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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 571 to 581]
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H. F. from Chicago
(12/12/2006)
"Very poor organization" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I did the half-marathon. 1) The course and spectators: the first few miles were along The Strip and The Fremont Experience and was fun. The second half is less "spectacular" and there were fewer spectators. If you're looking for fans and spectators to cheer you on along the whole course, then look for another race. 2)The organization: Terrible, terrible, terrible. Mile markers and clocks were not easily visible. After Mile 6, I'm can't remember seeing mile markers and clocks at EVERY mile. Water stations after mile 6 were at mile 7.5, 9.5 and 11 (or 11.5) - that's what the volunteers at the stations told us. Who puts water stations at 1/2-mile points? It was difficult to pace without seeing the mile markers. I spoke to several other runners and they also felt the mile markers might have been misplaced as were doing either 6-minute miles or 14-minute miles. A marker that was definitely wrong was located at the end - both mile markers for mile 13 and mile 26 were at the same spot yet the finish line was the same for both. Water stations were not at every mile as said in the course information. Gatorade was not provided at every 2nd station. Food ran out for the full-marathoners. A message to Devine: you know how many runners registered for the half and the full and there is really no excuse for running out of food for the full marathoners. 3) Bottom line: SKIP THIS RACE until Devine gets its act together and show that it can do a professional job at organizing a race. I am very disappointed at how badly the race was organized because Devine organizes the Chicago Half Marathon and they do an excellent job in that race. The Las Vegas race brings back memories of the now-defunct Chicago Lakeshore Marathon. This is an expensive race ($85 - $105) where you don't get the basic support - mile markers and clocks placed correctly at every mile, an accurate course, and water, Gatorade and food at the finish line. It's as simple as that. I don't really care about bells and whistles, like who is performing at the start line, etc. | |
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J. K. from Denver, Colorado
(12/12/2006)
"Las Vegas 2006 - who knows what mile this is?" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I like running on the strip, and the Blue Man Group was awesome (I wish the runners could have actually seen them). After the strip things really went downhill. The mile markers weren't accurate--there is no way I could run a 5-minute mile! I apparently did miles 22 and 24 two times, since there were no signs for these and the volunteers didn't know what mile they were staffing. This presented some mental challenges I hadn't planned for in the final stages of the race. It is very demoralizing to run the later miles more than 1 time. Apparently there were oranges for the faster runners, as there were peels all over the street, but none for the later marathoners. There were no pretzels or anything other than water, Gatorade and some randomly-spaced Clif Shots. There were some nice people handing out their own food. I heard from some of my friends who run faster than I do that there was no food at the finish line. Two of them almost fainted on the way back to the hotel rooms. I guess they had time to go buy some by the time I got there. I heard that the half marathoners got smoothies, but again, none for us. The map of the course made it look like there would be entertainment nearly every mile. I don't know if the weather kept them away, but the barest part of the course also had the least amount of entertainment. Running uphill into a strong headwind was brutal, but you have to expect that sometimes you will run in less-than-perfect conditions. The T-shirt was horrible; I guess that was so we would buy the nicer shirts at the expo. My training club director says that we will not be going back. | |
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M. H. from Wisconsin
(12/12/2006)
"Devine fails at Las Vegas" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 In 9 marathons - the worst organized. Unforgivable - Incorrect mile markers on course. (Is this managed by professionals?) They had time clocks and mile markers that did not correctly mark the miles; the little orange numbers painted on the road appeared accurate, but who could find them. Poor - 1) Start - with the sub-3:00 corral behind the Las Vegas Road Runner corral it was a dangerous situation. They deserve to be up front, but a split coral would have been better. 2) Finish Line Food - 2 foods: bananas and some frozen sorbet. Nothing else??? 3) Start line gun - There was none. The elite men were overrun, as most people didn't know it had started. 4) T-shirt - the cheapest/ugliest race t-shirt I have ever received for any distance. OK - Finisher's medal. Not the best or worst I have seen. Good - Running the strip was a lot of fun and the Fremont experience was fun. Great - The volunteers and spectators. I have run 9 marathons: Houston, Grandma's, Twin Cities, Green Bay, Eagle River (WI), Milwaukee, Fox Cities (WI) and Las Vegas. Las Vegas by far was the poorest run. Eagle River had 140 participants, but their organization made Devine look like beginners. I have never written a negative review before - Las Vegas deserves better and could become a great marathon. | |
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J. S. from Rockville, MD
(12/12/2006)
"Only Chance to Run the Strip" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 If you're going to run in Vegas, you might as well run up the Strip. Thanks to the city for allowing us to race by all those huge casinos, instead of the barren desert on the old route. My one big complaint: I imagine I'm not the only runner who felt that the mile-markers were unevenly spaced. It seemed that certain markers were only seven minutes apart, while others were closer to eleven. The last few miles seemed to be way off. Overall, the race was a blast. It was cool to have Blue Man Group perform the anthem, and the crowds were strong except for the northern-most reach. The police did a great job protecting us from traffic. I didn't stay in the finish area too long, but I understand others had problems finding food. | |
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M. R. from Wisconsin
(12/12/2006)
"Expected more, got less" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 First Las Vegas Marathon. Had read the comments on this website about the 2005 marathon so I was aware of the weaknesses going in - i.e., mileage markers way off and the lack of food at the finish. Believe it or not, I had heard about the cool entry shirt, running down the Strip and awesome medal, so I was looking forward to at least that. Went to the expo Saturday morning - very well organized between check in and getting the goodie bag. Bummer: cotton t-shirt, and a medal that was downgraded compared to 2005. I go to buy a nice Dri-Fit shirt with the marathon logo, but surprise... all sold out the first day of the expo. By now I'm starting to wonder who does the logistics, planning and preparation? Do they not want my money? Anyway, I press on and get up early the next morning for the race and find out none of the cabs want to come to the hotel at 5 in the morning because the strip is blocked off for the race. This was a problem last year as well, according to the concierge at the Wynn. A caution or warning would have been nice. Not wanting to walk/run the 3 miles to the start line, 3 of us out of the 20 waiting in line jump in a cab taking a late-night, semi-conscious partier from the Tryst nightclub back to Mandalay Bay. I end up paying for his cab ride after I realize I can't understand a word of his slurred London accent. It's funnier now than it was then. Get to the start line with about 15 minutes to spare. Race actually went pretty well if you consider I now know what "the wall" is. Won't beat a dead horse about the mileage markers. How can a marker be a half-mile off? Crowd support was good. Finished the race, got my medal and went looking for food. Surprise: "Sorry, we're all out." What? Again?... Sorry for the rant. I expected bigger and better things out of Devine. I'll be back when "the details" are ironed out. Bottom Line: Has the POTENTIAL to be world-class due to location and weather. Organization at this point is a glaring weakness. | |
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F. F. from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
(12/12/2006)
"Poor organization" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I would have thought, given the comments from last year, that Devine Racing may have listened to the racers. There was little improvement. No information at the expo on the route or where to go for the start; cotton t-shirts were very disappointing; too few porta-johns on the route; and NO FOOD OR WATER OR GATORADE AT THE END. For the entry fee and a race organized by a professional group, I would expect much more. | |
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K. A. from New Orleans, La.
(12/12/2006)
"Not at all what I expected from Las Vegas" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 The expo was well done and running down the Strip was fantastic. However, there was no organization for the race start. Our group came out of the Mandalay Bay Hotel (host hotel) and could not reach the start line. People were climbing over fences to get to it and others (like myself) had to go through bushes and down rocky slopes to get into the street. If there were corrals, no one seemed able to find them. It was complete confusion. For at least 5 or 6 miles, I zig-zagged around walkers. That's why the race felt more like 28 or 29 miles long. It was. I saw no medical aid stations on the course. One participant told me he encountered a medical person on a bicycle but that person had nothing but Gu gels to offer him. The post-race offered water and granola bars, that's all I saw with no one manning the tables. I received no heat blanket and was told they ran out of them. Once off the strip, I found the course to be quite boring. I would not run this race again and would not recommend it to anyone. | |
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Greg Herrold from Emmetsburg, IA
(12/12/2006)
"Mixed Feelings..." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I had a awesome time in Las Vegas. Looked forward to the marathon for months, and did enjoy it. However, like all races, it needed a few tweaks. I really enjoyed seeing the Blue Man Group at the start, considering I had just seen them in concert 2 nights earlier. Fireworks were awesome, and the first 8 miles of the strip are incredible. Yes, the course gets a bit blah after that, but I've run boring routes before, no problem. My main complaint was the fact that when I finished there was no water, no food, and I had to beg someone to take the timing chip off of my foot. I've seen better after-race "perks" in local 5K's. Had some great merchadise at the expo; overall it was a good experience... just cut back on the fireworks and buy some food for the runners! | |
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J. R. from Plymouth, MI
(12/12/2006)
"Can't duplicate strip, organizers need practice" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Running the Strip is something you can't do anywhere else; and the Fremont Street experience was cool, too. Course was pretty flat, which is no complaint, and spectators were a bit thin once we left the Strip, and that was OK with me. But, how can anyone running a marathon not have easily identifiable mile markers with split times? And that was the biggest gripe of all - you couldn't tell where the miles were. Plenty of water, but little else at the end, although I hear it was rectified later. | |
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Steve Swift from Tampa, Florida
(12/12/2006)
"Constructive Feedback" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is my third marathon this year and ninth overall so I am probably spoiled overall after having run Disney and Chicago. I help run our local 1/2 marathon so I realize how difficult it is to coordinate/run one of these; however, here are my comments to improve next year. Ran a 3:12 P.R. here. 1) Mile Markers - I have never run a large race with such little markers and ones that were so far off. Non-running volunteers don't always understand the importance of where they need to be exactly - easy fix with some training. 2) Post-race food was as poor as I have seen it at any race. No food outside of bananas that were finished off by the 1/2 marathoners. Easy fix - get some sponsors in there to donate bagels, yogurt, etc. 3) Corrals - good first attempt. Just keep limiting folks there - did not like running into walkers/slow Elvis folks for the first 1/2 mile. 4) Blue Man Group was a good attempt; however, not many folks realized they were playing the national anthem. I would suggest a singer or music that is much louder than xylophones for the US national anthem. Fireworks are okay - although expectations were for a little more. Overall - This is a definitely a fast, flat course. Weather was 52-53 at start - probably 56-57 at the finish. A little windy, but no problem. No problem on course layout as it is great for the first 7 miles, but what marathon does not wind through some neighborhoods? Porta-potties seemed fine at the start and during the race. Water stops maybe could have used a few more people, but seemed organized there. I would recommend it to others; however, I have checked the block and I would not put it on my annual marathon "to do" list. (I would go back to Chicago, not sure on Disney yet. Will be going to Boston this year after qualifying at Chicago and here.) Biggest issue for the serious runner is the mile markers - bring your GPS watches. |
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