Troy Aikman had a good run.
The Competitor Group of California did a great job of organizing the 2nd ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Dallas ½ Marathon, which wound through White Rock Lake area neighborhoods, parts of Preston Hollow and East Dallas yesterday. Last week I saw countless notices on television, street signs and in neighborhood businesses informing the public about the event, which stood to raise thousands of dollars for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Still, some drivers were shocked and irritated over the inconvenience. I understand its a hassle for some; in fact in the directions the PR people gave me to media parking included turning right onto Haskall, which was closed. Arg! But these guys went to every measure possible to make it as organized and easy on the city as possible. (I can just about guarantee you won’t see as much effort when the Big D Marathon comes through town on April 10).
Competitor runs events like a business — often to the dismay of old-school runners who don’t like their high prices or hoopla, but that’s another conversation for another forum.
Highlights of the day included seeing Troy Aikman finish the half in 1:48. He refused to look at me when I hollered his name, but I got a couple good pics anyway.
I got a chance to talk to a couple world-class runners including Melisa Christian, a dentist in the Lake Highlands area who has an impressive running resume, and Olympian Rod Dixon, who was a special guest at the event.
Corby Davidson, of Ticket radio 1310 fame, ran the race, despite a long week at the station’s much-buzzed-about (warning: link contains mild profanity) campout.
A 14-year old, Drew Quirk, from Littleton, CO ran a fast 1:26 13.1 miles and 60-year-old Ed Swiatocha of Keller, TX ran an impressive 1:25.(That’s a 6:33 and 6:29 minute per mile pace).
Below, find photos of the aforementioned and much much more.
