Recommendation for First 70.3 distance near (up to 15hr drive) Dallas,TX

This one is easy - Galveston 70.3: 5 hr drive, wetsuit legal the last 2 years (and saltwater too), flat bike course (though windy) on good roads, 3-loop run around Moody Gardens (crowd-friendly - if you stay at Moody Gardens Hotel, you can almost cheer on from the hotel room .  T1/T2 setup is also easy (same place like most shorter tris).  Lots of other hotel options nearby. 

I usually start my tri season with this race (it's in April) and plan on doing it for the 3rd year in a row next April.

I love Ironman Austin 70.3. Doing it my second time in a few weeks. It gets hot, but not a tough course. The swim is in Decker Lake and has been wetsuit legal, even with the drought and extreme heat last summer. The race is in October.

There isn't a lot to see on the course. I hate driving and the three hours from Dallas to Austin would be as far as I would be able to withstand.

The 70.3 in Galveston probably is a better venue, is earlier in the year, but a longer drive.

I would be more confident with something later in the year.

November till February will be consumed with 50k training

And in April I plan on MarbleFall HITS Olympic distance

Redman in OKC is a great, non-branded race. It was Sept. 22 this year. Roads on the bike are a tad rough in places, but coming from Texas you may not even notice . Bike and run are flat flat flat.

Kansas 70.3 is the 2nd weekend in June - hilly/challenging bike course and massive crowd support on the run as it goes through camp grounds. Camping on-site is convenient and inexpensive. Last year it was not wetsuit legal though.

I've found it's difficult to find a 70.3 in the July-August timeframe that fit my travel criteria... just too hot out there in the middle of the country and the south.

It's probably a bit far, but Augusta 70.3 is great.  You can't beat the down river swim, you could float down and still PR (and its wetsuit legal which makes floating...i mean swimming, that much easier).  the bike is great, not easy, not hard, and the 2 loop run course is very spectator friendly.  and its usually in September.

ask again in a month and i'll let you know how austin is, as far as galveston, its definitly a "must do" race also.

I used to live in Pittsburgh, so I would combine this with a visit to friends and also enjoy the roller coasters.

Not to mention a good primati bros. sandwich

With friends in Atlanta, this is a viable opton!

Buffalo Springs Lake Tri.  Lubbock, TX...great event.  Lubbock is probably 5 hours from Dallas?  Almost all interstate.

But...you gotta like hills and you gotta like heat.

It's a great race though.  My favorite HIM.  Always wetsuit legal (never seen it not be).  AND, you can preview most of the course with an Oly in May.

Maybe I just have a sentimental attachment though...it was my very first tri ever. :D

Mmmmmm...Primanti's!!!!

I totally want a big sandwich and beer right (Rolling Rock) now

Instead of the HITS Oly in Marble Falls in April, I recommend the Marble Falls Triathlon in July.  I did both of them this year and can say without a doubt that the Marble Falls Tri is 10000000 times better than the HITS.  Even with the cheap prices HITS is advertising it doesn't make up for a crappy course and bad logistics.

As for the 70.3, if you like coming to the Hill Country I recommend the race I just did this weekend, the Kerrville 70.3.  It is put on by High Five events from Jack and Adams in Austin, and they really know what they are doing.  Everything is very organized and run well.  The bike course is fast, and about 50% smooth and 50% chipseal (so better than most courses in the hill country).  I think the course is a ton better than Austin too, which I did last year.

Swim has been wetsuit legal, and the 4 loop run course is really good for spectators to see.  The bike course is 2 loops as well.

I'm a big fan of smaller events run by really good experienced RDs.  Both of these fit into that category.  I have yet to see a bad review about either race.

Good luck!

What exactly is crappy about the course and logistics?

x2 on Austin 70.3.  Warm lake swim, flatish bike course and a two loop run with some trail running.  Plus, Austin is a fantastic, tri-friendly town.  I look forward to returning there in the next couple of years to improve upon my woeful finish in 2010.

The bike course the RD chose at Marble Falls was very rough chip seal (normal for central Texas, but it seems like he picked the worst roads in the area), and had several blind corners. It also went over several cattle grates, and the roads became very narrow with little to no shoulder.  Then to top it off, he changed the run course the night before the event and put it on the same roads as the bike course.  Eventually you had one big charlie foxtrot with runners and bikes from several waves of two different distances (sprint and oly) all on the same roads which were poor choices to begin with.  Add in very little assistance/direction from on course officials/volunteers and it was just a free-for-all, which I viewed as very unsafe.  I saw many a near collision between bikers and runners because there weren't even cones out to separate them. There also weren't police offiecrs directing traffic at some of the larger intersections.

They also did not put a timing mat out at any of the turn arounds on both the bike and run course, making it very easy for someone to cut the course.  I have read at other HITS races they didn't even properly mark the turn around point before the race.  The aid stations on the run course had maybe 1-2 volunteers who seemed to not know what was going on and weren't prepared to handle all the racers.

The end of the race I was handed a warm bottle of water and that was about it.

Now compare that to the Marble Falls Tri, which has been going on for years and years.  The bike course is great.  Nice wide shoulder, roads are much smoother, and there was police at every intersection.  Race official and mat at the turn around.  Run course went through a quiet neighborhood.  Lots of aid stations with good volunteers who knew what they were doing.  End of the race was a big party with lots of good food.

The race experiences aren't even close.  It was very evident the HITS RD had no idea what he was doing, and the Marble Falls Tri RD does.  Why HITS didn't contact the Marble Falls Tri RD is beyond me. 

Remember, you always get what you pay for.