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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 471 to 481]
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s. k. from us
(1/2/2007)
"still upset" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Worst marathon ever - 7 pages of negative comments don't lie. Bad shirt, small medal, expensive entry fees. Incentives to late registrants that were not offered to early applicants. Don't worry about this marathon reaching its capacity in 2007. The negative word is out. | |
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Rodney Pygoya Chang from Honolulu, Hawaii
(1/2/2007)
"I felt ABDUCTED BY ALIENS!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The New Vegas was supposed to be my 19th marathon. I trained all year for my city (Honolulu) marathon, which is on the same day as the Vegas. As it turned out I spotted the New Vegas online and then choose it over Honolulu to celebrate our wedding anniversary in Vegas. Big mistake! She lost big time in the casinos with MY credit card and I too lost, as if abducted away by aliens to a parallel dimension from the full marathon course! Let me explain. I wore my Roswell t-shirt ("Take Me!") and baseball cap, being a big fan of the Roswell Incident American myth (attended the '06 UFO Festival; completing my "Roswell Encounter Gallery" novel for Amazon this May). I told my wife, "I'm running this one for Roswell, forget Hawaii." (I'm bored with that course, having done it 14 times). She said, "You'll be sorry; this UFO crap will bring you bad luck in Vegas." Guess it rubbed off on her too, as she experienced no mega-buck elation. Instead we left town poorer - and short on the January mortgage payment. I gambled and drank (carbo-loading) the night before and you know what - hey, it's our wedding anniversary!). That night I should have also reviewed the course map in the registration pick-up packet. But I figured with 16,000 runners, how could I get "LOST"? At the start of the race I did find myself swept along in the throngs of runners as I put my hung-over body into automatic pilot. The Strip was exciting and it helped this over 60 year-old "go with the flow," even with the headache and replay of our wedding night. BUT coming through the sensory overload downtown covered mall (Christmas music on blasting loud speakers, flashing casino frontage lights, sexy ladies in front of some of the doors, largest spectator crowd during the course, crammed and excited runners cheering while passing the downtown casinos), I never saw the split junction for my full-marathon group and the "halfers." Someone later asked me, "Didn't you see the fat lady holding the sign?" Guess not, with my eyeballs blitzed by the glitz of casino neon signs and blinking and racing disco lights, all competing for attention. It wasn't until I saw the finish line after the bend in the road that I realized SOMETHING WAS WRONG! There MUST be a routing of the full marathoners, I thought to myself, as I approached the overhead finish banner with dread. There wasn't. I became disoriented, confused, shocked and abusive as the young volunteer attempted to strip me of my shoe computer chip. Among other things (which I regret saying to this poor volunteer), I yelled, "I don't belong here!!! I need to go back! I'm a full-marathoner! I paid the full price! Don't put that '1/2 Marathon Finisher' medal on me!" She sternly commanded, "You can't go back to rejoin the other group; it's over 5 miles away. And you already stepped on the finish line, so YOU'RE DONE! Those are the rules! No, we DON'T have an emergency shuttle. Now STAY STILL so I can take the chip off from your shoe! Stop your complaining, I'm just a volunteer!" I just couldn't believe it. All this planning - the l o n g flight both ways from Hawaii, the high costs, wife in tow, mother-in-law along with wife waiting 17 miles out on the course route (where her residence is), waiting for hours, before/without breakfast, in the chilly wind - worried, and then pissed, when she found out her son-in-law screwed up- again. I waited 3 hours in the chilly air at the finish line until they came and got me at the agreed upon predicted time of arrival at the finish for the (full) marathon. I didn't take my cell phone on the run - no extra space on my gel-pack belt. I remember the feeling of homelessness in that vast Mandalay Hotel parking lot, helpless without money in my running shorts, nor the promised food at the finish line, with the sting of the relentless, vengeful, windy chill (I left my jacket at the starting check out), and lack of a cell phone to send an SOS. When I finally spotted them searching apprehensively for me among the runners coming in, I tapped my wife on the shoulder from the back. She was startled to see me standing behind her among the spectators and replied, "Where did you come from?" I sarcastically replied, "Roswell." I flew back feeling abandoned, my full-marathon manhood shaken, a total loser for having trained after all these months for nothing. When I sent administrators email to inquire if I was the only idiot that missed the split, I never got a reassuring answer. Nice. Later I did get email inviting me to return and do next year's race in order to "come back and finish up." No word about a complementary discount. I thought to myself, Heck no, never again... I've always lost in Vegas. But my wife suggested I should. "I think this time both our luck will be different. Just don't wear that Roswell shirt again!" | |
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S. T. from New York
(1/2/2007)
"Fun, but similar complaints." (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 My first marathon. I'm a classic "back-of-the-pack" runner. My top three complaints: 1. The inaccurate mile markers. I wasn't pacing myself - I just wanted to finish - but I found the long distances between miles 10 and 11, as well as miles 20 and 21 demoralizing. 2. Complete lack of crowd support. I was lead to believe (by Devine) that there would be more crowd support than there really was. 3. The extremely boring course after mile 8. I breezed through the first few miles going down the strip and Fremont Street. Afterwards, there was nothing to notice but the distant scenery and the pain in my legs. Minor complaints include: * No food at the finish. This would be a major complaint for me, but my wife, who volunteered, kept hearing others complain about no food and got me a sandwich. * The T-shirt and medal were fine, but based on the 2005 race, I did believe they would be much better. * The expo was crowded and seemed inefficient - we were some of the first ones there on Saturday morning and we still had a wait. By the time we left 30 minutes later, it had gotten very crowded in there. * They didn't seem to think through how to get people to the starting area, as people were hopping the temporary chain-link fence. A fence had to be moved so a runner pushing a wheelchair could get in. * Weather was a drag with the headwind, but what can you do? * I had no zip-ties for my timing chip!! * No pre-race instructions. * No pasta party. Now it wasn't all bad. Even though the race director completely screwed this up, he couldn't mess with the fact that the participants help make this race. I loved the running Elvises. I loved the bride/grooms who passed me after their run-through weddings. And everyone I talked to on the course was friendly. Also, I loved the live entertainment (although they packed up before back-of-the-packers like me could see them after about mile 15). I loved the strip and Fremont Street. Even Frank Sinatra Drive was cool. Aid stations seemed plentiful. The City of LV seemed to keep the roads open a little longer than they committed to, and I appreciated that.... But I am not going to run this marathon again. Mostly because I just want to try different marathons - but even if I didn't, I'd be looking for an alternative. One other thing: My wife's experience as a volunteer was miserable. I won't go into details, but let's just say that the disorganization was not only noticed by runners. | |
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A. J. from Evanston, IL
(1/1/2007)
"Won't recommend Vegas (or any Devine race)" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Was very disappointed in all but the volunteers and the first 6 miles of the marathon. Expo was very crowded. Lousy t-shirt. Start was unorganized and did not begin on time. Mile markers were OFF. Family and friends in the finisher's area made it difficult to manuever through the photo area. NO FOOD at the end of the race - just some Gatorade and a bottle of water. This was the most expensive race I have run - yet the most poorly organized. I was very disappointed. | |
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s. k. from columbus,oh
(12/31/2006)
"Still upset 3 weeks later!!!!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Please don't run this marathon in 2007. Wait until they start getting a majority of positive reviews. They runners who took the time to write comments on this race have given predominantly negative comments. I was slightly upset with the organization prior to the race weekend because they were offering incentives to runners who signed up late that did not get offered to those who registered early. Having no volunteers to help people to the right starting corrals, walkers in front of runners, and spectators in the corrals ruined this race right from the start. No medical tents along the way is unacceptable, even if they have some medical people on bikes. Volunteers stopped helping the slower runners remove their chips. Roads closed early. Gu only at one spot when we were told they would be at 2. No Cirque du Soleil. A good band at the end that no one was dancing to or celebrating with because there was no food. Never again!!!!!! | |
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C. O. from Mexico
(12/30/2006)
"Somebody made a huge profit out of this!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 This is by far the worst race I've ever run. Do not waste your money at this one; try Twin Cities instead. Shame on Devine! I won't be running any other race organized - figure of speech, certainly - by them. | |
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Eddie Hahn from Rancho Cucamonga, CA
(12/30/2006)
"Nefarious Organization" (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 After re-reviewing comments concerning this race, I want to add a short addendum to previous comments, which one can take for what its worth. I recieved an email from Devine Racing shortly after I had posted my previous comments. They admitted to post-race food/refreshment area issues and stated they were going to enact improvements for next year. Earlier in the SAME DAY, I had recieved an e mail stating that it was a final date to recieve some kind of previous participant alumni discount - how brazen is this??? Almost a year before? Is this supposed to be for money or for the marathoning community? Additionally, I strongly agree the start needs to be improved. Participants had to help fellow participants scale the spectator barricades to get into our own race corrals, long after the gun had gone off. As far as the Blue Man Group is concerned, I thought we got a great view of them as we passed by. They continued playing as the field passsed, so they weren't just designed for elites, as some suggested. It was a nice snapshot as we passed the stage. I didn't interpret the music played as the national anthem, and neither did the runners around me. However, the music they continued to play after the start was, in my view, professional and enjoyable. In summary, I would do the race again, but only because I live close by, and because there are plenty of other diversions in Las Vegas to include. | |
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j. h. from Ft. Myers, Fl. USA
(12/29/2006)
"I've seen worse and I've run in better" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 My problem with the comments that I just read is that 90% of these runners probably never skip a race at home and volunteer. It is a magnanimous task to get all the ducks in a row just before the actual event. I had a great time running the strip and by the time I got to the uninteresting part of the course, I was just as glad not to be on display!! | |
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E. B. from Chattanooga, TN
(12/28/2006)
"Pretty good race, but room for improvement" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 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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Bob DelRossi from Las Vegas
(12/27/2006)
"Getting better every year!!!!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the old marathon when we started out on the highway and ducked through the back streets, ending up at Sunset Park - the highlight being the run by the Bells Factory Outlet. Terry you and Tim have improved this race 1000 times over since then. The only thing we need to work on is the second half of the race. You go down the Strip and then the Fremont Strip, and then, just as your legs are getting heavy, the race dulls. Keep up the great work we will make this an even greater race next year. |
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