Making the Grade - Dallas/White Rock Marathon and Half Marathon - Part Three

The Finish


Somehow I missed all the paparazzi along the 13.1 course, but at least I managed a finish line photo!  As always click for better viewing...I am kinda diggin' this photo!  And in case you can't tell my Sweaty Band TOTALLY matches my outfit..red, black and white...

 Now onto the final segment of grading the overall Dallas/White Rock race experience...
Well I guess the best part of any race is that there is a Finish!
There have been a few marathon finishes that leave some things left to be desired (both NYC and Chicago)...but just like Houston, the Dallas/White Rock marathon/half marathon is perfect.
Immediately after finishing I might have walked 50 yards or so before entering into a nice, big and warm indoor after race party! 
You were handed your heat shield within seconds of finishing, checked on your condition if you looked questionable and then moved along.  Immediately upon entering the hall, you were given your medal, something to drink and there were your signs to get your Finisher shirt...you walked up, got your size and moved along.  Plenty of volunteers were handing them out so there were no lines.

Since I finished at a pretty popular finishing time, there were a lot of people but still no issues. 
You were given a plastic bag to load up with goodies (which I took full advantage of)..everything from HoneyMilk, MoJo bars, yogurts, Quaker Chewy granola bars, etc.  There were also bagels, bananas and oranges.  There was also soft drinks and beer.
The gear check was at the other end, and this was where I was a bit skeptical...as when you check your bag all you do is throw it in the back of this truck.  Thats it.  I was like 'oh boy'...

However these people were on the ball and there were tables all lined up with ranges of numbers where they had sorted all the bags!  Amazing!  And if you brought your own and didnt use the one given, there were tables for that (they discourage using your own but obviously people did it)
The guy let me go in and find my own bag and within minutes I was done and updating my status on Facebook as soon as I could get my phone from inside the bag :O)

 Race Finish = A+

The Dallas White Rock Marathon/Half Marathon was a top notch experience all the way around.  I will definitely be doing this race again next year.  Marathon or Half Marathon?  Guess we'll have to wait and see.... :O)

Registration for 2011 opens up June 1, 2011

The End...Now onto January races!!!

Making the Grade - Dallas/White Rock Marathon and Half Marathon - Part Two

The Start

I was curious about how this was going to go off...and by this, I mean 22,000 people starting at one time, in ONE place; 7,000 cap on marathoners, 5,000 cap on 5 person relay marathoners, and 12.000 cap half marathoners.  Even in Houston, they start the half'ers and the fulls on separate routes the first few miles and its still a cluster.  Here is where the difference is and if anyone out there is or knows someone over there at Houston/Chevron/Aramco...take note...

When I signed up for the half in Dallas, they asked me for a pace per mile for your distance.  Not an estimated finishing time like Houston and so many others that I have done.  What that does is it places everyone in 1 of 2 corrals (Houston is the example here).  So you have thousands and thousands of people who are running, lets say the half, anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours (the cutoff for the half but lets face it, if the cutoff for the full is 6 hours or more, doesnt that give the half'ers 6 hours or more?)  So those people are just all intermingled together...4 hour marathoners (walkers) are up in the 2 hour half marathon spots etc. 

You follow me?

Buuuuuuuuuuuuut for Dallas/White you give a pace.  Then at the end of your number on your bib there is a letter anywhere from A-N, and all back behind the Start line there are little corrals sectioned off by rope.  You can look around and see who is supposed to be in there and who isnt.  Its by PACE not by finishing time, and there are more than just 2 corrals.  I dont recall what pace I gave but I am figuring it had to be around 9:40 or so because I had an F behind my number.  Sweet!

They waited approximately 2 minutes in between each section of runners.  Sweet!

When my group started off, and I was at the front of our group, I NEVER weaved..I NEVER had to squish in between the friends that run together stay together...even when walking ... I didnt  have to slam on my brakes because someone was doing run 1 min/walk 1 min intervals...I wasnt passing a million people up nor was I getting passed by a million people....why you ask?

BECAUSE WE WERE ALL RUNNING RIGHT AROUND THE SAME PACE REGARDLESS OF WHAT RACE WE WERE ACTUALLY SIGNED UP FOR!!!

Genius I tell you!  Genius!

Again I don't know if this is standard for this race in years past or something new, but damn it man, it rocked my world.    Now I will tell you this because I had friends all behind me in different corrals, and one of my friends doing her first marathon was in N.  The very last corral.  She didn't cross the Start line for almost an hour.  This kinda sucks.  I had another friend in K I think it was and she crossed the Start line in about 25 min I think...Can't really remember.  Anyway, obviously the farther back you are, the long its going to take, but I think thats the same thing no matter what the circumstances are.  Except in this case the people that should have been in earlier corrals WERE and not mixed in with those that shouldnt...Not to say someone can't lie about their pace to be seeded differently but I think this is a little different.

The other thing about the Start, and this is purely ridiculous I know, but damn it they were pumpin' some awesome music while we were waiting around!  I was so pumped up and ready to run by the time I got to the front and before they dropped that rope and said GO!! over the loud speaker it was almost comical...I love me some hip hop/rap/booty dancin' music and they gave us that and more...Right as I got to the front to wait...I heard the familiar sound of what was going to be "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eye Peas and if you would have seen me, you would think I was Secretariat being held back behind some iron gates ready to capture the 3rd race for the Triple Crown.

 Race Start = A++++++

Making the Grade - Dallas/White Rock Marathon and Half Marathon - Part One

I figure I would break this up into sections, because I know a) some people have ADD and will get bored and/or lose focus or b) hate reading really long blog posts...

The Expo

I am not sure if the Expo has always been at Fair Park, or just this year since the Start was moved there as well (so that the Start/Finish were at the same spot), but being at Fair Park, to me anyway, was OK.  When I went to RnR Half Marathon in March there in Dallas, the Expo was there in DT along with the Start.  The only difference is that I got a sense of it being more 'open' when it was DT.  Being in this particular 'hall' at Fair Park, it seemed a bit squished and to get from end to the other was kinda a drag and there weren't really 'rows' to walk up and down to look at vendors and/or grab as many free goodies as you could.

There were quite a bit of freebies, but not near as much as Chicago.  Go figure.

They had a lot of samples, but I dont want to taste/drink there...I want to take it with me...and I also want to grab more than 1 when you arent looking thank you very much... :O)  (This would be taken care of at the After Race area of food/goodies)...I like free GOOD stuff..

Also why did I get stopped by someone there with a booth for if you were remodeling your bathroom?  That was just weird.

Now...getting TO the Expo...if you were staying in a DT hotel there were 2 options.  DART rail or they had shuttle buses.  The big huge across the country kind...The only thing was that they had 2 buses running on a loop and well, with other traffic trying to get there, we took our chances with the DART.

Best. Decision. Ever.

No traffic.

30 minutes ish point to point.

$4.00 for 24 hour pass which includes any public transpo-po like the bus

Easy to get on/off/transfer. You transfer once.

It let you out right at hotel (at ours anyway; Hyatt)

It let you out right in front of Fair Park.

Packet pickup and shirt pickup was easy peasy too.

Expo (B)  and packet pickup (A) = I think that averages out to like a B+ or an A-...whichever...

Transportation to and from the Expo = A+

Transportation to and from Race Start/Finish

Again you had two options.

Since the DART rail thing worked out so great on Saturday, we decided to do that.

So we walk through our hotel, down the tunnel and up to the platform.  Its cold out there.

Like 22deg wind chill kind of cold.  We wait 5 min.  There are no other runners around...

I go to the little sign thingee and oops...says first train at 6:43am.  Um...thats fine but cutting it TOO close to Fair Park, check gear bag...etc.  I like to be early as does April...

So we walk back through the tunnel (this is about 100yrds) and walk outside where the shuttles are supposed to be.  Um.  Yeah.  They rocked it.  We saw 6 big huge buses all lined up and waiting.  We hopped on the first one in the line and within 5 minutes we were off!  The ride, since they gave directions to all the drivers on how to NOT go on the freeway and take back streets had us there in 20 min.  And it was on a warm cozy bus!

After the race, since I was by myself, when I walked out this one door, I asked one guy, where are the buses?  He didnt know.  Where is the DART?  Right there.

So I took the DART back and again, it was awesome

April had to wait a bit longer at the transfer and at the original point there at Fair Park, but sometimes if you get there at just the time the last train left, you're gonna have to maybe wait 10 min longer than you would have.  Still she told me it was easy and awesome and glad she did that instead of having to wait for buses to fill up with runners finishing.  Its easier in the morning because everyone is typically all going at once or close enough to it...

Transportation to and From Race Start/Finish = A++++++