To

those of you who read my monthly running posts, I just want to thank you for letting me share them.

If I have inspired anyone to run somewhere

he or she

would not have considered running before, I would consider the time very much worthwhile!
I will, of course, continue to explore different areas within striking distance of New York City and will share these adventures.

Through the winter, I know we intend to run to CitiField along the 7 train, a run of

which we have done parts.

I don’t think that I have written about running into the Palisades Park on the NJ side of the GW bridge.

So I have a few more things to share!

I’m open to suggestions of areas you’d like us to explore.

We really haven’t gone too far into Westchester, which is another area with lots of green and car-free paths.

Stay tuned!

I’m sure that in 2015 I will not necessarily post a run every month.

If we have 12 runs we can do within the City limits, that’s pretty amazing as it is!
This month, I’ll keep it short.

Some friends and I decided to run our 2nd fall marathon in Dallas.

It was snowed out last year, so we thought the field would be very full, and a flat marathon might be a nice antidote to the windy, hilly course that was the NYC marathon this year!

Here is the course:
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/652863260
The course takes you through a few neighborhoods, none of which I had been in before.

I brought my real estate hat with me on the plane, as I was told how ripe Downtown Dallas is for reinvention and residential applications.

So arriving a day early for the race, I was able to visit some of the new things and some of the development that has happened over the last 10-15 years, some of which we ran by, and I’ll cover below.

It happened to be 72 and sunny on the day before the race, providing some really gorgeous weather to see the city.

Klyde Warren Park is a new addition, built directly over a highway.

This incredible addition was completed in 2012, next door to the Nasher Sculpture Center and near the Dallas Museum of Art.

Additionally, a really interesting residential tower (the Museum Tower) looms to the SE, making for a nice

place to eat lunch, bring your dog, have a drink, or enjoy what the row of gourmet food trucks have to offer.

A total winner.

Ross Perot’s museum of Nature and Science is located in an incredible new building nearby, as well.

Other residential development seems to be on its way to Downtown Dallas.

The reemergence of urban centers for residential living is something that New Yorkers take for granted, but not something that has happened everywhere.

Dallas seems primed for it.

For now, the residential conversion of office buildings seems to be to rentals rather than condominiums, as house purchases in the surrounding neighborhoods remain the first choices for buyers.

But there have been successful condominiums in the area, though all considered extremely high end in terms of the buyer pool, and expensive.
Homes aren’t cheap, either, but there is a wider variety of options, given the sprawl of areas and neighborhoods on offer.
I also was able to see

some of the amazing redevelopment of different building types, including the hospital where JFK was brought and died after he was shot in 1963, Parkland Memorial Hospital.

This hospital has been for many years the preeminent office space for many financial firms in the area.

Other office spaces of note are in the Crescent, which garner top office rents.
And back to the race, which also started in Downtown, near the convention center, and promised to be very flat.

The only complaint was that the start-time temperature was, for a marathon, a toasty 65 degrees, and very humid.

Too bad!
Heading North and West, we quickly ran out the Central Business District and went through Deep Ellum, which looked like a hip developing area, borne of lots of older industrial buildings.

Very cool.

Not too bad getting to smell delicious barbecue at 8 in the morning.

Once we

passed through Baylor’s campus, we took a right turn North to run along Turtle Creek Boulevard, running by a lovely waterway.

Neat apartment buildings are set along this road, offering incredible views, and lots of green.

This area has a feeling not unlike Washington DC, in that most of the surrounding buildings are lowrise, giving this area

a very leafy, residential feel.

Tennis courts and running paths are all around.

In fact, on the other side of this Turtle Creek Road is a rails-to-trails success story in the Katy Trail, part of which we ran later in the race, a 3.5 mile or so course that takes you through some pretty areas.

I would definitely go run there whenever I go back to Dallas.

The course quickly winds through Highland Park, which features absolutely stunning homes and mature oak trees.

As a kid from New Orleans, the feel of the neighborhood reminded me of Old Metairie and Uptown New Orleans, with perhaps a bit more variety of architectural styles, including some lovely Tudor-style homes and not a few megamansions.

Yes, I was soaking it all in from miles 6-10.
Eventually, the course moved East and Southeast, and I’ll admit I was pretty confused about which way I was heading.

The neighborhoods next to

Highland Park unfortunately pale by comparison, but there were cheering neighbors the whole way to White Rock Lake, a reservoir that offered a nice scenic break from the neighborhood running.

A really pretty path along the lake reminded me of my Twin Cities Marathon, which itself winds through lake and lake.

A nice moment to reminisce during the marathon.

At this point we were at miles 14-17, which included a turnaround at mile 15 or so, and a point at which the rain started.

Not ideal!
We soon ended up on the Katy Trail for 2 miles, which was a quieter portion, and definitely the time of the race when a pick-me-up could have been welcome.

And most of the hills of the race were

in this stretch, which made for the most mentally challenging part, for me.

Oh well!
Backtracking a bit into Highland Park, and then scooting back to Downtown Dallas, was flat.

While echoes of Country and Western duos rang in my ears, the rain really started to roll in right at the end.

Wrapping up under 4 hours was fun, and I was happy to celebrate at the finish with my hotel nearby.

Given the overall convenience of the race, and its flat elevation, I would recommend it for anyone.

The race offers half and full options, so of the 26,000 participants, about 70% were running the half, which

skipped the lake part.
Dallas is very cool, and worth the visit either way!
Happy Holidays and I look forward to writing about more running soon. -S