17,500 Runners Cross the Finish Line this Weekend During BMW Dallas Marathon’s 50th Running

(DALLAS) – With sunshine and start-time temperatures in the mid-30s, more than 17,000 raced across downtown Dallas, through stately neighborhoods and around White Rock Lake – on a course lined with thousands of cheering spectators – to finish at Dallas City Hall for the 50th
running of the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival.

“Congratulations to all of our runners who crossed the finish line in our 50th running,” said Paul Lambert, President of runDallas, the BMW Dallas Marathon’s parent organization. “We are excited to welcome runners from all 50 states and 25 countries around the world to experience our first-class event.”

For the weekend, the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival hosted for 26,000 runners, setting a new record for this iconic race.

Award Winners

Texas locals and out-of-state visitors take top honors at the 2021 BMW Dallas Marathon Festival.

Full Marathon

Joseph Hale, 28, of Dallas, achieved a first place finish in the men’s marathon with a finish time of 2 hours and 28 minutes This is Joseph’s third appearance in the BMW Dallas Marathon Festival, and he was shocked to win his division. “It’s been a lifelong
goal,” says Hale. “I actually ran in the California International Marathon last week and I’m really surprised my legs recovered enough to get back out here.”

Solyenetzil Selene Yanet Castro Aguilar, 35, of Zacatecas, Mexico, crossed the marathon finish line with a jubilant yell, earning a time of 2 hours and 52 minutes. She traveled from her home country of Mexico to compete in Dallas when local family members promised to cheer her on. “Three years ago I was going to run my first marathon but I got injured,” says Aguilar. “I decided to try again and I have been training for three months for this marathon.”

Half Marathon

Mitch Ammons, 32, of Austin, achieved his personal record of 1 hour and 6 minutes for the men’s half marathon. This was his first ever BMW Dallas Marathon Festival. Mitch’s favorite part of the race was experiencing the finish line excitement. “The finish is really great. It’s probably the coolest finish I have ever run,” says Ammons.

Kelsey Bruce, 29, of Wichita Falls, won the women’s half marathon today with a time of 1 hours and 14 minutes in her first BMW Dallas Marathon. Kelsey has competed in the Olympic Trials twice, and was excited to come home to run this morning. “I lived in Dallas for a long time, I went to college here and worked here,” says Bruce. “It was really nice coming back and running at home.”

Ultra Marathon (50K)

Landon Thorton, 21, of Tyler, is a student at the University of Texas and took first place overall in the Ultra Marathon 50K (31 miles) with a time of 3 hours and 19 minutes. “Honestly, the hardest part is the first mile. It’s cold and everyone is packed in together,” says Thorton. “My favorite part is the last mile. The finish is always the best, there’s always an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.”

Megan Smyth, 37, of Dallas, won the women’s Ultra Marathon 50K (31 miles) with a time of 3 hours and 58 minutes. Smyth had previously run the relay at the Dallas Marathon, but this was her first solo endeavor. “Since I live here, I run the roads all the time so it was nice already being familiar with the course,” says Smyth. “It’s a great course, they’ve done a great job.”

Marathon Moments

• Local Rangers field reporter, Emily Jones, was the very last person to cross the starting line on Sunday, Dec. 12, passing as many race participants as possible in an effort to raise money for Scottish Rite for Children. Jones finished with a time of 2 hours and 17 minutes. Andrews Distributing will make a donation for each runner she passed during an official check presentation at Scottish Rite for Children this spring. In addition, Jones’ charity, Do It For Durrett Foundation, a nonprofit raising funds for working-class families impacted by a sudden loss, donated $2,500 to Scottish Rite For Children. “It’s a first class production”, says Jones, “I’m just thrilled I got to be a small part
  of raising money for Scottish Rite.”
• Fort Worth resident, Annabelle Corboy, ran the half marathon 50 years after winning the full marathon during its very first running in 1971. The 74-year-old came in today with a time of 2 hours and 46 minutes. Since winning her first marathon, Annabelle has run 23, with her last 26.2 mile event in 2005 at the Boston Marathon. “It’s nice to look back and see the good times I’ve had through running,” says
  Corboy.
• Title Partner, BMW, gave away a new special edition 2021 BMW 4 Series Coupe at the start line on Sunday. The lucky winner was marathon participant Carolyn Halloway.
• Rio King, 79, of Plano,ran his 45th consecutive full marathon with a time of 5 hours and 58 minutes.
• For the twelfth consecutive year, Santa’s Speedy Helpers wins the 5-person marathon relay with a finishing time of 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Weekend Events

Thousands of participants have run the Dallas Marathon course since 1971, with the record-holders for both the male and female divisions holding the titles since 2006. The current record in the female division is held by Svetlana Ponomarenko with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes and 55 seconds. The male division record-holder is Moses Kororia with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 4 seconds.

During the 50^th race weekend, the Dallas Marathon hosted its second annual Friday Night Lights Mile event, a two-lap Grand Prix style race around Dallas City Hall Plaza. Hundreds of participants took part in the 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, John Singler, 24, of Denton, running the 1-mile course in just under 4 minutes.

Saturday’s 10K winner was Jeb Williamson, 19, of Kaufman, TX, crossing at 33 minutes and 48 seconds in the men’s group, followed by Allison Cleaver, 33, of Dallas, finishing in 36 minutes and 42 seconds in the female category. Yesterday’s 5K champions were Jose Rodriguez, 18, from Dallas, with a time of 16 minutes and 41 seconds for the men’s group and Rena Elmer, 39, of Dallas, at 17 minutes and 12 seconds among females.

The Health and Fitness Expo, which took place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11, saw more than 40,000 visitors.

By the Numbers

A dedicated race staff and thousands of volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure both participants and spectators had the ultimate BMW Dallas Marathon Festival experience, which included:

• 10,785 gallons of water and 7,800 gallons of Gatorade consumed
• 20,000 pieces of fruit at the finish line
• 625 gallons of beer to be consumed at the finish line and post-race party
• 112 bags of discarded clothing collected and donated to local charities

For full race results, please visit http://dallas.mychiptime.com/. All times are unofficial until results are verified by race officials.

About Dallas Marathon

The Dallas Marathon is a nonprofit organization with a focus on promoting health and physical fitness through running events and related activities. Dating back to 1971, the organization hosts year-round events culminating with Dallas’ largest and Texas’ longest running marathon: the BMW Dallas Marathon. Now in its 50th running, the marquee event, with 10 event distances to select from throughout the weekend of events, attracts runners from across the globe and tens of thousands of spectators to Dallas’ largest single-day sporting event. The BMW Dallas Marathon course highlights iconic Dallas landmarks and is recognized as the official marathon of the City of Dallas. Since naming a primary beneficiary in 1997, the Dallas Marathon has donated more than $4million to Scottish Rite for Children. For more information, visit bmwdallasmarathon.com.