First of all, the fact that Isis PR’d has nothing to do with our opinion of the Inaugural Dallas Rock n Roll Half Marathon. That said…this race rocked!
Let’s start with the expo. While we heard that this expo was going to be smaller than White Rock, we thought it had a lot more vendors. The standouts for us had to be Jack Black, P.F. Chang’s, lululemon athletica, Yakult and Newton Running. If you didn’t have time to stop by the Jack Black booth, you seriously missed out on some great products that are marketed towards men, but woman can use as well. Lee was so exited about it, he went to Nordstrom the next day to pick up the whole recovery line. P.F. Chang’s booth never disappoints. They always look like they’re having a lot of fun signing up people to their reward program and 
handing out bracelets to their finish line food tent. lululemon athletica had yoga demonstrations going throughout the day and had a great energy about them. We tried Yakult for the first time and LOVED it! Isis was a little hesitant to try it but now has included it on our shopping list. Finally, Isis took the Newtons for a spin and will most likely get a pair in the next month or two. The Newton folks were well educated and spoke intelligently about the brand (very important).
Packet pickup was a breeze as always. We’ve noticed with the Rock n Roll series that you have to show identification when getting your packet… that sometimes gets a little tedious especially when you need to pick up a packet for a friend or family. We loved the Brooks technical tees and the design! Shortly after picking up our goodies we met up with Kris (@seekrisrun) and just happened to bump into Holly (@sillyheads) and her family.
After a great time at the expo, we met with fellow running tweeps at Campisi’s (Camp Isis). It was hilarious because they had reserved 2 tables under the name ISAS, so we were cutting up the whole time. Those who joined us were, Brian (@TriBoomer) and his wife, Kris (@seekrisrun), Mel (@asingulargirl) and her lovely family, husband and wife team Michael (@az_Michael) and Kimberly (@Kimberlyrunner), Jen (@jenzenator), Tim (@acmedragon337), and his friend Ron, Lisa (@bemadthen), Mark (@mlindsley), and Jennifer (@jenn_if_er) who made all the girls green tutu’s! The food was amazing and the company was even better!
After great food, good laughs and good sleep we were ready to conquer this race! The morning of the race, it was actually a little cold and the traffic on the way to the parking lot was terrible. We ended up just parking at the starting line in hopes that we could find someone kind enough to take us back to our car. We were able to finally meet up with Matthew (@spamboy) and the rest of our tweeps near the bag drop. Lucky for us, our good friend Brian (@triboomer) hooked us up with VIP tickets and access to some radiant heaters! It was in the VIP area that we got to meet the only U.S. Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist, Frank Shorter. Shortly after making our way to Corral #10, we ran into Scott (@swapontherun)! While Isis had to make a mad dash to the porta potty, Lee and Scott enjoyed the starting line entertainment provided by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
The race course was beautiful and the water stations were the best we’ve seen yet. We had heard that the race was having difficulty finalizing the route, but the final product was well worth it. Of all of the races we have run in Dallas, this route was by far the best. The first 7-8 miles were ran on a gradual incline that led to a fast, mostly downhill finish. The bands along the course were solid and very entertaining and the fans were great. The finish lines at the Rock n Roll series are always well organized with little to no back up after finishing. We loved that they had muffins and breads with oranges along with other great products for us to stuff our faces with. Overall, a great race…did we mention that Isis PR’d? We can’t wait to run this one again next year!
Of course, we don’t think there is a single runner or supporter at this race that wasn’t totally shocked and saddened by the tragedy of Mark Austry, who died shortly after crossing the finish line. Our hearts go out to him and his family. For more information, click here for CW33 coverage of the story.
