywhere!!) - only oranges.

Crowds were ample and very, very supportive and enthusiastic. They do help more than hydration when it really matters. Nice turnout even in the cold. Thanks you, guys. Really appreciate it.

Post race: Oranges, beer and yogurt are all we got. I wish they had had more variety.

Overall, it is a fun experience, and I would do it again without thinking twice. Highly recommended for first-timers.

I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon for the first time on Sunday (my 11th marathon overall) and really liked the course. (It probably helps my opinion that the weather was cool and I felt great!) The road was a little too narrow for the first 1/2-mile leaving the Cotton Bowl, but they held back each corral briefly to alleviate the congestion, and the rest of it was terrific. The first few miles were in the downtown area; then the course wound its way through some beautiful neighborhoods (rolling hills) with good fan support and a lot of local bands. The Highland Park area had some unbelievable homes and was the best part of the race and had the most spectators. Miles 12 through 20 circled White Rock Lake, which was nice, albeit chilly and few fans. There were a couple of ill-timed but relatively short hills at miles 20-21; then the last 5 miles were mostly downhill back through neighborhoods and downtown. I think the last 5K were ALL downhill, which helped me negative split (1:45:15 / 1:42:45) and qualify for Boston in 3:28.

The race was well-organized, had there was good fan support and plenty of fluids. Nice medal and a tech fabric finisher's shirt too. I can recommend this race without hesitation. We stayed at the Hyatt race headquarters, which made the logistics fairly painless.

Third-rate marathon at best. Organization is pretty poor compared to other equivalent-size races. I don't plan on doing this one again. Getting to Fair Park was a nightmare. Overall, a bit of a disappointment.

I have run this 4 times now. I do not think the new start location is better overall. It is hard to get to on race-day, and not at all user-friendly. My big upset was that I had to pay $10 to pick up my packet the day before. They charged that to park in an enormous lot (about a mile away from where you actually get your packet) to get your packet.
I found the "wave start" to be a complete nightmare!!! My wave took off 34 minutes after the initial gun went off. There was a lot of standing around in the cold, not too sure what was going on between the gun and the movement of my wave.

Also, once finished, the runners went into a building, but once we left, we were not allowed back in. This was odd, as I was trying to find my running partner and was worried about him.

Pros: Great crowd support; wonderful city in which to run; the cops are the best; tons of water stations with really nice people helping; a lot of medical help (just in case); and tons of music.

This was by far the largest marathon I have participated in. Considering the number of participants in the 3 events (22,000), it was well organized and there seemed to be plenty of food (fruit and bars) and drinks for everyone at the end. The location of the start and finish (Fair Park) was big enough to accommodate everyone, but I can see how parking would be a pain, but this was not an issue as there was a shuttle for those staying at 1 of 2 hotels (very convenient). Aid stations were more than adequate and there were plenty of spectators handing out refreshments along the course. Very crowded at the start with all runners (marathon, half, and relay) starting together, but that should be expected. If someone doesn't like the crowd, there a many other, smaller marathons, including one in Dallas. Overall, it was a great experience (except the last 4 miles) and I would do it again. I could have done without the Nebraska loss the night before.

This was my first White Rock Marathon. I had read a few negative reviews in the past, but I entered this race with an open mind. The packet pick-up was easy and organized. The pre-race pasta dinner was excellent. Lots of food and good service.

Now on to the marathon. The race started a few minutes late, which was no big deal. I'm not sure what type of organizing was used for the runner placement. Within the first mile, there were people walking - lots of people walking. Some were walking in lines that completely cut across the race course and most did not have the courtesy or the knowledge to stay to one side and make room for the actual runners. Common sense would tell you that if the runners were corralled by projected finishing times, then the walkers would be in the back. This of course was not the case and you had to bob and weave around walkers the entire race, many of whom had corral placement that was ahead of many actual runners.

The race couse itself was well organized. There were plenty of refreshments at the aid stations, beautiful scenery and lots of spectators - although they were a little sparse in some areas. The finisher's medals were nice as well as the finishers shirts.

The post-race party was a bit of a disappointment. There was no hot meal served after the race - only granola bars, fruit, yogurt and beer. When I asked a race staff member if they were serving hot food, I was told that they had vendors outside who were selling hot items. I was a little insulted by that response. After 26.2 miles in the cold, a little hot food would have been appreciated.

The overall marathon was good. They just need to improve on runner placement in the corrals and serve better food at the end. Everything else in between was great.

Great course - varied and scenic - but jockeying around runners/walkers constantly made it a little unnerving.

The water stations, fan support and creative signage really make for a welcoming race.

Thanks to the many police personnel who looked after intersections. It felt like little of this race was run in traffic.

The run around the lake was very, very pleasant, with lots of opportunities for port-o-johns.

THUMBS DOWN to the food at the end. Granola bars, bananas, beer and oranges that required peeling after running half of the marathon in cooler weather....

This was my second White Rock Half Marathon, and my 12th half marathon overall. This years' race had by far the poorest organization I have ever seen at a race. The expo at State Fair was marred by impossibly-hard-to-find parking and traffic congestion. I eventually settled for off-street parking one mile away in the surrounding neighborhood, which I would describe as "sketchy" at best.

The bag drop was worse, with two small trucks to accommodate 20,000 runners. People just started throwing their bags in the truck as race time approached. Afterward, it took 45 minutes for me to get my bag, as they had not even completed off-loading the bags prior to the finish of the half-marathon.

As far as the race was concerned, the race started 10 minutes late and left everyone in the first corral where I was grumbling, as it was 37 degrees and everyone was becoming cold and tight.

Finally, there seemed to have been a problem with the timing system. My "official" time indicated that it only took me 8 seconds to get to the starting line, but I know that after the gun went off, all of the non-elite runners were forced to wait at least an extra minute before they let us go.

The course, however, was pretty good. Some fairly substantial hills from miles 6-9, but the last four miles were flat to downhill. And, as always, the people of Dallas and the volunteers are always warm and courteous.

My first White Rock was in 2006 and I had no complaints... that's why I made the trip again from Wisconsin. I won't be back anytime soon.

This was my 7th marathon, but first at White Rock. I enjoyed the course. You get to see some great houses, a scenic lake, and a lot of great views of the downtown area. The start at Fair Park was nice; we found ample parking (if you arrived early, as they recommended) and all you had to do to leave was find I-30. Water stops were ample... toward the end there were even cookies and Snickers. The volunteers couldn't have been better, and the police were very helpful. The hill towards the end was a nice kick in the pants, and it made the finish even better. I could have done without each wave getting their own start (it backed up my wave, "H," about 22 minutes) but it was probably nice for the first-timers. Kudos to Dallas; I'll be back.