Dallas Marathon Returns
The 2014 Dallas Marathon will see new twists and turns
After last year's cancellation due to an ice storm, the Dallas Marathon is back with a vengeance and a new route. The race takes place on Sunday, December 14, at 8:05 am, with a forecast of breezy and mild weather, with a low of 42 and a high of 69.
Approximately 20,000 runners will participate, some doing the full marathon, some doing a half or a relay race.
This year's race is being hyped by organizers as more of an entertainment event, as follows:
The course begins and ends in downtown Dallas and highlights the best areas of the city. Along the way, runners will pass through various popular neighborhoods with exciting cheer stations and on-course entertainment before finishing the race in downtown!
The race will begin in downtown Dallas on Young Street at Griffin Street, then goes through Deep Ellum, before cutting over by Baylor to Lemmon Avenue. It goes through Highland Park and then down Greenville Avenue to Munger. Full marathoners head northeast to White Rock Lake.
Unlike prior years, the marathon does not loop all the way around the lake, but instead jogs over to the Santa Fe Trail, then back down Swiss to Munger, before returning downtown via Main Street. Not on the race this year: the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, due to construction nearby.
The segments along Greenville Avenue and the Santa Fe Trail are new, designed to offer "expanded spectator venues," i.e., watch the runners as if they were the St. Patrick's Day parade.
Another new twist is that half and full marathoners will theoretically start and finish together. Both run the first nine miles together. While the full marathoners take the longer route to White Rock Lake, the half marathoners head back downtown.
The time limit is six-and-a-half hours, so downtown residents, especially those in old East Dallas, can finally flee by 2 pm. The map is here; plan your Sunday accordingly.
