Love, love, LOVED this race! This was my first time to race in Galveston, and it is the PERFECT place to race in early February. The weather was in the high 60s and sunny! Plus, Galveston is such a cute town and a fun place to spend the weekend. There was no expo, but that actually didn't bother me because the SWAG was so good. The long sleeve technical t-shirt for the race is my current favorite. There was also a black visor that I've worn several times now and a pair of brooks running socks which I'm obsessed with.

We stayed at an Airbnb a couples of miles away. The race starts near the Strand and there was tons of free parking options available nearby. This is definitely a smaller race, which means no corrals, but that wasn't a problem. If anything, it made the start of the race easier. Handicapped athletes started first and EVERYONE cheered them on. There were not many spectators, but I train solo so I didn't mind that. A large portion of the race is along the seawall, so I thought the scenery and beachy vibes were great. Around mile 10 was a little lonely, but once you got back into town there was an aid station with some high energy volunteers! Water and Gatorade were at every aid station (one station had gels) and the volunteers were all great.

If you're planning on doing the full marathon, you should know that it is a 2 loop course. As much as I enjoyed the half, I would probably not do the full because I hate loops. The whole course was pretty much pancake flat. Overall, I finished with a 3 minute PR! They had a large screen at the finish with live updates on finishing times, so you were able to see your time right away. There was a post race party which looked fun, but I had my heart set on oyster poboys so we headed to Shrimp 'N Stuff after drinking a ton of water (hello, salty air) and seeing my time.

I would definitely run this race again! It's awesome to see a small town put on a good race and have fun doing it!

I have registered to run Dallas (either the half or the full) for 4 years in a row now, and every year I have a blast running it! In 2015, I registered for the half distance and it was a fun, well organized and good-sized race. There are always a lot of runners, but not so many that you can't get around at the start of the race. The only complaint I have about the expo is parking. Parking in the garage at the convention center is unreasonably expensive. It was nice out when I went to the expo, so I parked down the street near Gilley's and walked over. I definitely liked the shirts this year but I miss getting two shirts like they used to offer (1 at the expo and 1 as you crossed the finish line). Greedy, I know. Also, I loved that they had NormaTec leg recovery at the expo!

The day of the race, weather was iffy, and that's something to note about running Dallas. Every year the weather has been unpredictable. The first year I ran it was humid and cloudy, and the following year it was cancelled due to an ice storm. This year, is was rainy in the morning and stopped just before the gun. So be sure to bring a throw away poncho or trash bag. Since I live in Dallas, I took the Dart to the convention center on race day, so I didn't have to worry about parking. Tons of other runners take the Dart, so it's crowded but so convenient. The half marathon course was relatively flat and on well maintained roads. There was one part that crossed over the tracks for the Dart which was a little odd and slowed some runners down. Just be aware. The course support is fantastic, especially on the stretch down Greenville before the full marathoners split off. In the M Streets, people were in their front yards cheering, handing our beer/margaritas, holding hilarious signs, etc. Even with the rainy weather, there were plenty of spectators along the course!

At the finish, you get your medal and a chance to take a finisher's photo. Then they hand you a drawstring bag with snacks and water. I loved this because it's so convenient to have a bag to hold your stuff. The line for beer was longer than I wanted to wait, so we hopped back on the Dart and went to brunch! Overall, I would definitely run the Dallas half marathon again...probably next year :)