This was my third marathon, and even though I had a far less than ideal weekend, I am so glad that I chose to run the Vegas Strip at night and introduce myself to the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon series.
This was my first marathon where I didn’t wake up in my bed and drive 30-45 minutes to the start line. Las Vegas is about 4.5 hours from my apartment, so I had to book a hotel and make travel plans. Luckily, my mother decided to fly in and visit me for the first time since my move out here, as well as accompany me to Vegas and see me run, which was extraordinarily helpful in this situation.
Swag: 5/5
First, the expo was exactly like you’d expect. You walk in, get your number and bag, a few then walk through all the merchandise. The whole thing ran very smoothly and quickly (though we did arrive in the last hour on the last day that the expo was open). There was an insane amount of stuff for sale, but I guess that was to be expected with almost 40,000 people participating. I bought some Nike shorts that were 30% off and some running headbands. The shirt is nice, and the drawstring bag is reusable and full of little goodies.
PRE-RACE TIPS
After the expo, we decided to find somewhere to eat. We checked into our hotel, the Royal Resort, which is right off of Las Vegas Blvd, and went to an Italian restaurant on the Strip. It was PACKED. We sat at a little counter and it took a while to get served, so my suggestion for this particular weekend is to make reservations. Thousands and thousands of people are in from out of town, all on the prowl for pasta.
This is a night marathon, so the next morning was weird. I slept in and my mom and I walked across the street to the Denny’s. We waited AN HOUR just for a table, and a good while for the food. It was hard to know what to eat, since I am used to eating just a tiny bit of oatmeal or a granola bar before morning races, so I got French toast with eggs and bacon for a combination of carbs and protein. Again, try to plan ahead.
We discovered after lunch that the start line was over 3 miles from the hotel. Obviously I was not tryin to walk, or god forbid RUN, 3 miles before a full marathon, so I had Mom drive us towards the start. We left at 3:30, and by 4:20 we were still a couple miles from the strip and 10 minutes from the gun. THERE WAS THAT MUCH TRAFFIC. I was freaking out, but miraculously the traffic cleared and we were able to drive down Koval and get close to Mandalay Bay. All my freaking out was for NAUGHT because, being that I was in corral 20, I didn’t even end up starting until 5:01:14 pm (I know, because I made both my mom and my boyfriend sign up for text updates of my progress). There were over 40 corrals total. Let me just reiterate, this race was massive. Way more massive than Baltimore, and I thought Baltimore was massive (just a small naive country girl over here).
Course: 4/5
It was already almost dark by the time the race went off. And it was COLD. The other runners were better prepared for this, but I was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt and my new Nike shorts, which proved to be not a lot as we were waiting 30 minutes to reach the start line. Keep in mind: the desert in late autumn at night? Not so warm.
The marathon starts running to the edge of the city, then turning around at the entrance and running back down the entire strip. Being that the last time I went to Vegas was when I was not even 10 years old, I thought it was AMAZING. Lots of enthusiastic spectators and lots of bright lights. Unfortunately, a couple of miles in, we left the strip and a lot of the marathon was kind of out in the middle of nowhere (miles 10 through 20). They tried to liven it up with live local bands every couple of miles, which helped, and some bright Christmas lights. Had I been in a mentally bad place that day, those ten miles would have been brutal. They brought out those big lamps they use for road construction because the roads we were running on were so isolated and dark.
There were no mile markers for miles 11 or 22-24, which was so frustrating at that point in the race. Like c’mon, please. Please give me some validation that I am actually making some progress here. We finished by running back onto the strip and the finish line was right across from The Flamingo.
I finished in 4:06:35 – not a personal best but not a personal worst either! I think the training on hard surfaces like sidewalks and treadmills really hurt me for this race; my legs and feet were already in a good amount of pain by mile eight. They need a good rest for the next several weeks. However, I wasn’t too wiped out at the end; honestly, marathons get easier and easier every time you do them.
Medal: 5/5
The shitty miles of the course were all worth it at the end, when every finisher was presented with this incredibly heavy medal shaped like a stack of cards. I love theme medals, and I love high-quality medals, and I love this medal.
Difficulty: 2/5
The course was pretty flat, with the exception of one steep 200-meter hill that we had to run twice. No big deal, right? It was so flat that I would say it’d be a good first marathon for someone who is looking to break into the distance, and it is at night which reduces any chance for overheating or sunburn; but I do give it 2/5 stars because it is all running on pavement and also because of the several miles that were nothing but running into a dark black hole with seemin
Water Stations: 4/5
The aid stations I thought were good: only about 1.5 miles between each one. They all had water and Gatorade, and miles 9 and 18 had Gu packets (which I have come to discover are my SAVIORS -– real actual energy in a tiny little pouch). There were porta-potties throughout as well, maybe every 5 miles or so.
Accessibility: 2/5
As I said, I had a miniature mental breakdown on the way down to the start line because driving down there, even if your plan is to be dropped off, is a horrific idea. I think if you were to actually follow directions and book one of the sponsored hotels, it would have been much less of a nightmare. The course is not very accessible to spectators either once it heads off The Strip, so keep that in mind.
Food: 2/5
The finish was very well-organized: there were snack stations, medical stations, stations where photographers were taking pictures of finishers with their medals against a Rock ‘n’ Roll backdrop. I was disappointed in the snacks -– not a bagel to be found! Just PowerBars, pretzels, and warm, mushy bananas. There are few things on this planet that will make me vomit faster than a warm, mushy banana. I appreciated the free beer though, and slurped that baby down like it was my last beer in this lifetime.
Affordability: 3/5
Not the cheapest race in the world, but not the most expensive either. The Rock ‘n’ Roll series can be a bit pricey. If you wait too long, you’ll be paying over $200, but get your registration in early and will only have to fork over about half of that. It is a good value for the type of product that you’re getting, especially considering the location.
Organization: 4/5
Overall, I enjoyed the race a lot, and I can’t do a lot to knock the organization. The race organizers obviously know what they’re doing at this point, and I think a big part of my issues can be attributed to my own lack of planning. I liked the sections in downtown Las Vegas and the live bands throughout, thought the course was accessible for spectators on the Strip (kind of desolate for the middle of the race, though), and thought it was pretty well organized as a whole for how many runners there were. I did not like the lack of food at the end, or how isolated a lot of the race was (though, to be fair, 26.2 miles all within a populous area is unrealistic in most cases). And there were a lot of runners, so a lot of the race was spent weaving in and out of people.
I learned from this race to plan a little better, like book a hotel closer to the course, leave earlier for the start, and make reservations for food. If you are planning on running, be aware that the city is CROWDED this weekend, and plan accordingly.
Definitely a cool experience, and I would recommend it to anyone – maybe even insist that you run it (….I mean, it’s Las Vegas)!
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