Overview The BMW Dallas Marathon starts and finishes at Dallas City Hall and runs a loop of White Rock Lake, the lake the first race circled twice in 1971 with 82 runners. It calls itself Texas' longest-running marathon, and the City of Dallas recognizes it as the city's official marathon. Race weekend fills three days in December with twelve running and walking events, from a 50K ultra and a five-person relay down to a Friday night mile and kids' races, plus a two-day Health and Fitness Expo. The race is a nonprofit. Scottish Rite for Children became its primary beneficiary in 1997, and by 2025 the race had given the hospital more than $4.5 million. On site Dallas City Hall Plaza is the weekend's base. The Friday Night Lights Mile opens race weekend, the expo runs two days, and the marathon, half marathon, 50K and relay go out on the Sunday, and the 10K, 5K, 5K Team Challenge and kids' races fill out the weekend. The courses pass through the city's neighborhoods, entertainment districts and landmarks, and spectators line the streets along the route. The second Sunday of December is BMW Dallas Marathon Day. Post-race parties close out the weekend. Audience This is a home-market race: in 2024, 89% of participants came from Texas and 77% from Dallas-Fort Worth. Children run too: 4,500 ran the kids' races in 2024. Companies enter relay teams and the 5K Team Challenge, staff corporate cheer zones on the course and send employees to volunteer. Track record Talmage Morrison of the Cross Country Club of Dallas started the race as the White Rock Marathon in March 1971, and it moved to December in 1976 for cooler weather. MetroPCS held the name from 2009 to 2014, and BMW took the title in 2016. Ice canceled the 2013 race on the Friday before it, and COVID-19 pushed the 2020 edition to May 2021. The 2024 weekend counted 27,900 participants, more than 50,000 expo visitors and more than 150,000 spectators. Brand presence In 2025 BMW held the title and Oncor presented the kids' races. Below them, partners are built case by case, with in-kind trade allowed: event branding and signage, expo space, items in the participant packets, the post-race parties, sampling, the BMW Fall Fun Run Series, relay and cheer-zone programs for employees, digital ads and direct messages to runners, and race-day VIP hospitality.