calendar icon Sep 20, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 3.3 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 2.7 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 2.8 
 
 
Number of comments: 736 [displaying comments 221 to 231]
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D. D. from Golden, CO (12/25/2010)
"Not worth the money or your time" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


This is really a half-marathon that decided to tack on 13.1 extra miles. Running loops on a frontage road and seeing the 25-mile marker when you are at 22 (coming at it and knowing you are going to have to loop back) was torture. I think this was my first and last R'n'R. It cost a lot of money to enter and then they were always trying to sell you something. Not much to see at the expo (lots to buy) and the only decent food in the finish area was for sale. And I was one of suckers who signed up early and then missed out on all of the discounts later on. You can do much better than this one.

 

A. H. from Fresno, CA (12/25/2010)
"Skip the full" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


Overall, just another typical R'n'R event - high price, no women's sizes in shirts (not that it matters that much since all their events have nearly the same, ugly shirt), half of the bands always seem to be taking a break, nonexistent corral control, strange mixing of half and full runners, and they nickel and dime you in a way that would make the Disney folks proud. It's not all awful, however; I appreciate that there's usually something to eat near the start, and there's always ample food at the finish. I've even become fond of the low-calorie beer at the finish.

What I really couldn't believe for this event was the simply horrible second half! At 13 miles, the course veers off into more than 13 miles of agonizing boredom and ugliness. You pass through nondescript, light industrial areas and spend way too much time on a frontage road with freeway traffic roaring by. You head back in the direction of the Strip a couple of times, only to turn away and run in the opposite direction. The only hills of note (freeway overpasses) are all during the second half. There are tons of short, little out-and-backs that just keep coming. In all, I found the second half to be completely demoralizing. Do yourself a favor and find another - any other - full marathon in Nevada.

 

K. K. from Anchorage, Alaska (12/23/2010)
"Great Half; Full Course Needs Upgrade" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


This was my 5th marathon. The first half was the best I have done but then the second was really mundane - not something you would expect from RR or Vegas. Maybe double out-and-back on the Strip is the way to go? Brett Michaels' concert at the finish was awesome. I'll come from Alaska and do the half again - but not the full, until they liven up the course.

 

K. P. from NC (12/14/2010)
"Running the Strip... is a blast!" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 2 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This is my second LV Marathon. The weather was great this year. I love the medal... R&R has some nice-looking medals. Love running down the Strip. I was surprised about the 5:30 min "strict" time limit. I don't remember that from last year. Yes... I'm slow. I did make it in plenty of time... but I don't like to be stressed about it. You never know what can go wrong in 26.2 miles. I like to have plenty of time to finish! Guess I should have read the fine print, haha. Hope next year's gives people a little more time.

 

F. M. from Tennessee (12/13/2010)
"Great race" (about: 2010)

1 previous marathon | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


I will definitely do this again. I was an Elvis and had so much fun! There is not a lot of room for spectators at the finish line. I did the half marathon, my tenth.

 

John Snuggs from Richmond, VA (12/12/2010)
"Nice first half; lousy second half. EXPENSIVE!" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


I ran the full marathon. The first half was a lot of fun with plenty of runners, fans, and support. The second half was not as flat and through industrial parks. I wouldn't recommend the second half at all. The water stations seemed to be more spread out. There were few fans, and almost no bands. The loops and out/back portions also were annoying.

The expo, pre-race, and post-race were all very well organized.

This event is really a half marathon. The fee for the half and full marathon were identically over-priced. I signed up 10 months in advance and paid $130. The expo cost was $165.

If you want to go for a FUN half marathon with a bunch of friends, this could be a good choice. If you are looking for a marathon, I suggest you look elsewhere.

 

R. o. from Michigan (12/12/2010)
"Half was great; full was horrible" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 4


The run through the Strip was fantastic, and fan and band support were great, but if you did the full, they forgot about you at mile 14. The second half was boring, and to pay that much money to run next to a freeway, with no fan or band support (which the the marathon claimed in the ad, telling us to leave our iPods at home) was not a good idea. I recommend looking past this one and getting what you pay for. Sorry; I love Vegas but this was a letdown for all in my party after mile 14.

 

D. S. from United States (12/10/2010)
"Don't bother running the full marathon" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 2


The marathon registration fee was easily the most expensive - nearly double the fee of the 5 marathons I have run. I was not initially put off by the registration fee, but I feel it necessary to mention upfront that at $145, I was expecting a lot more than the experience I had. It's as if I shelled out the money for a new Mercedes, but drove off the lot with a used Ford Pinto.

It is very apparent the race organizers only care about the half-marathon runners. It's a joke how poor the course is, with a paltry number of volunteers and non-existent the post-race food/drink for runners who ran the full marathon.

To start with, I couldn't hear the national anthem. I don't particularly like or dislike Cher, so that wasn't heartbreaking, but being a bit of a patriot, I like to take the hat off, put a hand over my heart, and sing tribute to my country. Luckily, in Corral 7, I was able to see the start video, so I could make out that it was the anthem being sung, but would have been nice if they could have rented some speakers or something for the people farther back.

The first half of the marathon, running down the Strip, was great. The scenery, the experience, one of the coolest I've experienced. Too bad it was short-lived for the full marathoners.

The second half of the marathon wasn't as scenic as the first. Compared to the Strip, there are few places they could have taken us next that wouldn't have paled in comparison. I'll even forgive the ridiculous number of out-and-back loops we had to run. I realize this makes it easier for fans and volunteers even if it is boring as hell for runners and makes it seem like they just threw them in there to try to get the distance in. What I can't forgive is the lack of volunteers at the aid stations, a number of "self-service only" aid stations that were completely unmanned, the lack of any sort of food on the back half (bananas? oranges?) and the complete abandonment of support at the finish line.

There were no volunteers to be seen to direct me where to go at the end of the race. The foil blankets were lying in a random pile on the ground, I had to walk 100 yards to find even a water, and there was no Cytomax or other energy drink even available! My kids' Christmas concert has better post-event refreshments. It's also amazing considering the race's own literature talks about how much better that Cytomax crap is than just water or even other sports drinks. Speaking of the literature, it's laughable that they recommend only drinking Cytomax and not watering it down or drinking every other and switching back and forth with water, but then on the actual course, there are aid stations with water only, and aid stations with poorly mixed Cytomax (water with a very small hint of gross Cytomax flavor). There were time signs that were turned off at mile 24. There was a complete lack of volunteers manning the aid stations, and the number of bands was actually small considering this is a Rock 'n' Roll race. I've been to two different smaller marathons that had live music every mile for 26 miles, and never an out-and-back repeat! And guess what? The entry fees at those were reasonable - $65 for one and $85 for the other, not the $145 ripoff I received from Competitor Group. Lastly, the Bret Michaels rock concert was taking place in the same area as the friends/family reunion signs. I just love having to push my way through a mob in order to get to a spot and meet up with my family. Was there really no other place to have this concert?

I am also upset that the expo couldn't have been held at the host casino/hotels convention center. The expo itself was way too crowded, poorly laid out, and made me want to get out of there as quickly as I could. Also, the swag bags were a joke. A thick piece of poly and some yarn, stuffed with 2 dozen advertisements and a pouch of Cytomax. Never mind the fact that it cost me $30 cab fare up and back (could have done a $12 monorail pass but that was packed the day of the expo) to get to the expo from the host hotel.

The only positives for the race were the corral system at the start - I thought this was extremely well managed and I like that they held us off from crossing the starting line to keep things spaced out; the medals were really cool, and I like that the lanyard and medal itself were both colored differently for the full and half; and the t-shirts had a cool design and good color, and were high-quality, tactical, Brooks running shirts.

 

J. C. from Newport Ky. 41071 (12/10/2010)
"perfect day - great weather and support" (about: 2010)

50+ previous marathons | 6+ Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


The weather was perfect, and the volunteers and police get an A+. I really like the new course - it kept you honest with a few hills. Only problem: $142.00 is a lot of money to spend and then have a time limit on the race. The 50 Staters have only so many dollars - and Las Vegas is expensive. Maybe the Rock-n- Roll can get a package deal - flight and lodging with the entry fee. I will be back - I really enjoyed it. The expo was the best it's ever been.

 

J. M. from Georgia (12/9/2010)
"1st half awesome; 2nd half disappointing" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 3


If this were a half marathon, I would give it 5 stars (except for the price). Unfortunately, I ran the full marathon. After 13 miles the course heads west into boring industrial areas with seemingly endless, random, out-and-back sections to make up the required 26.2 miles. If you are a mid-to-back-of-the-packer, the bands will have packed up and gone home and the water stations will be nearly abandoned. Also, unless you are a sub-four-hour runner, the headliner concert will be over, the beer garden closed, and the finish line area will be a ghost town.

 

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