Rock n Roll Dallas was never on my radar. I switched to this event after I fractured my fibula at the end of 2015 and was unable to run in the Rock n Roll Arizona half as a St. Judes Hero.

Pre-race communication was good, plenty of reminders and instructions were sent to us. I picked one of the partner hotels that was within walking distance (.5 mile) to the start. Luckily I did not have to deal with the expensive parking fees.

I felt that the expo was a big disappointment. The DFW Auto show was going on at the same time at the convention center, and ALL the signage was for that event. Not one sign could be seen from outside the building. I was getting frustrated until I was inside the building and roamed around and finally saw a sign pointing to the expo. This expo was significantly smaller than RNRAZ – just a few rows of vendors. And some really weird vendors were in the mix – rebath companies, gutter cleaning? Random. Goodie bag was minimal – just a few snacks and coupons plus the shirt.

The weather on race day was upper 30s and windy. The start area was fairly organized. I utilized gear check for a jacket, and was super glad I did. The race started on time which was nice. Even though it was a Rock n Roll race, there were just under 10,000 runners and I never felt overly crowded.

The course had us running through the Deep Ellum district, and came back towards the start. Then we went on the freeway ramp and headed across the Trinity River on to the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which was a cool sight to see. There were plenty of water stops and they handed up Glukos chews and gels, which was nice.

Somewhere around mile 7 or 8 there was a ridiculously large hill, and plenty of rolling hills in the second half. The finish line was actually up a hill. We ran under and overpass, and then the finish was at the top. The cold and wind was awful once you stopped moving. At the finish we had our complimentary beer, and there was also water, gatorade, chocolate milk, bananas and chips.

The medal and shirt were nice. This race didn't seem to have the same "energy" as other Rock n Roll races, and I'm not sure why there is no full option here. As an "out of towner", I would not travel to do this race again, but would consider it if I was local.