DALLAS DFW — Over , runners raced through downtown Dallas this weekend to pass through the finish lines in the st BMW Dallas Marathon, officials announced Sunday.
Over , spectators cheered on the runners as they passed around White Rock Lake before finishing at Dallas City Hall.
Congratulations to all of our runners who crossed the finish line today in our st running, said Paul Lambert, President of runDallas, the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival s parent organization. We are excited to welcome runners from all states and countries around the world to experience our first-class event.
Cameron Beckett, , of Little Rock, Arkansas, achieved his first, first-place finish with a time of ::. It s a really great atmosphere, he said. A lot of supportive fans. They put on a great race and it s fun to run it.
Megan Taylor, , of Cave Springs, Arkansas, was the women s first place finisher with a time of ::. The people lining the streets are so encouraging, she said. I saw so many people all around the lake. The lake was really hard, windy, and kind of lonely, but people were encouraging the whole time and that really helped.
Carson Vickroy, , of Tyler, TX, with a time of ::, came in first place for the men s half marathon. I love the atmosphere that Dallas has this year, he said. I don t live within the Dallas area but I run here quite a bit and this is really special for me. This one is a cool one.
Meredith Mimi Smith, , of Dallas, TX, won the women s half marathon, crossing the finish line at ::. I just moved to this area so this race let s me see a lot of the different parts of Dallas and I love it, she said. It s fun to see everyone out and about and cover distances I m unfamiliar with.
Jeremy Corbe, , of France, took first place overall Men in the Ultra Marathon K miles with a time of ::. I love this race, he said. This is very nice weather and it s lovely to see all of the people lined up cheering. Four years ago I was in a small town in France and now I m winning a Dallas race. It s just really amazing.
Neringa Kauliaite, , of Fort Worth, TX, took first place overall Women category in the Ultra Marathon with a time of ::. It was so tough in the beginning, and I wasn t sure I could do it, she said. My husband was so cool and was telling me I could do it and I went for it. I really enjoyed it and I m looking forward to next year.
Wheelchair participant, Heather Sealover, participated in the BMW Weekend Series and finished in first place in Saturday s K and Sunday s half marathon.
Last Man Running: New Country ., Mark Louis Hawkeye, was the very last person to cross the starting line on Sunday, Dec. , passing as many race participants as possible in an effort to raise money for Scottish Rite for Children. Hawkeye finished with a time of ::.
The BMW Dallas Marathon Festival has had thousands of participants run its course since , with the record-holders for both the male and female divisions having the title since . The current record in the female division is held by Svetlana Ponomarenko with a time of ::. The male division record-holder is Moses Kororia with a time of ::.
The BMW Dallas Marathon Festival hosted its third annual Friday Night Lights Mile event Friday evening, a two-lap Grand Prix style race around Dallas City Hall Plaza. More than participants took part in this fun event that offered eight different heats for seniors, kids, elite runners, and even those in costume. The elite heat wrapped up the evening, with the winner running the -mile course in just : minutes.
Joseph Cervantes running with his son, Vincent Cervantes, years old, of McKinney, TX, took first place in Heat of the Friday Night Lights Mile. It s a fast course, Joseph said. It was a quick two loops and you re ready to go. We loved it.
Kim Ream, , of Sedalia, MO, placed first in Heat of the Friday Night Lights Mile. I ve wanted to run this race for a long time, but I ve never done a three-day challenge, Ream said. This will be the first that I ve done three days in a row and it was great.
Ethan Gonzalez,, of North Richland Hills, TX, took first place for men in Saturday s K. I ve always loved doing the BMW races, Gonzalez said. I ve done the full, half, K and K before. I was just really ready to get back into this competitive environment. It s such a rush. BMW always has a great environment.
The women s K race had an exciting finish, with Amani Terrell, , of Fort Worth, TX, taking first place.
Thousands of kids of all ages took part in the marathon s annual line-up of family races on Saturday, including the M Dash and the Oncor Kids Race. The event was a special affair for the Johnson family, who brought their children to participate in the fun. Former Mayor Laura Miller made a special appearance to cheer on the kids.
The Health and Fitness Expo, which took place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Friday, Dec. and Saturday, Dec. , saw more than , visitors.
A dedicated race staff and thousands of volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure both participants and spectators had the ultimate Dallas Marathon experience, which included:
Full race results are available online. All times are unofficial until results are verified by race officials.