PR or ER was not the motto for this one. Fast finishing is not my speciality on this distance. I've been extremely sedentary the past 7 months (I don't even know who I am anymore) and have had a few injuries including multiple plantar plate tears in my left foot, but there was no way I wasn't going to run the Dallas marathon since I'm here. That was until we were headed to the start line and it was beyond freezing. Literally. Real Feel less than 20 degrees. Hell to the No No, this is not optimal for me. I told my bff I just can't do it today, there's no way I'm going to pull this one out of my a** in these conditions. I bundled up in a very serious way (never had so much on for a marathon, it's a shocker I could even move in this many layers) and imagined I'd strip this off before the start but then decided there's just no way I can manage this distance in this temp. He later told me, the only reason I ran this marathon and ended up getting out of the car (after saying drive me there, but I'm not getting out of this car) was because I had to use the restroom. Facts. I ran the marathon but he deserves the medal for braving the temps he did to provide support for me. This marathon can basically be summed up as the Jack and Coke run for me, although it was never Jack - I did stop at 3 different miles for some serious heavy pour whiskey shots to warm up and drown whatever pain I imagined I'd be in store for. I'd briefly studied the course/elevation chart the evening prior and knew this course would probably feel ok, pancake flat can really take a toll on me where rolling hills help switch up the muscle groups which I feel is always better for your body. I was frozen solid the entire race, each time I stopped to meet bestie at our designated miles 10, 18 and 23 or use the restroom- I'd quickly remove a glove and my hand would just burn from the cold. I couldn't slip my ear warmer away from my ears even for a moment and I legit had my thickest hoodie on with the hood tied up and over my ear warmer and hat most of the race. I love me some cloud cover but I was out here praying for some sunshine, none until the finish - go figure! All in all this marathon is extremely well executed. Registration, Expo, Start Line, Finish, Course Support, Spectators, you name it - it's a job well done in every aspect. The course is great as an out and back. The rolling hills are gradual enough to provide the fluctuation your body needs. I cursed the bridges around the lake, they were causing serious vertigo on a body that was on the brink of hypothermia. It took a moment to realize they were actually shaking and I wasn't on the verge of a seizure. The spectators were strong, it never felt deserted. I will say Texas loves their alcohol, I've never seen so many bars and shots set up. The entire race was one big bar. I'm very thankful for the little snackies that were out. I had a mini donut hole and an orange slice here and there. My go to marathon fuel remains the same, I always pack cheez its, Coca Cola has been brought into the rotation the past couple of years (I dont consume soda and had it on a course once and it was life changing), and a little sweet treat (cookies or gummy bears). I rarely if ever can stomach brekke prior so it's usually a few cheez its, a bite or two of a sweet treat (cookies), a sip or two of coke, a few Advil for shits and giggles - it's preventative folks! a pack of Bloks, sips of Gatorade at the stations, smart water and whatever else sparks my interest along the course. This time lots of whiskey! I will go out on a limb and say this course is probably a good one for a PR if you actually train for the race. Congrats to all the finishers and a huge shout out to the exceptional volunteers and spectators who were out here doing gods work in these below freezing temps, ya'll are the real MVPs. read more

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Super organized race. Only thing I can complain about is the lack of pre-race restrooms. There were thousands of people there and about 10 porta-potties available near the start. Other than that, this was a beautiful course and I would do it again. read more

Well I just found out today that I was automatically switched to the in person Marathon in May instead of the virtual on the date I originally signed up and trained for. I never received any emails at all about anything. In fact, I have not received an email since the registration email in June, other than a reply from someone when I had to change my coral. Now I cannot change to the virtual and all this training is for nothing as I cannot do this in May. I was told that I unsubscribed from the email list, which I never did, but if that is their only way of communicating with me about changes to my registration specifically why would I need to be subscribed to their email list to for them to send me emails about changes to my registration. I also had 2 other ways they could notify me (cell phone or physical address to send mail), but they did not. Now I am expected to just deal with it. I gave them the option of allowing me to do this virtually or refunding me for the services they are not providing. They said no refunds. I explained that they are not providing the services that I requested and changed my registration without notice or permission and if they will not let me do this virtually or refund my money I will dispute this with my credit card (Chase already agreed that they will dispute these fees given the circumstances). I asked if I can just get my medal, bib and shirt and I'll just run it on my own and I don't even care about recognition. I got no response. I posted on their facebook page and they deleted it. I expect more from an organization, especially during these times. I will not be supporting Run Dallas again. read more

OK BMW & Dallas, you both impressed me. I was expecting an OK event. *Did the Half Marathon I flew in from Atlanta, so I stayed in DT Dallas. This was the 50th Anniversary, so I suspect maybe this is why BMW went all out. I could be wrong, but I was very pleased overall from Expo to race to finish. - Expo was huge. I walked in and immediately saw TONS of vendors. I didn't stay long since I prefer not to be in crowds pre-race. - During my walk from the hotel to Expo, I saw the set up of the corrals. Massive area. You couldn't miss it. They even had maps on where to go for all runners. Excellent IMO. I get lost easily when trying to find my corral in general, lol. - Loud AF music Race day. YES! Also, the guy who was pumping up the crowd was just as loud. Definitely good to see. - Strict Corral enforcement... nice to see. I get super annoyed whenever people self seed when corrals are clearly stated. - This race was televised. Whoa, didn't know this till I saw cameras/tv screen lol. - FLAT COURSE. After running in the mountains last month, I was SO thankful. The miles just flew by. - AMAZING crowd support. Shout to the ladies who gave out donuts at like Mile 6 and 9, haha. Sounds disgusting, but hey, got my fuel! I was really shocked at how great the crowd support was. Wasn't expecting too much. Folks were playing music, giving food, screaming out people's names. Very appreciated. - The finish line: man, they had everything done in perfect assembly. Medals, bags, shirts, food, etc. They had staff members nicely & firmly tell people to go to certain sides so that no traffic jam happened. Honestly, I've done huge races. BMW has given me hope for races that attract 10k+ people can be done extremely well. read more

I ran the full BMW Dallas Marathon this year, as my 27th 26.2. After running marathons for over 8 years I can say this one without a doubt has been one of the most organized races I've ever completed. I've been there when its been called many things, White Rock, MetroPCS, and even when their big sponsor was Volkswagen. BMW has done a stellar job at making this race special. The post race party had pancakes, wine tasting and of course your basic runner's fave, beer. But let's get back to the race itself. I really think the full course is just enough of a challenge and of course if you get lucky with the weather being decent this time of year you have a good chance to PR. This year the race went all the way around the lake like back in the day and then leaving the lake hiking up a GIANT hill at mile 20 something. That will knock the wind right outta ya! But if you're a trained runner you will be able to endure the hills and make it through. The spectators are great at this one as well, the city of Dallas and its residents really show up and show out along the course. There really wasn't any part of the course that wasn't covered with folks cheering the runners on. Overall I enjoyed this race, we had some decent weather, I got to see a ton of my runner FAM out there and you can't complain when you beat your fastest 26.2 time. Great way to end the year with a bang. Excited for more races in 2018!! read more

The Dallas Marathon - Races & Competitions Near Me - Dallas, Texas

Quick look rating: 5/5 Quality, 5/5 Service, 5/5 Experience The Dallas Marathon is one of my favorite marathon races, in comparison to other Texas marathon races that I have run, helped with, or even helped coach others. So many friendly folks help out! It is now named just "The Dallas Marathon", before it's had names as "The MetroPCS Dallas Marathon and I love the old name "Run the Rock" / "The White Rock Marathon"! For years the Dallas Marathon had the largest number of volunteers. Here so many folks giving up their time, effort and hard work come out to help! Nearly every corner there are several police officers helping guide traffic. The first aid and hydration stations most always do great! **To note: A hidden treat is all of the music stations! Just imagine out there running for what is a long time to you and all of a sudden, you come up on hearing music! Fun, Fun! It sure takes your mind off of the pain you may be feeling! The music booths have varied from live bands to live DJ's to pumped in recorded music. One of my all time favorites was way back when, I was running and about mile 22 near the Baylor Hospital, there stood a young girl blowing her bugle to Christmas carols with her mother sitting 20 feet away! It brought tears to my eyes and I thought how sweet is that, some young girl has spent hours practicing for hours and is out here for us runners, WOW! All over the place, during this race, you can see wonderful gestures of kindness being shown to so many! Over the years, I have found that so many runners are very kind as well! Highlights: ~ Highest number of unpaid volunteers. GREAT job folks, Dallas appreciates it big time! ~ The music stations! ~ The aid / water stations. ~ All of the local DFW folks out cheering the runners on! ~ Some of all of the crazy costumes some of the runners wear during the race! ~ The Dallas Marathon group that plans all of the details through out the year, THANK YOU! ~ To all of the training groups that have helped your runners! Great job! ~ The Health & Fitness Expo, what a great place to gather some health notes! ~ To all of the local police and emergency staff helping out! THANK YOU! ~ At the end of the race, all of the vendors that share their products with the runners. ~ For the runners at the end of the race the cold beer! Can you say, "re-carb up"! ~ The course is pretty flat for the most part, (well at least till you get to the back side of the White Rock Lake), but after that it's down hill. ~ I loved when the route went totally around White Rock Lake. Hopefully it will be moved back. ~ Great time of the year to run for that long. It takes usually 5 to 15 minutes to warm up! ~ Try to run with running buddies with the same pace, it will make the race go by fast! ~ ***Profits goes to the Dallas Scottish Rite Children's Hospital! **Important note: When you are going to run a full or even a half marathon, pick out a well respected run/training group. This is a good way to hurt yourself! A group will help give you structure, hopefully you will learn about nutrition, hydration, recovery, pacing yourself and your body! Some that I have trained with and recommend are Lukes Locker and the Galloway program. Great marathon / half marathon race to train, attend and volunteer for, if you want to put this event on your bucket list, I'd highly recommend it! read more

this was my first time running the bmw dallas half marathon, and i really enjoyed it! the expo was run seamlessly and there were lots of vendors. safety pins were already in gear bags so that was a nice touch. no great discounts at the expo, but that's fine and not up to bmw marathon organizers. the race itself was great - i took the dart into akard station and after an easy 0.5 mi walk, i was at the starting line. the race course was very pretty, and there were plenty of volunteers at each of the water/gatorade stations. spectators were pretty sparse at some areas, but the energy definitely would pick up within 3 miles after running through a larger intersection with bands. one part of the race even had someone handing out doughnuts. after the race, i was handed a bmw box that had snacks inside and there were ihop pancakes!! there was also wine and beer. the medals were really nice, and the finisher shirt was a nice long sleeve technical shirt. read more