UPDATE: I will be placing photos from the marathon in this Advocate Facebook album. If you have some, send them to me and I’ll add them, and please become our fan while you’re there. 

My experience with the White Rock Marathon was a little different this year than last. Last year I was pretty focused on me (me me) and my time and the (terrible windy hot) weather. This year, I really took in all the great energy that surrounds the race—the (all volunteer) Dallas Running Club coaches encouraging their groups; a female amputee runner who pushed a kid from Scottish Rite Hospital through the entire 26.2-mile course; a group of young kids from Oak Cliff who ran the half marathon without stopping once; volunteers, families and curious neighbors standing outside in the cold, passing out water and picking up trash, with looks of pure excitement; my coworkers who created the most ingenious signage ever; satisfied and sore runners crowded onto the DART after the race; even the guy on the train who complained to me that we made him late to church and asked "why the hell?" we were all doing this. (Oh, and the weather this year was great, unlike last year.)

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View a bit of race day video after the jump, though, since I didn’t carry my camera with me, it doesn’t really begin to capture the spirit of this marathon. The interpretive-dance guy quoted near the end of the video is Chris Stratton, from the story that ran in the December issue.