Dec 23, 2024
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☰
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 101 to 111]
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C. M. from Lenexa, KS
(12/15/2009)
"Too crowded" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Traffic and parking were horrible. We were two miles from the start at 6:45 and still a mile away at 7:15, so we found a parking lot and walked the last mile. The streets were much too crowded in the race as well. I didn't have room to run until after the half/full split. I wasted a lot of energy going side-to-side instead of forward. There must have been a lot of slow runners at the front because I passed hundreds in the first three miles and I was holding back. Post-race refreshments were hard to find and skimpy. Nobody directed us to medals, finishers' shirts, or refreshments. On the plus side, the expo was above average, the spectators were great, and the downhill finish was nice. | |
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K. C. from Chicago
(12/15/2009)
"Not for Marathoners" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 If you are interested in running a full marathon, avoid this race. I was assigned the A corral since my plan was to run sub-8's. The corrals were a mess! I had several people in front of me in the A corral who started to walk after a half-mile. I lost the pace leader because he darted through so many people. I never did see him again. I will say that the full course was stocked with plenty of volunteers. This race could be a great race, but the organizers need to figure out the start. | |
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Daryl Anderson from Humble Tx, (Houston)
(12/15/2009)
"A course that allows you to enjoy your run" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I don't know if organizer are getting smarter in the way they design marathon courses, but this course is a must-run course. No, no, no. YOU NEED TO RUN THIS COURSE! Do I need to say this again? This is a well organized course that has plenty of supportive fans. Dallas has done a wonderful job of making their marathon a successful one. I will be running this race again. | |
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T. V. from New Jersey
(12/14/2009)
"Good and not so good" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The start was awful. It was a narrow road to have 20,000 people - who were running 3 different races, no less (marathon, half marathon and the relay all in one start)! It took me 3 minutes to pass over the mat, and even with chip time, I stalled my first 2 miles by a few minutes as well.) The aid stations were great, though, and plentiful - as were port-a-johns, if you needed them. The course was ok, and the gentle rolling hills were good too, but the finish was... meh. Hardly any spectators in the last couple of miles, and then NO WATER AT THE FINISH!! And then when you finally weaved through the crowds, the water was in little cups. Seriously, water NEEDS to be at the finish line regardless of how hot or cold it is out there. I won't complain that the "finisher's shirt" doesn't even get the word "finisher" on it because it was a nice gesture even to give us a second shirt, but someone else might. | |
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c. r. from fort worth, tx
(12/14/2009)
"label it a half marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 It sucks that a marathon doesn't have enough water due to the half marathoners taking all of it at the first few water stops. The marathoners pay more and have to go farther; the need those fluid stops at the beginning. This is my 10th White Rock. Every year they cater less to the marathoner. It's all about the money, even if it is for a good cause. | |
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A. H. from Central Texas
(12/14/2009)
"Excellent Running Event" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I would like to say that the Dallas White Rock Marathon was an awesome experience. I had tempered expectations prior to the event due to some of the negative comments posted by other users of this site. The race was well organized and the course support was the best I have seen yet. There were more than enough aid stations - some even offered orange slices and pretzels in addition to water and Gatorade. At some point, I even said to the others running with me, "Already another aid station?" The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the spectators were unbelievable (only rivaled by OKC, in my opinion). Contrary to other comments, there were plenty of medals and finisher's shirts for marathoners and half-marathoners. Also, the finisher's shirts were really nice, New Balance, technical running shirts. There was also plenty of food and water at the finish. However, to be honest, the selection of food left a bit to be desired. They only had bagels, granola bars, and fruit. But that is the only negative thing I can say about it, and it is nit-picky at best. Kudos to the organizers and volunteers of the Dallas White Rock Marathon. They definitely know what they are doing. My wife and I have added this event to our annual racing calendar and look forward to it again next year. Thanks for a great experience. | |
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S. S. from Washington, DC
(12/14/2009)
"not worth repeating" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 All I can compliment are the frequent, well-staffed water/Gatorade stops. Everything else was mediocre at best. The medal is ugly. The course is boring, and too crowded at the beginning by the halfers (and then later by the relayers). I heard (but did not try it myself) that the post-race food/drink was overcrowded. | |
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E. R. from Dallas, TX
(12/14/2009)
"My First Marathon - A Great Experience" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The 2009 Dallas White Rock was my first marathon. I read the comments on here and corresponded with race officials before the race to see if some of the problems had been fixed. I have to say, it went pretty well for me. The course is fantastic and the crowds and volunteers were all great. Absolutely no complaints about any of that. The weather was perfect too. Really, the organization was pretty good and much better than I expected after reading the comments from year's past. They could use more bathroom facilities at the start (a lot more) and they could better organize the waves at the start, but really it went off very well. I was pointed to the food and water area after the race and also braved the steps down the arena for beer. There seemed to be plenty of everything. I was disappointed that my finisher shirt was just a plain, albeit technical, shirt with nothing noting that I was a finisher. | |
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S. H. from Austin, TX
(12/14/2009)
"Corral system is the worst I have ever seen." (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Great course, expo, aid stations, and weather. The best thing is the full-strength Gatorade. The Dallas Police Department provided their usual excellent traffic control, and most importantly they cheer for the runners. The shirts were really lame, but I stopped expecting decent shirts from races a long time ago. The finisher's shirt is just a tech shirt, and it doesn't mention "finisher" on it anywhere. The finisher's medal is nice. The start was once again a mess. They were supposed assign slower runners to their correct corrals. Corral placement was not enforced and they had hundreds of relay runners in the first corral who couldn't even run a 10-minute-per-mile pace. DWR will remain a third class race if they can't get this fixed. This was my 8th DWR and I can't believe they can't get this right. | |
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M. H. from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
(12/14/2009)
"Tough course but enjoyed the marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really liked the marathon; this was my first time to run this one. The course was challenging, but it wasn't boring... there were quite a few spectators out, especially in the neighborhoods and in the downtown area. My only real problem was with the pace groups. I had planned to hang with the 3:40 pacer and then move up gradually closer to 3:30. I had been set to run in wave B, and I saw there was no 3:30 pace group in wave B. So, I started with the 3:40 guy and I was a bit disappointed in the way he paced because he was running way too fast for a 3:40. When I had politely told him that we were averaging an 8:09 at mile 3, he responded in a very rude manner. I was more concerned for the folks that had run with him who had trained to run 8:20's to get a 3:40 (particularly the women who wanted to qualify for Boston), and they didn't train to run sub-8's during the first 3 miles of a marathon. Also, this 3:40 guy should have been placed to the front of Wave B, so he wouldn't have felt the need to have to "bank" time, which just does not work. After I left that group and went ahead, I was able to settle into a more even pace for most of the rest of the run. Another thing I wanted to comment on is something that I thought was really touching and really impressed me. Just before I reached Mile 11, I had passed this woman on one of those prosthetic running feet pushing a disabled child in a wheelchair. I was surprised that more people that were passing by the same time as I did weren't cheering her on. I waved at the kid and got a smile and told her she was doing awesome and resumed my run. I really am inspired by people who do stuff like that because it shows people that the "impossible" can be achieved, regardless of your limitations. I hope that lady and the kiddo with her had an enjoyable marathon experience. Also, I don't know where to write this, but I just wanted to say, "THANKS" to all of the police officers who worked the marathon. There was a lot of traffic on the intersections that weren't closed off and they did an awesome job to keep the course safe. The organization of the water stops was great; the cups were clearly different for Gatorade and for water, and that made it pretty easy to navigate through the water stops. I also couldn't find the food at the finish... I think there was some, but I didn't bother looking since I had food back at the hotel. I plan on coming back to run another one of these marathons. Thank you. |
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