BMW Dallas Marathon returns for 50th edition following pandemic-forced layoff By Jaime Aron
In 1969, a retired Navy pilot named Tal Morrison started the Dallas Cross Country Club. At 8 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month, he held races of various distances at White Rock Lake. In the spring of 1971, he decided to stretch things out a bit – to a full marathon. Two full loops of the lake, plus a little extra out-and-back, equaled 26.2 miles. He had the route certified by the Amateur Athletics Union, bought a $25 ad in Runner’s World magazine and cajoled DCCC folks into joining him. Morrison and 81 others finished the debut event, which also was the first marathon in Texas.
From that humble beginning, this marathon has grown into one of the biggest and best in the country. It’s gone from the hugging the lake to showcasing much of Dallas, from a single race to a weekend filled with them, and from an event organized strictly by volunteers (proudly known as “a race put on by runners for runners”) to one with three full-time staffers and big-time corporate sponsorship atop that legion of dedicated volunteers. On the second weekend in December, downtown will be swarmed by thousands of runners and fans for the 50th edition of the BMW Dallas Marathon.