This is 1/2 Marathon #2 for my Marathon Training.
Unfortunately I messed up the training weeks and this one fell into my speed training weekend.
Last weekend was the 3 hour run and next week is my four hour run. So I kinda jumped out of my schedule and added another long run this weekend for the Rock n Roll.
So is this marathon worth it?
Well, I really don’t know how to tag this one. With over 30,000 runners competing for space down the Las Vegas strip, it can get crowded over the first few miles. But, I must admit, the starting line was much more organized than the Disney World 1/2 Marathon a few years ago.
We arrived after Snoop Dog’s concert, just as the sun was setting. We decided to walk to the starting point, forgetting, once again, that everything is big and far in Vegas. At a brisk walk, it took about an hour to get to the start from our hotel. So by the time we got there, I already had 5k under my belt and I was sweating (we are in the desert after all). But all was good and and we were eventually ushered out to the starting line and everything went smoothly.
The first few miles were crowded, and with all the excitement my pace was a little too fast. But I felt great and ‘convinced’ myself that I could run like I did 5 years ago.
I kept my pace up and ran down the strip and past our hotel (the Encore) just before the 10k marker. I also stopped a few times along the strip to take videos and photos of the various bands like Kiss and Elvis playing along the way. Plus I always enjoy talking to some of the volunteers at the hydration stops.
Then we started getting into downtown Las Vegas and that’s where things started to go bad…
It was my first time downtown and it was little too dark on the side streets. Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle on a road reflector when switching lanes – and that resulted in an instant ‘time to walk’ attitude.
This was mile marker 10… two hours into the race. Still an easy 2h 45m finish even with a sprained ankle, or so I though!
Next came complaints from my bladder. Darn it. Why now!
So my new mission was to look for a port-a-potty. Unfortunately, there were none to be found. I ran and hobbled for ages and soon it became my only mission in life! So I had to take some detours off course, find a place to sneak out, find a restaurant, a McDonald’s, or a construction site.
Then to complicate matters even more, there was no water at the last 3 water stations. I give the volunteers credit of trying to fill up cups as fast as they could, but how could that happen!?! What is everyone behind me going to do?
Well, no matter as I was almost home.
However, with the search for a toilet (more than once) and lack of water at the remaining stations, it took me an additional hour to make it hobbling to the finish line.
Did I break 3 hours? With all the extra pit stops? Uhm… nope!
3.5 Stars
- 5.0 Stars for organization at the start
- 4.5 Stars for the course
- 4.0 Stars for entertainment along the way
- 2.5 Stars for the ending (no space blankets, bananas/water only)
- 1.5 Stars for port-a-potties along the course
- 2.0 Stars for water along the course