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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 361 to 371]
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Marina White from Irvine, CA
(12/8/2008)
"Taking the roads less traveled through LV" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This course was very easy to traverse, physically. Visually, it was a bit dull, but the race support and spectators were fabulous. Organization seemed fine (save for no food at the end), with ample port-a-potties strategically placed every mile and a few in between. Post-race massage was nice, and without a wait. Fireworks at beginning were lovely, and some of the music (DJ, band on one stretch) was cool... running with Elvis, the brides, and a few other kooky folks made this an overall enjoyable race. | |
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s. n. from Longview,Texas
(12/8/2008)
"Good, flat course but not many spectators" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 It was exciting to run down the strip at 6 a.m. The slower runners/walkers should have been positioned towards the back. This marathon is getting better. Where are the spectators? The post-race food was good. | |
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T. L. from California
(12/8/2008)
"Shame on Devine!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I didn't think it was possible, but I have a new "worst event" at the top of my list: The 2008 LV Marathon. I'm going to be fair about this one, so here goes: The good: -LV is a neat place to visit. It was packed this year because of the rodeo and fight. No fault of the race; just be aware. -The first part of the race is on the Strip was great - complete with fireworks. -Las Vegas PD did a great job! Now for the rest... -The WORST finisher medal in the history of the marathon. It is one-sided, plain, and small. I have received better 5K medals. This is an outrage! -The finish line food consisted of: water, Gatorade, milk, and a banana. Inexcusable! -The shirt was a basic, UGLY, cotton, short-sleeve shirt with a generic logo. I have nothing against cotton shirts. In fact, I prefer them; but the one they gave out looked like something you would find at a third-rate thrift shop. The actions of Devine and those in charge blatantly demonstrate that they are out for themselves in an attempt to squeeze as much money as possible from every participant that they fleece. The medal, shirt, and food were fit for a 5K costing $10, NOT A MARATHON! I will never give this race another penny. This event is pitiful and pathetic! The rest... - Once the course gets off of the Strip, it goes through desolate areas that I would only drive through at night if I were in a tank. I didn't mind because I like quiet races. I guess it depends on what you like. Just be aware. | |
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C. S. from Lemoore, CA
(12/8/2008)
"Nice marathon. Elite help this one, please!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The expo was something to consider; you could have used more of the building, but I've seen worse. Nice touch in having an elite runner there signing for fans. The start was wonderful and it made my friends become emotional. Nice date... the Pearl Harbor anniversary. It makes me proud to have run the marathon, since I'm serving in the military. Starting line was too crowded, and it needs more space to help eliminate the congestion. Nice local support, but it was hard to have family navigate through the course, even when using a local cab driver. Cheap medal and shirt... and Elite has a big challenge to raise this marathon to the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon series. Will run again, for the thrill of the race is still alive in this one! | |
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M. B. from Orange County, CA
(12/8/2008)
"Great overall race and one I would do again" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I enjoyed this race. I have only one complaint, and that is the start. There were way too many people for both events to start at the same time. They should split the marathon and the half=marathon a half-hour apart. It took me almost 8 minutes to finally cross the start. The water/Gatorade stations ran smoothly. The support at the start and finish was awesome. Not much entertainment during the course. This was a special race for me, as I qualified for Boston Marathon. Overall, a fast and flat course. | |
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S. L. from San Diego, CA
(12/8/2008)
"Fast course, great running weather." (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I just ran it yesterday and boy am I sore. It was my 5th marathon so I have a little perspective on what makes this a good race and what could make it better. 1. Course: 4 stars. It's flat, fast, and it's slightly uphill about 2/3 of the way and then it's mostly downhill for the last 1/3. You also see the end in sight (you can see The Strip and Mandalay Bay as you run in) so it's a nice motivation. The Strip is fun to run down and then it's just a neighborhood run. You get a nice stretch where you see the mountains around in the distance. Again, the best part is that it's mostly flat or gradual climbs and downhills. 2. Expo/Pre-Race: 3 stars. The expo is easy enough to find and manage. Not great, not bad. It'd be nice if they have more events around it like a dinner or show or something. It's Vegas! 3. T-shirt/Medal: 3 stars. The t-shirt sucked. It's just an ordinary t-shirt. All other races gave me at least a neoprene or long-sleeve or something useful. This one is going into the unused pile. Medal is par for the course. It's not bad but nothing special. Good things: 1. There were plenty of porta-potties at the start and one every mile or less throughout. I used 2 on the road and was very happy to find them. There wasn't a long line at the start just before the gun like at many races. 2. The numbing spray at mile 22 or so was nice. Not sure if it worked or not but I felt pretty good toward the finish. 3. The running Elvi help keep it entertaining as you spot them through the run. The Gripe List: Organizers!!! Please read through the gripes on this board and address them to make your marathon even better!!! Please! 1. Water stations were pretty good throughout except for the ones at 23, 24 and 25, which were unmanned. Also, there were only 1 or 2 gel stations. I'm used to more stations with food, bananas, orange slices, salt packets, or something toward the end. There needs to be more mile 20+ support. It felt like runners were abandoned around mile 22 or so. The crowd thins out, water stations are weakly manned, and the food support is weak. 2. The start is a big confusing for out-of-towners or people not walking to the start. There need to be better signs and directions for drivers and a better shuttle service for the start. 3. Not much food at end. As far as I saw, it was water and Gatorade at the end. The massage at the end was great and I took advantage of it; but afterward, I couldn't find any food to get into my system. Where are the PowerBars and bananas and such? 4. Time corrals at the start. I think there was much more slow runners at the front than at most other races. There should be time corrals to herd the slow runners toward the back instead of having to navigate through a thick pack on a narrow 3-lane road in the start. | |
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michael maillis from ohio
(12/8/2008)
"not good" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I don't like to bash marathons because I understand how hard people work to put them on. I also realize that people volunteer and they try their best. But this marathon was badly organized. Some water stops had no people. There were no road markings according to time at the start, no pace teams, the mile markers were hard to find and I didn't even notice them until mile 8. The clocks appeared only about six times in the race, and GU was handed out once. I was freezing for the last six miles and could not find a runner tent or medical tent until the end. Understaffed, badly organized, and absolutely no support from locals. Simply put, never again to Las Vegas!... The shame is that it could be done better. | |
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Jeff Austin from Shreveport, LA
(12/7/2008)
"Big price + poor amenities = low value" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Let's start with the positives: 1. Great place to have the race - can't find a city with more to do and see. 2. Water/Gatorade stops at every mile 3. Course is good for a great time - flat and few turns 4. Milk at the end of the race 5. Pain relief spray along the way 6. They listen to feedback - the worst review I saw from last year was about the poor indicators of the split off for the 1/2 marathoners. It was fine this year. 7. Perfect weather 8. Running the Strip at the beginning is cool (especially seeing all the drunk people) Negatives: 1. No food on the course - they said they would have 2 gel stations, but they had none. I banked on it, and if it weren't for a nice lady with a bucket of M&Ms, I may have struggled. 2. Medal - in previous years, it was MUCH cooler. This year it was cheap and ugly. 3. Shirt - generic cotton shirt with no date. No backpack, finisher's shirt, technical shirt, etc. 4. Weak expo - not what you would expect from a city that is driven by expos. 5. No charm - most races have cool "langiappes" along the way. They wasted opportunity - could have taken us to the Freemont Experience, had singing Elvises, etc. 6. Disorganized start - no corrals and only blocking off half of the strip for the start slowed me down for about 3 miles 7. Very little fan/musical support - thanks to the very few who came and to the (only) 2 musical groups who were on the course 8. Ran out of food and Mylar wraps at the end. I finished in just over 4 hours, so I feel bad for the 5,000 runners who finished after me. 9. Not clear about the sweat bag option. I read all of the directions and didn't even know there was one until I finished. It's a destination marathon, but not one for people who like learning the charming character of each race. I won't do this one again. | |
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S. P. from Mexico City
(11/3/2008)
"Fantastic experience" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race has indeed gotten mixed reviews, but in my experience, almost all of it was positive. I didn't find any of the negatives written elsewhere. It all turned out very well for me, and leaving me wanting to run LV again in the future. In short: - Overall organization: Almost flawless, in my experience. Right directions to the expo and the race, and the right number of porta-johns at the starting line, on the course and at the finish. They also had the right number of hydration stations, the right number of volunteers, and a good supply of food, water, Gatorade, and painkiller spray at the finish line. I didn't get to see the medical infrastructure very closely... fortunately for me, I guess. Overall, I never felt like I wished there was more of ______ (fill in the blank). - Expo: Quite easy to get around, smooth package pick up, and zero problems to get all my stuff. Fair number of stands, in case I wanted to make last-minute upgrades to my gear. - Start line: Easy to access. I had to get up at 4:30, and grabbed a cab in my hotel without problems. All of the folks that were coming out of the hotel at that hour were heading for the starting line, so we got to share cabs and save a few bucks. The cab ride lasted 20 minutes; it went as far as it could reach due to the closed streets, and dropped us off some 400 meters away from the start. - The start itself: Granted, 6:00 is a bit early for a start, but they make up for it with a great ambiance, live music, and the fireworks are just sublime. - Course: Yep, running the Strip is fantastic. Once the Strip ends, the course is pretty much uninteresting. You get to see the other side of Las Vegas, though, where the residents actually sleep, go to school and go to church. But it's nothing too different from what you'd see in your own neighborhood. The only two good sights off of the Strip are 1) the view of the skyline from afar (the mega-hotels look very small from 10K away); and 2) the street right at the border of the city - to your left, civilization; to your right, only the desert! - Crowd: On the Strip, the cheering crowd is fairly thick, even at that time in the morning. Yes, off the Strip, the crowd thins out a bit. But I did not find there to be a lack of crowd support, whatsoever. Almost all of the time there were people along the route, cheering or offering oranges, Vaseline, power gel, water, candies and the like. Perhaps it was a very thin crowd, but they were just enough folks so the runners never feel alone; for their enthusiasm alone they deserve the 5-star rating. Special mention to the organized teams from Las Vegas schools; they were great. I remember that at least 7 schools showed up along the course, with 20+ people doing their cheerleader performances - pyramids included, giving high-fives to the runners, operating water stations, dancing with the team mascot (yes, a poor costumed guy dancing under the Nevada sun) or any combination of the above. - "Only in Vegas": Things like the running Elvises or the run-through wedding chapel give a lot of flavor to the event. It was heartbreaking to see newlyweds crossing the finish line, crying with joy after running 42K. Plus, the cast of the Cirque du Soleil awarded the medals to the finishers, and the Blue Man Group performed alongside the route, adding to that "Vegas feeling." - Entertainment: The number of "official" entertainment stands was just about right. Good music, good fun. In addition, there were a lot of "spontaneous" acts, and many locals who simply got to the street to play guitar, dance, and have fun in a semi-organized way. - Non-hydration stations: Great idea to have one station of free analgesic spray by the 35th kilometer (I guess, I don´t remember exactly), and another one providing nuts and almonds by the 40th. Overall, a very satisfying experience for me. I found it well rounded in every respect, and fun from beginning to end. I think it was worth every cent I spent to run it, and every minute I spent in the training for that specific race.... I look forward to repeating it! | |
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J. A. from Saint Paul, MN
(10/29/2008)
"Not worth the money" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 For a race this size, where you pay this much, one expects some support, some organization, and race directors who understand how to run a marathon. That is not the case here. Though the course is quick and flat and the start was fun, that was about all it had going for it. There were hundreds jumping the fence in order to get to the start line. (Why would you even put up a fence around the start line???) The other failures of this race have been listed: on-course support, finish behind the strip, and lackluster finish area. My suggestion? Find another race and visit Las Vegas for another reason. |
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