Back to Las Vegas International Marathon Information & Reviews
Zig Zander from Crescent City ,California
(4/30/2002)
"Really Liked It !!!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Liked the course and very organized marathon. Not many fans out on the course, but a very well run race. I guess the best thing I can say about it is I'll be going back next year to run it. You can't beat Las Vegas for a marathon. | |
A Runner from NY, NY
(3/28/2002)
"Should be much better....." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I was expecting so much more with a city renowned for its excesses. Perhaps that is what lead me to my disappointment. This race in reading the other postings either receives rave reviews, or slams. The course was about as vanilla as it possibly could be, straight through the desert (interesting for about two miles) with nary a second on the strip. Organization was poor, water stops were poorly placed and under staffed. There was literally no food at the finish. Much better races for the money. Spectators were good once your reached the city (about mile 20) other than that there were none. If you are looking for a spartan race this is a great pick. If you are looking to have fun....look elsewhere. | |
Paul Spencer from Woodland Hills, CA (LA area)
(3/8/2002)
"Pure runner's course, adequate support" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was my 11th marathon. I have run Boston, NYC, LA, CIM, Marine Corps, Death Valley, Chicago, Rock 'n' Roll, and Las Vegas is now my first choice marathon. I run marathons to better my PR, and to me there is nothing more fun than that! This race is in my opinion the perfect environment for a good performance - a net downhill, straight (with a few turns at the end), adequate support, cool weather, few distractions, and a small enough field to make for less hassles at the start and finish. Personally, I love the desert, so I think the course is very scenic too. This year they had new medals which I think are very nice and an improvement over last year. The t-shirt and expo are decent, but nothing to rave about. These extras mean little to me, when compared to the personal satisfaction and pride of running a new PR! | |
A Runner from Chicago
(3/4/2002)
"No flashing lights or bells ringing!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Course: Fast and Boring, Boring is an understatement. Organization: They need to show the Casinos management how the New York, Chicago, and the other big marathon revenue makers bring in money and prestige to the city. Spectators: You'll be able to count them on both hands! Packet pickup: Slow for the amount of people registered Expo: No complaints Pasta Dinner: Two types of pasta, three types of sauces, salad, rolls and a brownie. Served in a type of building that we midwest people refer to as a 'Cow Palace' Save the $18.00 dollars and just get a nice meal at one of the casinos. Finish Line: Uneventful, very simple Finishers Medal: Very Good Party afterwards: At the most there were 30 people there around an hour or two before they closed it. Same place as the pasta dinner. Forget it and go to a casino and loose your dollars, you'll have more fun. Overall: The volunteers and runners were all very nice. A good downhill course for a decent time. | |
A Runner from Kansas City
(2/14/2002)
"One can run a fast marathon on this course" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This marathon offers everything necessary to run a fast time: - Straight course with only a few turns toward the end. - No extreme elevation changes any where on the course(either up or down) with a 600 feet or so net elevation drop. - Ideal running temperture - High 30's at the start and low 50's at the finish - Low humidity -- it's the desert. - Plenty of well staffed water stops..the race organizers did a good job on this. - Plenty of room to run. There are always runners around you, but they are not crowding you like in NYC or Boston. Bottom line, if you are looking for a P.R. or Boston Qualification, this will be a good marathon for you. If you are looking for other things like fancy pasta dinner or loud cheering fans, go to NYC or Chicago. A good tip -- Stay the the Gold Stike Hotel near the starting line. It will give you extra sleep time on the race day, and you don't have to sit in the bus for two hours waiting for the start. The hotel provides free shuttle service back from the finish line, and offers runners a 5 P.M. late check out. And it's cheap and clean -- I paid $65 a night this year. | |
A Runner from Louisville, KY
(2/14/2002)
"Awesome race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is an excellent race for a fast time. I beat my previous marathon times by 35 minutes. It is an awesome experience to be running in the desert with the las vegas skyline viewable from mile 15 or so. Perfect weather conditions. The race was so well organized everything went like clock work. I will def. return to vegas when I am closer to qualifying for boston - that would be the race to do it. | |
Lisa Nancollas from Lewistown, Pennsylvania
(2/12/2002)
"I would run this marathon again!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I loved the mountains and I loved seeing the strip at mile 16. We were able to also go hiking and shopping and dining all in one city. Great food, great shopping, great dining and great running. I brought my own fan - my husband, who even got a parking ticket to see me run. | |
A Runner from Parker, Colorado
(2/9/2002)
"Highly recommend" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the marathon relay several times in the past, but decided to do the marathon this year. The organizers definitely did a terrific job in improving the intangibles this year. The t-shirts and medals were a much nicer design and actually distinguish between the half marathon and the marathon. The bus ride was well organized although we may have left a little earlier than necessary but then again I would rather arrive early than worry about being late and not having enough time for the restroom or to check my bag. The bag drop off and pick up was well organized and it was really easy and quick to pick up my clothes after the race when I really needed them. The course is a pretty fast course, mostly flat although you need to be careful in the first 8 miles of the run as it is enough of a gradual uphill that if you?re not careful, you may be struggling later in the race. The only thing that I would change about this race is the start time to 7:00 AM or even at the same time as the half marathon because it can get warm later in the race in Las Vegas. We were definitely lucky this year with the weather. I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone who is interested in running a fast marathon because this is a good course to run well on. I certainly plan on being back next year if not for the marathon, then the half marathon. | |
A Runner from Corpus Christi, TX
(2/8/2002)
"Vegas Baby!" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was a lot of fun, the course (don't get sucked into the downhill course line) the first 8.5 was uphill, which was not too bad, the next 10 were mostly downhill, the remainder was relatively flat with a litlle elevation up and down. If you go stay at the Gold Strike the night before, its clean and most importantly CLOSE(and gets you away from Vegas distractions)! The scenery was barren desert but I enjoyed it, the spectators were missing but really did not bother me. The aid stations and help were top rate and well stocked. Overall I would definitely recommend this race. After all is there a better post race party town than Vegas! | |
Steve from Long Valley NJ
(2/7/2002)
"Highly recommended" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my first marathon, and I would recommend it to any runner who wants to run one. The course was great, not too many people, but who looks around anyway. This course makes it easier to concentrate on the race. If you are going to put in the time and effort needed to run a marathon, you may as well come to someplace fun like Vegas. |
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