This was a horrible race. I have run this race several times and it keeps going downhill. The course was long, 27.3 miles. A marathon should NEVER be off on mileage. Especially 1.1 miles in Texas in the heat. Those who say this happens all the time and we should get over it are clueless. It NEVER happens at a marathon and if Mellew would have accepted responsibility and apologized it might be different, but they just don't care about the runner! They blamed the lead car, but because it happened at the begining of the race, they could have easily fixed the end of the course and kept the mileage correct, they had at least 2 hours to fix it. The first water stop was not until mile 4. The course is hilly and difficult and if you don't have water as advertised, you can hurt someone. The water stops, plus the extra mileage made for a difficult race. Horrible experience. Everything from not having the parking gates open as advertised to water stops messed up to wrong mileage (the 5K was short!), don't go to these races, these guys are a for profit company and only care about your money!

I trained hard for this course and was so angry when at mile 2, I realised, along with many others with a Garmin that we were going to have to run a mile+ further!!! The course is beautiful and everything else was perfect but this ruined my experience and I had made the effort to fly in!!

All the negative comments is frustrating. Yes, some things definitely could have been better but I don't depend on anyone else to make my experience a pleasant one. With a little homework, you would have soon realized that it's a hilly course and this time of year in Dallas is typically warm and windy. It is unfortunate that an extra mile was added on and it should have been acknowledged sooner but that shouldn't make the entire experience a bad one. Things happen and as runners we are always good at adapting, putting it behind us and moving on to the next challenge.

This was our first marathon!! The lead car messed up and added over a mile to our course at the very beginning! This added much stress mentally as we didn't know if it would be corrected or what mile we were truly at... Mile markers were misplaced many times, having the 18 mile marker after the 19 and only about 1/4 mile apart.... The course has enough obstacles that poor planning should not be added! We train on a somewhat hilly area, but the hills were more than we were prepared for... The wind was strong tht day an many times we just walked to save some energy! We were a late finisher and the food/after party was well OVER and no sign food had ever been there.... VERY disappointing after 27+ miles to not even have a energy bar or a piece of fruit at the finish line! Overall horrible experience for us! We will not participate in a Mellew productions race again!

It seems all the comments vented frustration that they had to run an extra mile. So what? Mistakes happen, and everyone had to run the same course. No one should try to qualify for Boston at this time of year. The weather is just too warm.

Those who are expecting perfect races will spend most of their time frustrated. I enjoy Lewis George's races, and will continue to support them.

I ran this race in 2012 and again this year (2013). This year, the lead car took a wrong turn and we ended up running an extra mile right from the start. At the 1 mile mark, my Garmin read '2 miles'. Wishing that a more course-knowledgable person was along for the ride in the lead car! The extra mile is addressed on the results page for the marathon, but times were not adjusted to account for it.

Weather is always a roll of the dice this time of year in East Texas, so you can't count on cool weather for this race. It was less humid this year than in 2012, which was nice, and no rain, but the winds were quite strong, particularly along the back half of the course along the lake. There is nothing stopping the wind across the lake, so it was quite strong and I found it frustrating having to push forward against it that late in the race.

Same course as last year, so there are some hills. I don't train on hills, but these weren't too bad (by my standards) - just long, which makes for a bit of a grind. There's a steep quarter-mile climb coming off the lake at mile 8, when you head up into the neighborhoods, and then again, leaving the lake the second time around mile 19. When you leave the lake at mile 8, the bulk of the course is uphill(with a few scattered downhills) until you get to mile 15. At 15.5 is a good downhill back to lake level. The hill at mile 20 is something you have to save some energy for as it's a good climb initially, then a lingering uphill for another half mile or so. The last few miles are downhill through town (not overly scenic), and you join in with the last of the half-marathoners.

There are few spectators on the course, but the ones that are there are very supportive and many had fun signs to read. The water stop support is excellent as well. My only complaint is that the water stations were not spaced well - they varied between 1-2.5 miles apart. Some of the cups were barely 1/3 full others filled nearly to the top.

This is an ok race - nothing specatcular. Don't expect the big-city race perks and crowds. Running around the lake is a nice treat - lots of wildlife to see/hear and other runners/cyclists on the paths are supportive.

The shirt was nice this year (no advertising on the back!) and marathoners received a a nice finishers mug along with a medal.

I was too tired after 27.3 miles to stick around long for the post-race, so I can't comment in depth on that. I finished the marathon around the 4 hour mark and I did notice very little food available when I walked through the hall.

Not the best event. Would I ever attend another race put on by Mellew Productions? Probably not. The mile markers this year were totally off and we ended up running 27.3 miles. It's just 1.1 more miles than 26.2, but every mile makes a difference, especially at the end. The route is very hilly, which becomes very difficult for the beginner. There were a few times where I had to stop for cars to cross before the police let me cross the street. The first 3 miles did not have a drink station and it felt like there weren't enough throughout the entire course. Not enough port-o-potties for runners (there was a HUGE line just a few minutes before the marathon). The best part of the marathon? Leaving.

I ran in Mellew's Big D marathon on 4/14/2013. i had several issues with the race. 1) It was the incorrect distance. Really? You are a marathon company and can't get the distance right? 2) The hotel that Mellew suggested shut down the pool and hot tub the day if the race and when we tried to check in, at 3 pm, our rooms weren't ready yet. Nice corporate partnership. 3) The parking plan and map that Mellew company provided for drop off the morning of the race wasn't even close to accurate. All but one gate was closed. I emailed Mellew's so called customer service and all I got were Mellew company's excuses for the issues. I asked what their course of action was to rectify the situation. It was clear the Mellew company were placing the blame on everyone else and refusing to represent THEIR event with any integrity or morality.

Mellew, as the company in charge and primary entity, IS RESPONSIBLE for the service and facilities of their partner hotels. Does the Mellew company make a regular practice of not being aware of the hotel conditions and available amenities on race weekend with their partner hotels? Corporate partnerships most certainly have elements of control from both parties.

Mellew, as the company in charge and primary entity, IS RESPONSIBLE for the information and execution of the parking plan and gate staff. If the gate availability is determined by the Fair Park staff, why does the Mellew company publish and disseminate false information regarding directions and logistics for their paying customers? Does the Mellew company make it a regular practice to make parking arrangements, maps, give directions and suggest routes without confirming availability and accuracy with the site company?

Mellew, as the company in charge and primary entity, IS RESPONSIBLE for making sure that the marathon is an actual marathon.....not some random distance.

The Big D marathon is supposed to be a Boston qualifier. What a joke! I see that they sponsor several other events across Texas. I will NEVER, I repeat NEVER, waste my time, money and effort on a Mellew race EVER again. Neither should you

This race was a disaster! Ended up being 27.4 miles instead of 26.2!!!! I (along with so many others) was trying hard to qualify for Boston. What a heartbreak to have my chance stolen this way! DO NOT run Mellew events! I wish I would have researched them because there have been numerous complaints. Major ones and this one takes the cake! We got no explanation no refund and no apologies from them! They only want your money and do not care at all about the runners.

Due to a mixup early in the course, we were forced to run an extra mile around Fair Park. So by the time we hit the 2 mile marker, we had actually run 3 miles  which turned this into a 27.2 mile marathon. I'm done with Mellew.