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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 61 to 71]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 5 6 7 8 9 .. 34 > ]

K. R. from Carrollton, Texas (12/9/2010) "What a Mess!" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 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.
j. t. from houston, texas (12/8/2010) "merged finish combined start" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 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.
m. y. from Texas (12/8/2010) "It's a decent race" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 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.
A. T. from Keller, TX (12/7/2010) "Fair Park Works" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 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!
A. S. from San Diego, CA (12/7/2010) "What a great race" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 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.
C. G. from Dallas, Tx (12/7/2010) "Move it back to AAC!" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 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!
Srinivasa Teja Palla from Shreveport (12/7/2010) "The Best... Almost" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 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.
J. B. from Chicago, IL (12/7/2010) "Nice course!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 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.
K. S. from Dallas. Tx (12/7/2010) "Underwhelmed" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 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.
j. d. from upstate NY (12/6/2010) "Don't agree with a few changes...." (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 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.

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