After the horrific Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon in 2011, and after some peer pressure, I decided to give this marathon another try this year. Thankfully Zappos was smart and give a $50 discount coupon to people from last year’s marathon, and I was able to get this race for a little over $100. As for the Pre-Race festivities, they were good. It was held at the Sand’s Convention Center and it was well organized. The SWAG bag was good as well. We arrived there on Saturday, and later in the day than last year, and it was pretty crowded. So I would highly recommend getting there early, if you can. The course setup was a much better set up than in 2011. The marathon started at the Luxor and ran south of the strip, made a U-turn near the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, and then north up the strip towards Fremont Street. The course does get a little lonely once you get out past Fremont Street and into North Las Vegas, especially with the late-afternoon/nite time start, and I expected that. After running through North Las Vegas, you make your way back through the Fremont Street Experience (which was an awesome experience in itself). Finally, you make your way back down the strip and finish in front of the Mirage. The finish line is in a much better place, in the middle of the strip, compared to last year, when it was in front of the Mandalay Bay. It allowed for a easier disbursement of the runners and fans to their hotels after the race. Overall, the course was much better than 2011, and it gets an A. During the post-race festivities, I pretty much got my medal, some water, and exited the course (needed some attention for a cramp in my hamstring). So I did not get to experience the post-race festivities as much as I had wanted to. But props to them for letting me out of the chute because I was a little sore. Overall, this race gets a B. It was much better than 2011, and Zappos identified the problems that they experienced in 2011, and corrected them in 2012. Personally, I am not sure if I will run the Vegas marathon again in the future (need a break from the destination, looking for something new), but I would recommend it to anyone who wants an experience like running down the strip at night (no pun intended).
