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Half Marathon State # 19 Half Marathon #35 |
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After a quick turn around from my previous half marathon in Little Rock, Arkansas, I was back to it on Sunday, March 19, 2017 with the Dallas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. This was my 35th half marathon and 19th state. However, this race was never on my 2017 race calendar. If you follow my blog and my race recaps, you know that we traveled all the way to Jackson, Mississippi back in January for the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon. Well that was the race that never happened. We drove 10 hours straight to get to Jackson, Mississippi only to get iced in our hotel for three days, thus no race took place.
I would like to now give a shout out to the race directors for the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon, because they paid for my entry into the Dallas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon since their race did not happen because of the weather. They in no way had to do this, but they did and was an outstanding gesture on their part. Because of scheduling conflicts in 2018, I will not be able to do the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon; however, I wanted to put this out there to let everyone know that they took it to the heart of their runners when the race was cancelled. They sent us an email a few weeks after the race date to tell us they would pay for our entry into one of five race venues. I chose Dallas, Texas since that was one of a few states offered that I still needed to complete for my 50 By 50 Challenge.
Sorry for the tangent but I thought it was necessary…. Now on with the recap of the Dallas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon….
Pioneer Plaza
Like Little Rock a few weeks back, this was another quick weekend for me. I flew out on Saturday and then flew back home on Sunday night after the race. Saturday morning I was at the airport early for a 7am flight to Dallas. As a frequent flier of Delta, with boo-koos of miles, it was odd on this trip, because I took my first ever flight on American Airlines. I have a few friends that work for AA, so they had some good fun with this one. I flew AA for this trip because they had a non-stop from Charleston, SC to Dallas-Fort Worth, which made it worth it. It was a great flight in both directions, without any delays. In fact, on the trip from CHS to DFW, we arrived 45 minutes early! That is unheard of these days with the airlines. Coming home on Sunday, we were also early, but not quite as much as the trip out.
Once I landed at DFW, I took the Dallas Area Regional Transport (DART) from the airport into Dallas. The train ride was about 55 minutes, but for $2.50 it was far cheaper than taking a cab or Uber. I had the time to kill so this was an easy choice. It was super safe and convenient and they have an app for your phone where you can order your pass immediately. After getting off the train, it was a 2 minute walk to my hotel. Very convenient. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Dallas Downtown. It was about a 10-12 minute walk to the expo and start, and maybe a 15-16 minute walk from the finish line.
