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Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.3 
Organization 2.7 
Spectators 2.8
Number of comments: 736 [displaying comments 551 to 561]
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S. K. from San Diego, California
(12/13/2006)
"Poor Organization, No Structure, Boring Final 18" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This race was a huge disappointment for a first-time marathon runner. The first 8 miles through the strip and old downtown (Fremont Street) was great. But miles 9-26 were boring with no scenery, 3rd-rate entertainment (unless you count two guys with a drum set), and a only a handful of spectators. The ultimate failure, however, was the lack of food in the post-race area. I finished the marathon in 3:39:10 and was told that they "ran out of food" and there "might be more on the way." I wasn't about to wait around in 50 degree-temperatures in shorts, a shirt, and space blanket for a banana. This was probably the result of the organizers running a 1/2 marathon and a marathon concurrently. The 1/2 runners finished earlier, ate all the food... and nothing was left for those of us who finished the marathon near the front of the pack. At least they had water and Gatorade. Another failure was the course markings. There was no consistency with the mile markers, especially toward the end when most runners are probably relying on accurate mileage to gauge their final push. At the end, there was a mile marker 23... then a looonnnng stretch until 24... and then a quick 26! What happened to 25? Only Elvis himself may know for sure. These types of errors were typical throughout the course. According to my watch's split times, I had 4 miles where I was sub-6 (no way!), and 6 miles where I was over 12 minutes/mile! I had a couple of painful miles, but none as painful as 12 MINUTES! Very amateur effort was put forth in establishing accuracy with mileage (and the all-important water/Gatorade stations that I looked so forward to!) I was also fairly disappointed with the lack of a "freak show." A handful of Elvis impersonators... but this race didn't really draw out the eccentric runners that always make races so much fun. Overall, a big disappointment and the last time I run in Vegas. Vegas is for gambling and over-indulging all kinds of appetites... but running should be left to more professionally organized events. | |
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L. T. from Laguna Niguel, California
(12/13/2006)
"Mile Markers!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Being in Vegas was fun, but this marathon needs drastic improvements made. I ran this race as my qualifier for Boston, but none of the mile markers were correct! At the 25th mile, the marker stated "24," which threw me all off. Also, there was no food at the end and the start was horribly chaotic. I have run both small and large races, but this was by far the worst. | |
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j. v. from Dallas, Texas
(12/13/2006)
"Lousy race management in spades" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This should be one of the best races in the country... but was so bad that even being in Las Vegas can't save it. It is a very marginal race... much better track, but still barely worth the effort and price to do this race. How could you blow a race with all that money and experience behind you? They did. Not only could they not put the mile markers in the correct place, but the clocks were wrong too! I finished in under four hours and there was not so much as a banana left... doubt if there ever was any food worth eating even for the half marathoners or faster marathon runners. They did not even have ties to put your timing chips on with. No finishing shirt, lousy race shirt, and they did away with the "spinner" medal already? They lacked volunteers telling people where to go, and their packet pickup was not only open, but in random order! You could not find a thing, and they made you use their bag so every bag was identical. They got just about everything possible wrong... I think that the race even started late. They had hardly any licensed items for the race at the expo. Come on. This is Las Vegas. Terrible fan support. Bad luck: it was windy again... but still no tents to stay warm in before or after (though at least it wasn't cold this year). Purely miserable race management. Have I said that there were no instructions in your race packet? I can't say enough bad things about the race management at this race! The good: The race was in Las Vegas! There were plenty of bathrooms, especially at the start. Nice heavy medal (although they dropped their spinner concept like in Miami and at other races). Half and full race shirts were different colors, though the half medal was equal to the full marathon medal. A run through a wedding chapel! Elvises! Did I mention that it was in Las Vegas? You run down the strip and through the Fremont Experience... sweet! | |
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E. B. from Chattanooga, TN
(12/13/2006)
"Good start for what could become a great race." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my seventh marathon. I'm a 5:30 pace marathoner, so I can tell you what the race was like from a back-of-the-pack perspective. This was the second annual, I think, so it was pretty good in that respect. The expo was great. The fireworks at the start were amazing. Running the strip was lots of fun. It was a very flat course. There were water stations at every mile. The police support was fantastic - multiple cops at every intersection. And there was some great entertainment along the way. But there were a few things they could improve on. First of all, there were no corrals at the start, and it was very difficult to get onto the street for the start. We slid down a bank from the Mandalay's parking lot to get onto the road. Then, we were in our position in the back of the large group of runners, and we couldn't see the terrific entertainment at the start line. Members of the cast of Mystere were supposed to be there, but I never saw them. I did get to see the end of Blue Man Group's performance when I finally got to the stage at the start. But a big screen or even a live feed to the Mandalay's screen would have been terrific. Then everyone could enjoy the entertainment at the start. The second major problem that needs to be addressed for the next race is that the mile markers were not in the right place. I wear a Garmin GPS, and for a while, I thought that my Garmin was off. But when my Garmin said I was at 18, and the mile markers were saying 19 miles, I knew something was up. Mile 20 was actually about 1.6 miles long, to make up for the gross mistakes at placing the last three or four mile markers. I felt really sorry for those runners who only had stop watches, and thought they were running miles 12-20 so quickly, only to be flabbergasted by their sudden slow mile at 20. From 21 on, the mile markers were more accurate, except when we got to a mile 25-marker at mile 24.5. But then we reached ANOTHER 25 mile-marker at the correct location. At this point, it was so funny, all you could do was laugh, but this really needs to be corrected for the next race. Also, there was only one water station with food, and it was only Gu gels. Some fruit or pretzels or something like that would have been nice along the course, especially toward the end. I didn't see any fruit or Gatorade at the finish line either. Just lots of water and granola bars, which I couldn't stomach. And I saw no medical tents along the course. I did see two ambulances, with EMT people standing around, but just a few basic tents with some Tylenol, Biofreeze, sunscreen, vaseline, etc., would have been nice. It gets a little boring out in the neighborhoods, something a few more bands would fix. And it was very windy this year. There was a big headwind every time you faced west or south, which is half the race. But overall, it's a great back-of-the-packer race. Water stations and bands and cops were still out in full force when we came trudging by. The finish line still had spectators and the announcer was still calling out names. And it's Vegas, after all. How can you not have fun? | |
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Mara Thoner from USA
(12/13/2006)
"The rest of Vegas was more fun!!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I have done hundreds of races and several marathons/ultras and this was the most poorly organized event I have participated in. I have felt positively about all of my prior experiences until now; hence my first race eval. In my opinion the bare-bones basics for any race is a properly marked course. I ran with a GPS and would see one course marking 1/3 mile too late and the next one 1/4 mile early. I would run one mile in 4 minutes and the next in 12! I would have been very frustrated had I wanted to PR here. There was one finish line for the 1/2 and full marathons, but miles 26 and 13 were at the same place! I was excited about the entertainment that was hyped on the website but saw a small fraction although I was looking quite hard. None of us saw Cirque du Soleil acts as promised, and it seemed that HS cheerleaders were the bulk of the acts. Blue Man Group at the start and fireworks were the only perk in that sense. The first 10K was fun (on the strip) but the rest of the course was likely the most boring that I've run. Wind and sand didn't make a good combo either. Other peeves: cotton T-shirts for race shirts (who does that these days?), gear check was a heap of bags unsupervised (luckily I didn't partake), and there was ZERO food when I finished around 4 hours - still ahead of several 1/2 marathoners. I heard 3 hour-finishers say that the fruit and burritos were already gone when they finished - a huge underestimation. Do this race if you're going to be in Vegas and want to get a workout in, but don't plan for a high-caliber event. | |
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R. M. from New Jersey
(12/13/2006)
"Mileage markers all messed up" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 The course was very exciting for the first 6 or 7 miles as it ran down The Strip, and then through Fremont Street. But after that, it was extremely boring. I think it would have been much nicer to have the race finish down The Strip instead of in the alley behind the casinos. The wind was also a factor. With long straightaways in the middle of the race, there was no break in the wind for many miles once you started going into it. But BY FAR, the worst thing about the race to me was the placement of the mileage markers. It's not as though one or two were placed incorrectly. It seems as though MOST of them were wrong. I was very confident that I was running at a consistent speed; yet I covered the distance between some markers in 6 minutes, and others in 15 minutes. I was most frustrated at the 20 mile-mark. At that point, I appeared to be well on my way to a 4 hour-marathon. But it took me 15 minutes to reach the 21 mile-mark, and I was suddenly way behind pace. That was extremely frustrating to me. Also, the post-race spread had less food available than most 5Ks I've run. There was water and Gatorade in abundance, but when I asked a volunteer where the food was, I was told, "We ran out." And since I finished in just over 4 hours, that meant there were thousands of runners still to finish. On my way out, I did happen to find a truck unloading a few crates of bananas, so at least I was able to grab SOME food. But that was it. It was certainly not what I expected from a post-race party in Las Vegas. All of these problems are correctable. And if they are corrected, I think the New Las Vegas Marathon would be a really nice race. But the 2006 edition was significantly below my expectations. | |
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M. M. from Cleveland, OH
(12/13/2006)
"good, with room for improvement" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This is my first Las Vegas Marathon, and 2nd marathon overall. Vegas is definitely cool for a destination marathon. I found the expo to be well organized for packet pick-up, as I was in and out within 5-10 minutes. Running down the strip for the first 6-7 miles was awesome. Mile markers along the course, however, were inaccurate or completely missing. Some water stops were out of Gatorade and/or water. Some water stops were completely missing. There was no food as advertised on the course, and I only found water at the finish line - no food. There were no medical tents that I saw on the actual course. The finish line area did not keep runners and spectators separated. There was no family meet up area as advertised. Plenty of port-a-johns at the start, finish, and along the course. Medal was nice. T-shirt was short-sleeve cotton, with a very simple design. It appears to me that the organizers were concentrating on spending money on gimmicks (Blue Man Group and fireworks at the start for example). There was less of an emphasis on things that runners would actually appreciate and need while running a marathon, like course support and mile marker information. For the cost of entry, I was surprised. Although the race is only in its 2nd year, Devine Racing has plenty of experience. I hope they work to improve the race for the years to come. | |
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m. r. from Irvine, CA
(12/13/2006)
"Worst organized race in 13 years of doing 26.2!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Where do I start? The bag check was chaos before and after the race. Four tents at the start with a 20-minute line. At finish, they just had them lined up OUT OF ORDER. Hide and seek. Almost NO splits were correct. The 6 mile-mark was about 5.6. More tragic was the 24 mile-mark at about 24.75. I had to tell some people that were close to breaking 3 hours that they were only 7 minutes away from the finish. This was extremely frustrating, even for a veteran marathoner. There was an orange mark painted on the road that was correct. I have no idea how they decided to place the mile marks and clocks. Totally wrong. There was very little signage at the start. Tell me where the porta-johns, baggage drop off, start, info area, etc. are. I could not find any of these things without wandering. The water should have been RIGHT after the finish line. Instead there was a LONG line to get a picture. I skipped it to start replenishing. Food was very skimpy. Really pathetic considering this is VEGAS. Race was $105 for marathon on expo day (somewhat pricey) and $95 for half on expo day (VERY pricey). I also did not see a reunion area at the end. But I may have been oblivious at that point. | |
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D. S. from Utah
(12/13/2006)
"This marathon sucks!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I disliked just about everything about this marathon. The shirts were terrible. Cheap, ugly, short-sleave cotton t-shirts. Probably the worst race shirt I've ever received. Second, the course is very boring once you leave the strip. Third, not enough support on the course. There was water and Gatorade, but that was it. I was given one Gu at around mile 14. There was a single kid handing them out and I was lucky I spotted him. Also, how difficult is it to measure a course? The mile markers way off. Luckily I had my Garmin so I ignored their markers. Most of them were off by as much as a half a mile. Finally, the finish was a huge disappointment for a lot of reasons. I've seen better crowds at small half-marathons. The worst part was the lack of food at the finish. After running 26.2 miles, runners are famished and need food immediately. There was nothing but warm water and warm Gatorade. A friend who ran the half-marathon said there were bananas when he finished but they were nowhere in sight when I got there. I could go on and on about the problems with this marathon. In a nutshell, it was poorly organized and even though there were a lot of runners, it felt more like a local unorganized 5K. I definitely won't be back to run this marathon. | |
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J. R. from Indiana
(12/13/2006)
"Awful organization for a "big city" marathon" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 The first leg of the couse up the strip was fun, but that was not enough to make up for the poor organization. The starting corrals were disorganized and volunteers did not know where to send runners. The mile markers were incorrectly spaced throughout the race. There was minimal food at the finish line and the LONG, crowded line for pictures blocked people from making their way to food and more importantly, WATER. My friend sought medical attention for severe cramping around mile 14 and was told that he should either keep hobbling or call a cab!!! The WIND was not pleasant either, but the organization at this race was intolerable and inexcusable for a supposed world-class event in a major desination race. |
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