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May 4, 2024

Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) Runner Comments

Back to Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) Information & Reviews

Course 4.3

Organization 3.9

Spectators 4.2

Number of comments: 338 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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b. a. from arlington, tx (12/20/2012) "not an urban marathon" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 There were virtually no spectators; it was not an urban race in the NYC or Chicago senses. There were too many walkers and little room to move. I ran the half.
R. R. from New York, NY (12/17/2012) "Average" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I had higher hopes for Dallas, which turned out to be just an average experience. PROS * friendly course monitors, including police * supportive, but limited, crowd support * nice medal (one of my favs of 22) * great expo CONS * water stops - disorganized and generally overwhelmed; some had no drinks available, as staffers were pouring frantically trying to meet demand; some had water first, then Gatorade others the opposite * course - non-inspiring, to say the least * half and full runners - WAY too crowded for a mid size marathon; seriously, I thought I was running NY until the split at 8 miles or so * race shirt - cotton! * I suppose most downtown areas are desolate nowadays; Dallas was no exception Overall, an average marathon. Thank you Dallas - I hope you strive to improve your overall experience.
L. M. from Arlington, TX (12/13/2012) "Eyes on the big time" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I've run this race many times and it has generally been well organized and a nice but not great race. This year's changes - name and a course more designed to show off the city ala Chicago - are logical moves toward making this a big-name race. The former White Rock Marathon is indeed growing up. The variable beyond everyone's control is still the weather. December is usually a delightful time to be here. But the previous year's cold rain, and this year's heat and humidity first - and later the strong wind which was actually a blessing as it moderated the previous conditions - can make this a tough race. But all in all, well done Dallas!
M. D. from GA-USA (12/13/2012) "A very nice urban race." (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my second running of this race and that says a lot about an event as I seldom repeat. I like this race. About 2/3 of the race is really nice. It runs through downtown, into some of the most upscale neighborhoods of Dallas, around White Rock Lake and back to downtown. No significant hills are included. The Expo, volunteers, fans, and staff are great. I just had a few negatives to share. The bag drop off was over 4 blocks from the start at the Expo. To go back to the EXPO to pick up your bag and get food is an additional hassle. I wasted 1/2 an hour when I had a close check out and plane to catch. This was a minor aggravation. The post-race food was fair at best for a major race. There were bananas, oranges, bags of pretzels, and chocolate milk. All this was good, but I have seen much better. There were no bottled water at the finish; there was only waters in cups. Three years ago the T-shirt was of hi-tech fabric; this year it was cotton. Finally, a massage would be nice at the finish. The course was very congested until the half-marathon split. That said, I recommend this race and will likely run it the future. A tip for you frugal runners: Neither Dallas airport has direct DART rail service; however, both airports have a shuttle that connects to the DART to downtown. This is a 90% saving over cab fare.
J. M. from Dallas, Texas (12/12/2012) "Needs some improvement" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Plusses: Good spectator support Good traffic control Convenience of portapotties in corrals Cons: $12 parking fee to pick up packet There were sections on the course where a left or right turn was required in a compact space which caused a backup of runners and slowed times. Especially at the Armstrong u-turn Water stations were inadequate for 20,000+ runners. Not enough volunteers. Runners were 4-5 deep waiting on water. It took me 45 minutes after the race to get my finisher shirt. Just give it out with the packet.
C. M. from Mansfield, Texas (12/11/2012) "Good new course with even better support." (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 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.
B. C. from Houston, TX (12/10/2012) "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 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.
J. P. from San Mateo, CA (12/10/2012) "I love Dallas, but this is just an OK race" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 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.
M. G. from Arizona (12/10/2012) "Great race; just needs a few tweaks..." (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 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.
c. a. from Dallas (12/9/2012) "Average, used to be better" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 4-5 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 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.

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