Back to Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Information & Reviews
T. M. from San Diego, CA
(12/17/2006)
"Yes, we have no bananas" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Not even green bananas, or any other kind of food, at the finish. No food or water at the start. This was my 11th marathon and I found it to be the most poorly organized. With a stiff cold wind in our faces, and missing or completely wacky mile markers, proper pacing was impossible. The first 7 miles are exciting, however, and it's a great city in which to spend a weekend. | |
j. d. from west virginia
(12/17/2006)
"no food, no signs" (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I was rather disappointed in the hype for Vegas.... I really would have thought it would have been spectacular. It wasn't. Chintzy t-shirts, and no food - I mean zero food on the course, which is much needed in the later miles. Gu just does not cut it for a lot of us... and only oranges and water at the finish? What a joke, especially for the big entry fee. Also, it would have been nice to have accurate mile markers.... That failure rates close to the worst ever. On the plus side, the Blue Man Group was cool, and the star spangled banner at the start was nice. Glad to have Nevada crossed off my list. It seems that a lot of times it is the really small races that cater to our needs better.... | |
tom heau from chicago
(12/16/2006)
"some promises for next year" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 We have received an email from the race director promising accurate, visible mile markers and food at the finish next year. I agree that the cotton t-shirt was a disappointment. I did not appreciate the 17-minute late start because the maybe 20 elite female runners start at 6 and the rest of us wait, thinking there was a 6 oclock start. If the race starts at 6:17, then tell us. The start was disorganized - it was not clear how to get to the start line, so folks were crawling through bushes, pushing their way through spectators, and pushing aside the containment barriers to get to the strip. I definitely advise the directors to publish directions for the start. Of all my comments, what I thought to be a poor start bothered me the most. The other problems didn't bother me much. It would be nice if the walkers could start in the back or off to the side. Lots of walkers. If you care about the course itself, the website has a 15-minute video run-through. The first 1/3 of the race is up the strip, and the rest of the course is through neighborhoods of varying flavors. The good news: tons of porta-potties - almost as many police as runners, water every mile, Gatorade every 2 miles, and wide streets. Overall, the attraction for this run is Las Vegas. However, the directors do need to do a better job and focus more on the basics. The entertainment is nice, but if you don't do the basics right, you lose your main audience. | |
A. M. from Spencerport NY
(12/16/2006)
"Serious runners beware!!!!!" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 If you don't care about your finishing time then this race is for you. Lots of entertainment, Elvises, showgirls, etc. If you do care about your finishing time, then avoid this race. Mile markers were not properly placed, and that is inexcusable. Plain and simple. Shame on you, Devine. | |
J. A. from New York
(12/16/2006)
"Good race but somewhat disorganized" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Had a good time on this one. The starting line was total chaos. Uncertain if there were any starting time corrals, and could not find my way in; had to jump fencing. Could cure this with better lighting and some more signs and directions. Walkers did seem to start too far towards the front and I felt as if I was doing a ski slalom course up the strip. The course support was well done with water and Gatorade. Where were the mile markers? The times were just way off. The crowd support is not an issue with me. The biggest pain of the day was the wind. Just nature doing its thing, nothing Devine can do about it. Good, flat course. See you next year. | |
K. C. from Wamego, KS
(12/16/2006)
"There are better reasons to come to Vegas" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Most expensive marathon I have run, and not even a finishers T-shirt. The T-shirt everyone gets is very cheap. I don't expect the iron-on decal to last many washings. Mile markers were way off. If they were correct I ran mile 9 in 4:55. There were many more that were questionable, but that was the worst. No food to be found at the finish line. Once off the strip it was rather dull scenery, but that was expected. Not much that can be done about that. I will find many reasons to visit Vegas again. It is a fun town. Running a marathon will probably not be one of those reasons again. | |
F. A. from Orange County, California
(12/16/2006)
"After all the hype, a major letdown." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Expo was confusing and very hard to get to. Taxi service was difficult to locate. More signage would have been beneficial, especially with the Cowboy Christmas being at the same convention center. The starting area was hard to enter. We jumped the fence, a move that runners in the corral did not appreciate. Water stations were plentiful, but should have been on both sides of the street and should have also been longer. Many times I was unable to get over in time. They were also very congested because the porta-potties were located at the water stations. The mile markers were difficult to see and had to be inaccurate. Most (all?) timers were on the ground and were easily missed. This made it difficult to know one's pace. No food left at the end - only water and Gatorade! My results are not available on the website, an issue I am still trying to resolve! I won't run this race again and I am considering forgoing LA because Devine is handling that event also. LA is 2-3 times larger. I can only imagine the issues that participants will have with that race! | |
R. N. from Plainfield, IL
(12/16/2006)
"Save your $90 for the tables" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I'm thankful that I only subjected myself to the half marathon. It was a debacle at the start. Due to poor logistics and sign posting, I had to climb not one, but TWO, fences to get into the start corral. I was pinched along the side of the corral until the gun went off and the masses started moving. I had to start behind the 4:45 pace runners when I just ran a 3:10 six weeks ago. Like all others said, mile markers either (a) didn't exist, or (b) were flat-out wrong. Bless their hearts, but even the volunteers didn't seem to know where were on the course at the aid stations (which were lacking). The first six miles through the Fremont Experience were cool, but after that, it's all industrial, desolate, unsupported roads. I didn't see any port-a-johns at the start. And what a pathetic t-shirt for a $90 1/2 marathon entry. No food. I will not run this race again. | |
G. B. from Boca Raton, FL
(12/16/2006)
"Very Poorly Organized" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Expo was well organized. The cotton t-shirt reminded me more of a local 5K race. The start area was not marked and poorly organized. The line to check your goodie bag took 30 minutes. The start corral was a disorganized mix of runners and walkers. The run up the Strip was nice but could have been better if the hotels along the way offered entertainment. Mile markers on the course were misplaced and clocks were difficult or impossible to see. Volunteers, spectators and police were great. There were plenty of porta-potties. The last few miles of the course down a construction road between the back side of hotels and a major highway leaves something to be desired. No split times were posted on the website probably because the mile marker were so misplaced. No food was available at the finish line. The runners' finish line area seemed to have more spectators than runners. There was a 10-person wait for a cheesy finisher's picture with a "show girl." Overall, a race I would not recommend running. | |
R. M. from United States
(12/16/2006)
"Could have been better!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 For so much hype put into this event, the expo was very small. There need to be carrels so the start can be a bit smoother. Everyone was jumping over the fences to get where they needed to be. Water stations were right at the mile markers, which were off. The course was approx .25 of a mile too long. Warm water and no food at the end. We will run this marathon year after year, since it's our anniversary run. |
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