The New Las Vegas Marathon

I’ve been meaning to write a review for this marathon for awhile, but now as i’m ready to taper for the chicago marathon in October, it reminds me of my experience with this race last year.
I ran the half, and was pretty nervous as my flight was delayed so i didn’t get into vegas until waaaaay late friday night… also i started to doubt my training and wondered if i had done enough (normal pre-​race jitters i think). Then, once i landed in vegas and got to my parents’ house, i started to relax and realized i’d be fine.
The race was actually nice and cold (40’s at the start, just perfect). There was a fireworks display to start as well as a bunch of running elvis impersonators… i caught up with the karaōke machine and got to singalong with them, how many races can you say you did that? Blue man group was around mile 3.5, so that was cool. Also, since the race starts at 6am you get a strange mix of fans watching and people just getting out of the clubs. I must say, running past Pure and Jet I was very distracted… so many nice looking ladies =) Then once you pass the strip into the older parts of vegas you get to some strip clubs, where drunken frat packs stumble out of the clubs and happen onto the race and cheer you on («Run Forrest Run! i must’ve heard 5 times, quite clever).
The race was pretty boring after passing downtown vegas, as we run Frank Sinatra Dr. past all the hotel parking garages for the last part… i think the crowd support is needed the most back here, so if you come out to watch… head to the back of the hotels. I saw my parents at harrah’s holding up signs cheering me on around mile 3, so once i saw them i knew i’d be ok =).
Overall the race was fine, and i’m planning on doing the half again this year. There is also an after party at Tao where all the runners can get together and talk about their blackened toenails and sore muscles. I think the best part, though, is after the race you are ready to eat a house and there are so many buffets to choose from… i chose the paris buffet brunch and then in-​n-​out last year (best decision i made, i ate two double-​double meals). I think this race will get bigger as it ages.

Looking for an excuse to go Vegas? Are you a runner? Well, if the answer is yes to both questions, than I have got an answer for you… The Las Vegas Marathon. You have an excuse to go the city that never sleeps and also get your run on. I can assure you that this running experience will be unlike any other and will be very entertaining to say the least.
There’s nothing better than seeing hundreds of Elvis Presley impersonators at 6 o’clock in the morning complete with running shoes and gu to fuel them on their 26.2 mile journey. And let’s not forget the other thousands of people who are crazily adorned with show girl attire or whatever else they could get their hands on. The best, however, is when you spot the group of Elvis clad runners who are pushing a runner’s baby buggy that has a karaōke machine pumping out Elvis tunes so they can sing along as they run. What could be better than that?
The race kicks off at Mandalay Bay hotel, located at the beginning of the infamous Las Vegas strip. The first 3 miles or so are on the main strip. Miles 4 to about 10 or 11 go through «old Vegas,» wedding chapels and random other parts. There is also a good chunk of the race during which you are literally in the middle of nowhere before finally hitting a residential area that eventually loops back to where you started. Water and Gatorade stops can be found every two miles and port-​o-​potties are usually nearby. The crowd support is awesome at the start and finish as well as at the half-​way point. Aside from that, it’s minimal.
The health expo, which takes place the two days prior to race day is pretty cool. There are numerous vendors that include everything from shoe stores, to chiropractors to health and nutrition companies trying to sell their latest and greatest creation that is geared especially toward runners… it’s usually a bunch of crap, but it’s fun to walk through and try all the new stuff. All runners get a tech-​tee and a bunch of other random samples and freebies.
Price-​wise, it’s really not bad if you sign-​up a few to several month in advance. The sooner you sign up the cheaper it will be… rule of thumb for most marathon races. This race is also still a baby, coming up on its third year this December. The best part of the running this race is that when you’re done and starving you have plenty of fun and yummy restaurants and buffets to choose from.
Overall, I’m a fan!

Held in early December I visited this event in 2007 as a spectator to cheer on a friend who was running in her first half marathon. I ran in the full marathon in 2005 when it was reintroduced with its current course which runs up Las Vegas Boulevard or «the Strip» and runs through Fremont Street and all of its older casino hotels and the Fremont Street Experience.
The race starts and ends at the beautiful Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, but from the moment you are let off from the early morning monorail service it is a confusing maze through the Mandalay Bay convention area just to get to the race assembly area. The signs are not very noticeable and very confusing, and basically you’ll end up following a crowd just hoping to end up in the correct location. Once you arrive outside in the bitter cold darkness you are left wondering where to drop off your sweats and which direction to go to get to the start line. It seems only the actual start line is well lit so you’ll have to head in that direction in anticipation of the 6 AM start.
The actual start of the race is magnificent by marathon standards as the sky is lit up with a dramatic, lengthy fireworks show. Thousands of spectators gather in the Mandalay Bay parking lot and along the Las Vegas Strip to cheer on your every step. The first 5 and a half miles are run along the Strip and miles 5.5 to roughly 6.8 takes you through the Fremont Street Experience. As you exit the Fremont Street Experience you’ll come across a timing mat at 7 miles, and unbeknownst to the participant that will be the last time you’ll see civilization as the next 16.5 miles are run through desert communities and residential areas where you’ll see only a handful of friendly neighbors willing to come out of their warm homes to encourage you to keep running. The general feeling I got was that most residents were pretty irate with having thousands of runners interrupt their Sunday mornings by tossing trash on their streets and forcing them to wait in traffic.
At 23.5 miles you’ll reach Frank Sinatra Drive. Hopefully by this time the temperatures will have warmed a bit as the tall Mandalay Bay Resort signage becomes visible telling you the finish line is near. Crowd support is pretty spotty until you get back to the 26 mile mark. In 2005 we started the race in low 40 F temperatures and ended the race in warm mid 70 F temperatures. With the exception of the first 7 miles the overall course is not very scenic and actually quite boring. My suggestion would be to just skip the full marathon and participate in the half marathon instead as that race goes out along the Las Vegas Strip, turns around at the Fremont Street Experience and returns to the finish line via roads that run parallel to the Strip.
The course support in terms of fluid replacement (water & Gatorade) is exceptional with stations at nearly every mile, and there is plenty of medical support and law enforcement along the course. The finishers’ medal in 2005 was quite unique as the center of the medal actually spun on a center axis. Real Las Vegas showgirls and Elvis impersonators stand ready at the finish area and at the race expo to pose with you for a unique Vegas-​only photo.
Will I return to run in this event? Probably not for the full marathon, but I’ll definitely be back to participate in the half marathon.

It’s 4:30am and the sky is dark. I am walking to Mandalay Bay and I am jittery and nervous. Even though I have trained for months I am worried. I am worried that my persistent knee pain will come back and I will have to stop but I am more worried that it will come back and I wont stop because this is the kind of person I am, I cannot give up not after all of this work.
Our training group and around 15,000 other people begin our descent down Las Vegas Blvd and what hurt me most are my hands from the bitter cold. There are fireworks in the distance announcing the beginning of this 26.2 mile run and I begin to think of the run in small pieces, if I can get to 6 miles I can get to 10 miles and so on.
I began running a few years back initially to lose weight but later to clear my head, to be alone and to think things through. The most I had ever run was 8 miles. I joined the SF AIDS Foundation marathon training program because I knew I needed something structured in order to get beyond the boredom and force myself to not give up after 13 miles.
A few weeks before the marathon I couldn’t run at all, my IT band pain was too sharp and impossible to ignore. I stopped training and became irritable, frustrated and bored.
As the marathon became nearer I wondered if I would be able to finish. I had raised 3100 dollars for the AIDS foundation and I had run 23 miles but now it came down to the event and I had no idea what was going to happen.
Ultimately, I finished the marathon in a better time than I expected even with the sporadic, shooting pains in my left knee. As I neared the finish I saw my mom and boyfriend and friends along the side. When I crossed the finish I couldn’t even think beyond basic functions. I drank a few cups of Gatorade and ate a couple cookies and chips. During the run my thoughts were very basic. I was telling myself that I could finish this run. Later in the day I began thinking of what marathon I might want to do in the spring because that’s the kind of person I am. Always in need of a challenge and self-​improvement.
The New Las Vegas Marathon has a big expo and even though Las Vegas isn’t one of my favorite places it is a good place for a marathon because it is close to the Bay Area and familiar. It is a nice flat course, perfect for a first marathon.