The White Rock Marathon is over and here are some highs and lows from yesterday’s big event:
A 29-year-old, by-all-known-facts healthy woman collapsed and died in Lakewood, a few miles short of the finish line. Shockingly, this was the SECOND story on last evening’s NBC 5 newscast. They led with weather. Yes, topping the newscast was that “some people were caught off guard Downtown, wearing shorts and t-shirts when the cold air blew in”. Really? There is something very wrong with the order here.
Far less tragic (while disappointing) were the weather conditions yesterday. While not bad for spectators and volunteers, they were hell for runners: 66-70 degrees with 30 mph winds. The conditions caused many a runner to miss the mark on personal goals. Personally, I missed my goal by just four minutes, not too heartbreaking all things considered. But let me reiterate, the winds down along White Rock Lake were absolutely monstrous. Anyone who finished this race is a beast — in a good way.
I want to throw in a plug here for the Dallas Running Club. I trained with them and I know for a fact I couldn’t have made it without the group and the awesome pace leaders. They have a spring training class starting up in January. I suggest anyone seriously considering training for a marathon or half marathon look into it.
One of the half-marathon leaders took a wrong turn, heading down the marathon course. The runner told the media that no one told him where to go. But Back Talk reader Mike Stovall, a volunteer working the marathon/half-marathon split says the runner ignored his group’s pleas for him to turn. There was also a clearly marked sign at the turn. The guy was obviously in The Zone and missed everything.
The crowd support was phenomenal. Everyone no doubt incurred a much needed boost from the guys dressed up as Dolly Parton at the bottom of the infamous Dolly Parton Hills in Lakewood; the folk with the funny signs (like the "3-mile marker , just kidding" at mile 12); the homeowners blasting the Chariots of Fire theme song; the bands (especially Sally and Bob Ackerman); the beer servers (ugh); the kids high-fiving runners; the lady ringing a bell and cheering outside her home along a lonely stretch behind the lake; and my Advocate coworkers who showed up! Our photographer Can Turkyilmaz shot some photos — look for those later today here on the Advocate web site. If you were there, be sure to comment on your thoughts/experiences.
