White Rock Marathon. Photo by Benjamin Hager
Melting in the Texas summer might sound unpleasant, but if running the December Dallas Marathon is on your bucket list, it’s time to get in gear.
Registration opened in June and is steadily filling. Early entrants get a better price. Plus, registration for the marathon will close at 6,000, and the half marathon will be limited to 13,000 runners. With a team of five, you can opt to register for the relay race: Each member runs an average six miles of the marathon course, which winds through Downtown, Oak Cliff, Highland Park, the White Rock area and East Dallas.
Once you’ve registered for your preferred event and outfitted yourself in a good pair of athletic shoes, some experienced Dallas marathoners say joining a running group is the best way to meet your marathon or half-marathon goals. The specific benefits? “Accountability, motivation, friendly competition and knowledge transfer,” sums up White Rock-area runner Nick Polito.
White Rock area resident Kevin Roberts adds that running with friends is fun, which makes him want to run more. “What Nick said, along with the after-run festivities,” Roberts says. “I doubt my annual mileage would be half of what it is without the group.”
Polito and Roberts belong to the White Rock Running Co-op, a free club with a loosely organized marathon-training program that meets twice a week, usually in the White Rock area.
The Dallas Running Club, based in East Dallas, also offers a low-cost training program for which runners can register through July.
Sometimes training alone is more convenient, says Dallas Running Club member Teel Tishgart, a marathoner and mother of twins, “but I so much look forward to meeting up with friends and meeting other people who are as committed as I am.”
Learn more: Visit thewrrc.com to download a marathon-training plan. Visit dallasrunningclub.com for membership information. Find both groups on Facebook for meet-ups, routes, discussions and running-gear discounts.
