Dallas Marathon

Nice crowds, good energy!

The weather was perfect. It was upper 30s at race start with light wind and low humidity. Ran in shorts, tank, half arm sleeves and gloves. Pants would have been too hot by the mid way point. Had a sweater in corral that I threw off before starting. The course is fairly rolling (even early) with an opportunity for somewhat flat miles around the lake. The hill off the lake is not that daunting if you have been running them in training. It only impacted my pace by about 10 seconds. I would recommend for this race keeping your goal pace for the first 10 miles and sticking to it. It's too easy to be 10/20 seconds quick as people storm out (your mixed with half marathoners and relay) which will hurt your splits on later hills.

I stayed at Omni and it was a 1 block walk to corral. Headed into Corral A around 8 am for the 830 start. Crossed the starting line 40 seconds or so after the gun start.

Did my first marathon (have done ~6 half's) in Dallas this year. Being a long-time Dallasite we know the weather is always a bit weird this time of year. The forecast held though and we had full sun and about 40 degrees at the start (warmed to mid 50's around 3 hours in). Shaded areas were a bit chilly but sunny areas were pleasant. I was worried about have to shed a layer do just wore gloves and a beanie which I stashed in pockets about 1 hour in. Once we stared the White Rock Lake loop the cold wind got you a bit but it's Dallas in the winter... what ya gonna do.

The course was well marked, scenic and gave you a great look at all of the different parts/neighborhoods around downtown Dallas - from multi million mansions to more humble working class neighborhood - the varied and welcoming spirit of Dallas was on full display.

The pacers from the Dallas Running Club were awesome.. highly recommend finding a pace group if that's your thing. The biggest shout out goes to all the supporters lining the streets. From signs to cheers to unofficial food, beer and shots - the supporters made this race for me. The back side of White Rock Lake gets a little quiet but coming out of the lake loop the energy picks right back up towards the finish line.

Course Description: We started in downtown and headed west then north thru Oak Lawn to Highland Park. In Highland Park you turn east and south and head towards White Rock Lake. You'll go downhill into the Lake and the do the WRL loop (~10 miles). Then you hit a fairly gnarly 150ft gain over a mile or so. After that the course turns southwest with flat/downhill back into downtown and the finish line. The course is definitely hilly, especially between mi ~5-7 and then coming out of White Rock Lake from mi 20-21. My watch logged ~700ft of elevation gain over the whole course (I've posted the full elevation log for the 2021 course below)

Pacing: Highly recommend practicing hills during training and then finding a pace group. Again, big shout out to the Dallas Running Club pace leaders.. they were great. I knew mile 20+ would be tough for me so I stick with the 4:30 pace group until about mile 16 and then slowly backed off so I could be sure to finish at my 5:00 target time. The 4:45 pace group passed me around mi 23 and I used that group to gauge my pace to the finish line (right under 5 hours).

Race Day: Parking was fairly straightforward from what I heard. I parked outside of downtown and took a short Uber in.. dropoff was easy as long as you knew which side of your start corral was. Public transit (DART light rail) is also an option and the start/finish is walking distance to many hotels. There are a lot of people packed into a fairly dense area so it's a bit crowded - signage needs to be higher so you can see it but overall between the map on the back of your bib, the announcements and just asking others you should be fine. Gear check was easy. After finish it's really well laid out... you'll cross the line, get your drink/food/swag/shirt and just loop back up and exit right by well marked family reunion signs.

Course gotchas: The hills, don't underestimate them. There are some tough ones. If the weather is forecast to be cold keep in mind that the wind coming of the lake can make things chilly even in full winter sun. My biggest oh s%*# moment was a pedestrian bridge over the spillway near the end of the lake loop (around 19.5miles). The bridge WOBBLES. Myself and 5 other runners thought for sure we were getting dizzy and were about to pass out... it was just the bridge moving but we all walked it because it just felt weird. Also try to run towards the center of the streets, not the sides.. the roads have quite a bit of potholes and camber and the centers are flatter and generally in better shape then the side.

Downtown Dallas has a huge number of options and is fairly condensed. You can walk from most hotels to the start. Parking was easy and close by. I arrive at 8AM for a 9AM start and was standing around just trying to stay warm for most of it.

Race was well organized, good support along course, tough hill coming out of White Rock Lake area

Be prepared for steep hill around mile 18

This race was my 2nd 50k, my 34th event over 26.2 miles & it was wonderful. The course was beautiful, volunteers were top notch. Emergency personnel & law enforcement were kind & much appreciated. I’ll never forget all the gorgeous views & birds around White Rock Lake, especially the pelicans.

There was some bad weather 4 days before the race that affected the 50k course, they made adjustments to the course & you would never know they had to fix anything last minute. It was flawless.

Parking was easy, packet pickup was simple. Post race coordination & family meet-up was great.

This was my first marathon, and my training was interrupted by injury, however even if this were my 10th marathon and my training was spotless I would still find it difficult I'm sure. This year the weather began in the 40s and worked its way up to the 70s, meaning during the second half of the race the precautions you had taken for the morning cold were making you over heat. Don't be fooled by the elevation map: the steady climbs are long and gruesome, and while there's lots of pretty houses to distract you, it's difficult. The 2017 course went all the way around White Rock Lake, which in my opinion was a mistake. It was monotonous and the spectators were few and far between. When we got to the far side of the lake, not only can you see the rest of the lake that you have to run around, you can also see waaay in the distance the skyline of Dallas. I almost cried, thinking, "You mean I have to run all the way back there?"

Then there's the hill at mile 20. Whose idea was that???? There's a really steep climb first, then it gets less steep but doesn't stop for at least a mile. You're already dead, and then that happens.The last 5-ish miles are blissfully flat and it does have a downhill finish, but the first 21 miles beat the life out of me so I was just barely surviving.

Train for hills!

The 2017 Race was sponsored by BMW and it seems at time the start/finish is more about spectators and the "after party" than the runners. Navigating the pens/corrals was difficult and spectators were crowding areas like the bag check and toilets.

Also, this year there was not an inside waiting area pre-race, other years used the large convention center for shelter from the weather and use of actual flush toilets...very nice!

On the course the support can be great and usually there are quite a few locations that have live music.

The weather in North Texas this time of year is really unpredictable, anywhere from freezing and Ice to 60-70s at start time. However it is more than likely to be beautiful.

Downtown Dallas has many hotels and is relatively small geographically, so the race doesn't overload the hotels....a last minute priceline usually works for a good rate

This year's Dallas Marathon was blessed with almost perfect weather. The day started in the low 50s with clouds and fairly calm. However, as the day progressed the winds kicked up and were well over 20mph with 30+ mph gusts about 3 hours into the race. That's totally out of the RD's control and really didn't diminish a great day for running. It made the finish quite challenging in spite of it being a fairly flat course.

The race highlights:

THE EXPO: Fairly typical for a large marathon in that there were tons of vendors and tons of stuff. I really enjoy spending time at expos and this one did not disappoint. With BMW being the title sponsor this year, there was some really cool car stuff to play around with.

THE COURSE: Having lived in Dallas for about 10 years, I am very familiar with the course and it definitely went through a lot of the best neighborhoods in the area. However, the out and back at White Rock Lake is a little repetitive and ignores the section that would include the arboretum which is a beautiful part of the lake. The worst part of the course is the section that runs along the Santa Fe Trail which is a multi mile slow climb up a concrete path. The path was not closed and we dealt with several runners coming from the other direction and I was passed twice by bikers who were not part of the event.

THE SPECTATORS: The city of Dallas definitely supports the marathon in a big way. There are plenty of spectators on the course to keep you motivated and lots of "unofficial" food stations along the way for those hungry for doughnuts, beer, or Twizzlers. From the "Dolly Parton's" and Elvis impersonators, there are plenty of people having fun on the course.

THE ORGANIZATION: This is such a well run event, it's obvious that it's been around for over 40 years. From start to finish, this is a very professionally run event that seems to care as much about the marathon as it does the half and the relay. It's nice to run in a race that has doesn't put all the interesting parts of the course on the parts shared by with the half marathon and make the full marathon course seem like an afterthought. I didn't utilize the bag check so I can't comment on that part of the operation.

Really nice race expo. Great hotel support amenities. You can PR on this course.

Hill at mile 21. Be ready for it.

Omni was a really nice place to stay. All within walking distance of start and finish area as well as expo.

Read several reviews on here which indicate the race is flat. The race is not flat, far from flat, no where near flat. Ignore that ignorant garbage and trust me there are hills. Significant long uphill climbs around mile 6-7 and again from 17-20. Once you get through mile 20 it is flat, but other that that, it's a lot of rolling hills. For 5 years straight the weather has sucked, one year cancelled due to poor weather. So forget the fluff these people are writing, and trust me, it's a tough course, with sketchy weather.

Who knows what Dallas weather will be on race day, only the gods can tell. If it's anything like past 5 years, rain, ice, or sub tropic conditions.

Stay somewhere cheap, and park downtown, parking is not bad.

Having lived in Dallas for about 10 years, I am very familiar with the course and it definitely went through a lot of the best neighborhoods in the area. However, the out and back at White Rock Lake is a little repetitive and ignores the section that would include the arboretum which is a beautiful part of the lake. The worst part of the course is the section that runs along the Santa Fe Trail which is a multi mile slow climb up a concrete path. The path was not closed and we dealt with several runners coming from the other direction and I was passed twice by bikers who were not part of the event.

The city of Dallas definitely supports the marathon in a big way. There are plenty of spectators on the course to keep you motivated and lots of "unofficial" food stations along the way for those hungry for doughnuts, beer, or Twizzlers. From the "Dolly Parton's" and Elvis impersonators, there are plenty of people having fun on the course.

This is such a well run event, it's obvious that it's been around for over 40 years. From start to finish, this is a very professionally run event that seems to care as much about the marathon as it does the half and the relay. It's nice to run in a race that has doesn't put all the interesting parts of the course on the parts shared by with the half marathon and make the full marathon course seem like an afterthought. I didn't utilize the bag check so I can't comment on that part of the operation.

Overall, this is a great marathon. It's been running through the neighborhoods of dallas for almost 50 years now, so all the residents come out to cheer you on. It's a lot of fun!

The only downside is that weather in Dallas in December is hit or miss. It could be 75 and humid or 25 and snowing.

The course overall is fairly flats with some rolling hills. The worst part is along the lake, which goes from mile 13 to 18. Once you're past the Dolly Partons at 18, it's pretty smooth sailing.

Arrive early because parking downtown can be a bit of a challenge. The Omni hotel right by the start is great and very accommodating to runners on race day!