This race was messed up from the start. No potties were available at the start. You had to walk to the local hotel or convenient store to use the bathroom. There also were no bathrooms available along the course. Men had the convenience of findig the nearest tree or side of a building. For women this was not so easy. There were not even any stores or restaurants along the course where maybe you could use that bathroom. I don't know about you but with all the intake you need to run that far, and the amount of time it takes to run, I need to use the restroom. A good deal of the course was on a brick road. I think 26.2 miles is enough pounding without running on a brick surface. The only fan support came from the people at the aid stations, which had plenty of water. That is about the only good thing I can say about it. I am thankful I only did the half-marathon that day. Oh yeah, it is now 3 months later, and I still have not heard the results.

I have run this both years. The first year it was excellent. The second was bad. I think I was the only runner who did not get off course. I drove it the day before and had a year experience on it. About mile 20 I caught the guy ahead of me, thinking I had done well, he said he had been off course for the last 5 minutes or so. Hopefully it will return to the same as it was in 1999 with the Greers being the directors, it should. It is a good course in that it finds and runs on every hill that is possible in Lubbock. There are a few miles on brick roads that I totally hate. Bricks are too hard to run on. It is like running on cement. Another thing I would change is the fan support. I would like to see more people on the roads cheering people on. Maybe some more publicity in the local newpaper might help.

Last year was a bad year period. The organization was not there and I promised not to run it again. Then, the Greers took over race management and I had a change of heart because the course is very challenging. The 1999 race was fun and well organized.(of course the Greers directed the race and they also organized the Buffalo springs lake half ironman.)

The 2nd annual WalK of Shame was a disaster, the course was not marked well at all, race was disorganized from the start. I arrived at 6:20 for a 7:00 am start and the tables weren't set up yet. Race started 5 minutes late, finishers medal had to be mailed out and they had no logo on them at all.
Every runner I talked to afterwards got off course at least once.

Dont let anybody fool you, Lubbock is not a flat course. There are some challenging hills that will suck your energy if you're not well prepared. I ran the first annual last year, it was small (93 marathoners) but I had a blast. The aid stations were top notch. The last 6-7 miles the volunteers actually ran out to meet the runners to see what they needed and then hollered back to the other volunteers what to have ready. Power Gel and Gatorade was abundant and cold. Tough course with little fan support but well worth the effort.