This Sunday, thousands of runners will lace up their shoes and toe the starting line for the BMW Dallas Marathon. For athletes ambitious enough to take on the 26.2-mile feat, the race starts at Dallas City Hall Plaza. Runners will make their way through Uptown and Highland Park, go around White Rock Lake and circle back to finish downtown.

At the end of November, I ran my first marathon in Philadelphia. Enough time has passed that I can walk down the stairs normally again, but I still have the black and blue toenails to prove my achievement.

Shortly after moving to Dallas this summer, I signed up for the race. Running has become my way of learning the city and getting to know the nooks and crannies that weave through each neighborhood. When I’m running, the city starts to shrink. Neighborhoods that once felt far away from one another are suddenly connected, and with every mile covered on foot, the city feels a little more familiar.

Since I joined my local YMCA track team in third grade, I’ve never stopped running. From high school cross country races to joining my college’s club running team and running a half marathon this past spring, I’ve run a lot of miles over the years. A marathon was the final race on my list, and it seems I’m not the only one.

Jason Schuchard, president of the BMW Dallas Marathon, said this year, over 5,000 runners are registered for the full marathon. Registration opened May 1 and the race was already sold out in August, the earliest sell-out date in the race’s 54 years.

Why is there a growing interest in running marathons?

Gen Z runners

More young runners are signing up for races, pinning on a bib and crossing the finish line.

According to Strava, a social media app where athletes can track runs and other workouts, there was a 33% increase in Gen Z runners recording a marathon race on the app this year compared with 2024.

In an era where traditional markers of success — buying a house, getting married or having kids — are becoming more out of reach, training for a race seems like an attainable goal and something that young people can set their sights on.

An increase in running clubs in part fuels the running craze. These groups host community runs that attract large numbers of runners.

The number of running clubs registered on Strava more than tripled this year.

Dallas is home to its own run clubs, many of which have gained popularity on social media. I structured my training around these weekly meet-ups, dashing around town with Pegasus Run Club’s marathon crew, trading training tips with Oak Cliff Run Crew, and chatting with newbie runners training for their first 5k and ex-cross country kids at Kairos Run Club.

Run clubs are good places to meet other people who also enjoy the “runner’s high,” and it’s encouraging to see so many showing up to run in their communities.

This year, the Dallas Marathon is partnering with about 10 run clubs in the area. Schuchard said the clubs help provide exposure for the race, volunteer to lead pace groups for the half and full marathons and organize cheer zones on the course.

On your own

While running clubs are a fun way to find community, a lot of my training was OYO (on your own, as my high school coach used to note on our training plan). I’ve logged hundreds of miles on the Katy Trail, weaving between dog walkers, rollerbladers and college kids clad in Lululemon.

Every Saturday morning, I drove out to White Rock Lake for my long run. The 9-mile loop is the place in Dallas to do a weekly long run, the pinnacle of marathon training. While specific training plans vary, building mileage each week during a longer run to simulate race day conditions is key to success.

In the early morning, the paved path around the lake is filled with cyclists and runners adorned with water belts. The discarded packets of energy gels littering the pavement are proof that there are a lot of people training for races. There’s something comforting about being surrounded by others who also find it enjoyable to spend a good portion of their weekend running.

In July, I slogged through the miles in the heat. I could barely finish eight miles, not even a full loop around the lake, without walking. A few weeks ago, I set out for 20 miles, the longest run I would do before race day. That’s a little more than two loops around White Rock Lake, something that was unthinkable at the beginning of the summer.

One of my training runs took me from my apartment near the Katy Trail to Southern Methodist University, over to White Rock Lake and then on the Santa Fe Trail passing by Fair Park and weaving through Deep Ellum.

Even though I started the run at 6 a.m. in the dark, by the time I got to Fair Park and my watch chimed to let me know I had reached 13 miles, just a few more to go, the temperature was already climbing close to 90 degrees. Training in the Texas heat is no joke, but it paid off in Philadelphia. The crisp mid-30s temps I was greeted with on race day were a welcome relief after months of running under the Texas sun.

On social media, runners in matching race day kits with colorful shoes set off for 26.2 miles. Some opt for special shoes with carbon-fiber plates that provide an extra boost with each stride, vests with pockets designed to hold energy gels, electrolytes and water, watches to calculate your pace and even minty balms to soothe the pain that comes with running for hours.

But you don’t need high-tech gear to be a runner. The magic of a marathon is all the training and preparation that happen months before you arrive at the starting line. The race is the final victory lap.

For those running the marathon this Sunday, take it all in. Pause your music to listen to the roar of the crowd as you turn into the final stretch. Take an orange slice from a spectator at mile 21 when you feel like your legs can’t move anymore. High-five the “Tap here to power up” sign and don’t forget to smile when you cross the finish line — you paid to do this!

Caroline Collins is editorial fellow for The Dallas Morning News.