I just flew in from Las Vegas, and boy are my arms tired. We left on Saturday morning and stayed out there until Tuesday. Amy & I ran in the Las Vegas half marathon. Caught up with a few friends, as well.
The race was novel, and I’m glad to have done it, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to anyone, and I don’t think I’d be eager to run it again. It was too crowded, and the organization was somewhat lacking. Part of it has to do with what I think is an intentional lack of transportation infrastructure. I don’t know Las Vegas politics or anything else, so maybe I’m completely off base. But, that city has a huge number of people moving to and from a limited set of destination points — primarily from the airport to casinos along the strip. A train from the airport to a few stops along the strip would alleviate all kinds of congestion. But, cabs are huge money; so if I had to guess, the cab interests are probably standing in the way of this.
Anyway, the lack of transportation infrastructure factored into a lot of problems with people getting to and from the start and finish lines. Indianapolis seems to manage this with their comparably sized mini-marathon (probably having to do with more participants having their own cars and lots of parking garages in downtown Indy); but this event was deficient on both ends. The Mandalay Bay was closest to the finish line. I heard the lobby described as looking like a refugee camp after the race; people looking for shuttles which weren’t, apparently, clearly marked or sufficient in capacity.
In addition, the corrals weren’t well managed – a lot of slower people ended up starting in front of a lot of faster people. The plan was to start the corrals in 2 minute waves, but for whatever reason, they started all of the back half of the corrals all it once, leading to a lot of congestion. I guess they started running out of water, medals, the post-race “space blankets” (or whatever they’re called.)
That said, the trip was not all unrelenting misery. Running under the lights was fun. A band in the downtown area was playing a countrified version of Gin N’ Juice when I ran by. And, I got to hear Cheap Trick playing “Dream Police” before the race. (We walked 2 miles to get to the starting line, so I missed most of Cheap Trick’s performance.) More importantly, we got to spend some time with friends out in Las Vegas before and after the race. It’s nice to get away from time to time, but I have to say, it’s awfully nice to be back home and with the kids.
I’m trying to understand this, not as an attack on those who choose to do it but because as an avid runner too I’m sincerely curious: what is the draw of these mass running events? I mean, I can understand the appeal of a vacation to another city, but you can do that without running in a race. I’ve just always preferred to be able to run on a route of my own choosing at a time that’s convenient to me, and I’ve never had any desire to join an event such as this one, whether locally or in a distant city.
This one was maybe a little too “mass” for my tastes; but, I think that group races are fun. It’s a matter of preference though, and I’d be the last one to tell you that you’re “wrong” for preferring solo running.
For me, the event gives me a goal for training so that I’m not as likely to blow off training runs; the bigger events will have bands, spectators cheering, and entertaining things along the course. There is a certain camaraderie involved.
I’ve always heard that Vegas is a good marathon to qualify for Boston (is it really all downhill?). Perhaps it is just getting too popular for its own good?
I go to Las Vegas on an annual basis, and consider myself fairly knowledgable on Vegas. Your assertions above are absolutely correct. The sad part is that something like the Strip would be tailor-made for good public transportation. Short distance needed, and tons of potential users. Alas, special interests screwed it all up.
The monorail which was built in 2004(?) was originally planned to take care of many of the traffic issues you no-doubt encountered. Unfortunately, the casinos wouldn’t allow the monorail to be placed in front of their buildings, and it is ineffective and is underultilzed for that reason. For example, the walk from the monorail to properties on the west side of the strip (the MGM side) is probably 3/4 a mile in most places. So, when the monorail only services 1/2 the strip, that is a problem.
Additionally, the extension of the monorail to the airport (and downtown, which is underappreciated) has been fought tooth and nail by the cab drivers. The creation of a monorail would be huge for visitors, as the only way to get from the airport to the strip is currently a $20 cab ride. This has been in the planning for quite a while, but due to the underuse of the current monorail system (and lack of funds), is unlikely.
I always thought the best thing to do would have been to create a subway underneath Las Vegas Boulevard. that would service the entire strip from Mandlay Bay to Encore, and possibly all the way downtown (depending on cost). It could possibly be above ground from the airport to MB.
My advice to anyone visiting Las Vegas is to avoid driving on Las Vegas Boulevard anytime between noon and 4 a.m. The roads on either side of the Strip are ten times faster.
I share your thoughts on the downtown area. I’m a big fan of the Fremont.
Buzz – I hadn’t heard about Vegas being considered a good candidate for Boston qualifying. That definitely wouldn’t be my sense of this year’s race; but in years past, the event wasn’t on the strip and was, apparently, out in the desert somewhere. I’ll bet that would be good. Flat, cool this time of year, plenty of room – seems like as good a Boston qualifying scenario as any.
In the other events where I’ve seen a half and full marathon combined, they seem to start both sets of racers off together, with the serious runners up front (pretty strictly monitored so that, at least in the very front, you don’t have slow people holding up the works). Then, they race together for the first 7 – 8 miles or so. Among other things, this means that the half marathoners are less likely to run out of gas while they are still paired up with the marathoners. Then the marathoners split off from the half-marathoners and don’t rejoin the half-marathon course until the very end. At that point, the field is usually pretty spread out and I don’t think the marathoners have a lot of trouble with people getting in their way.
In this case, they started the marathoners early, had them run separate for the first half, then join the half-marathoners for the second half — pretty much guaranteeing they’d run into the teeth of race congestion. That combined with the fact that the race field pretty much never spread out made for a pretty frustrating time — especially for the serious runners.
If I may ask, do you run primarily because you sincerely enjoy running or because you see it as a means to another end (fitness, better, health, company, etc.)? There’s nothing wrong with either reason, of course, but if your answer is the latter I suspect that the difference lies there.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag for me. Health, energy, and the collateral benefits are a good part of it. Most times, I sincerely enjoy running everything but the first mile. Having the events as goals gets me out the door. Once I’m under way, the running itself is reason enough to be out there.
steelydanfan, I like running, but if I don’t have a big race on the calendar, then running falls lower on the to-do list. If I have work to do, children to care for, etc etc then running becomes less of a priority. You know, being a mom comes first. But when there’s a race on the calendar, then I have to force myself to find time.
Hi Doug,
Nice Post – We are flying back home as I type this – We expected the crowds and had a good experience. We walked to and from and had an overall good experience.
http://werrunners.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/jeffs-post-rock-n-roll-las-vegas-%C2%BD-marathon-review-a-tale-of-two-races/
Hey, whatever it takes to get you out running, that’s a good thing. Myself, it’s looking down and seeing my gut increase in size! I don’t know how you maintain your weight if you’re not seriously exercising. Casual exercise, and certainly no exercise, doesn’t cut it.
I have an irate metabolism. Exercise doesn’t seem to affect my weight one way or another. But it does affect energy levels and my sense of well being.
Marathons disgust me. My wife used to run them, and I would go around on my bike to see her a various points on the path.
The aroma of sweat, puke, and various other gastro-intestinal issues was awesome. Never noticed them when going to cycling events, I suppose because we’re more spread out. My wife swears she doesn’t notice it that much, but it was unbearable to me.
I’m in awe of people like you & my wife that not only withstand that punishment, but PAY MONEY to enjoy it. :)
I just cannot get past that “first mile” thing you mention. Still, my health requires that I do something, so at least I get that first mile in.
Jason, you’d really enjoy hockey and the foul stench arising from many (most?) of the equipment bags.
Sweat stench I can usually handle in doses of a few dozen men & women, doesn’t bother me.
Somewhere between that & 36,000 of them with 500-1000 having gastro-issues is where I get squeamish.