Courtesy: event press release

The first "Cooper Complete Race to Victory," a feature of the Dallas White Rock Marathon, will give female elite runners a head start, pitting the genders against each other for an additional $25,000, for a total of $37,000 to the overall winner.

"The Dallas White Rock Marathon is a top-class marathon," said Todd Whitthorne, president and COO of Cooper Concepts, the manufacturer of Cooper Complete, which is sponsoring the challenge. "I can imagine the top athletes really pushing each other toward the finish line, making the last minutes of the event more exciting to watch."

Elite women will receive a head start in an effort to balance the men's and women's finishing times. The male elite runners will begin the race at 8 a.m. with the rest of the runners. The first marathoner to cross the finish line will receive $25,000 in addition to the $12,000 awarded to the overall male and female winners. The total prize purse this year is more than $100,000.

"Putting the women at the front of the race is going to attract a new level of female elites," said Larry Barthlow, elite athlete coordinator, World Event Network. "Dallas is a major, international city, and the addition of the 'Race to Victory' reinforces Dallas as a world-class marathon and a viable alternative to other big races. Very few marathons in the world have a challenge like this, so kudos to the board for taking this to the next level."

Race organizers hope the superior caliber of elite runners adds to the overall excitement around the event and provides an enhanced marathon experience for everyone involved.