REVEL Mt Charleston

I agree with the poster below about 2023. The water stops were terrible in the first half. I had to completely bypass one and lost 20-30 seconds at 2 others, just stopping and waiting, regathering/restarting. At one stop, I think they had two people and one cooler on the table. They were frantically scooping the remaining dregs, so you got like half a cup of hand-washed water. It wasn't their fault, they were doing what they could. Not enough human resources. That's absurd for a 'fast' BQ qualifying course. Losing almost a minute at two water stops? Seriously? And the wait outside for an hour without heat in 25-degree weather was teeth-chattering. I wore layers and the mylar blanket but was too cold to even warm up. I waited until after the gun, stripped down, and left. I've already run Boston several times, so after all that pre-race and water stop nonsense, I didn't even care. This race wasn't worth post-marathon soreness. I bailed. I'll go somewhere else. I must admit, the course was beautiful, and other than the race-day course logistics, which are arguably the most important (duh), the pre-race organization was good. They need to do something about the village area wait when it's 25 degrees, and the water stops seems to be a recurring issue. Maybe they don't get enough volunteers, who knows. At any rate, I should have cancelled this one. Glad it's over and that I opted out of trashing my legs over the entire course.

This is the rare time that I would not recommend a marathon. I've done marathons in the past that started up on mountains as this one did; however, this one bused runners up very early, and we spent 90 minutes in 25 degree weather with NO heat whatsoever (not the case with others that had similar starts). Thankfully, I had good layers, plus of course the mylar blanket they gave everyone in their packet. The real thing that made me feel there was a major fail in planning were the water stops. People just seemed to have no idea what they were doing, particularly in the first half. And they appeared ill equipped, literally dunking singular cups with their hands into coolers for water or filling singular cups as people are approaching ... as opposed to having 2 or 3 tables (for 1700+ runners) already filled with cups 2/3 full and people handing them to runners. Multiple times I had to wait to get a cup while it was getting filled- really no good excuse for this. The downhill is great for some, but watch out for overdoing it- this is a course that will trash your legs even if you are measured in your down hill speed. While cold at the front end, it was really warm and sunny for the last miles. For the $$$ plus charging more for bus transport from the host hotel to the start, I expected better. I needed Nevada - I got it. If I had it to do over for the state, I'd pick something in a more scenic town. Did see Sting though, and that was a plus!! So see a show while there.

INTRODUCTION: I am a racewalker with a median marathon completion time of 5:24:13. The REVEL Mt. Charleston Marathon was my sixty-seventh 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: 45 degrees with a wind chill of 41 degrees, 41 percent relative humidity, and west-southwest wind of 8 mph with gusts up to 12 mph. With snow pack still present on the side of the road, we began our race at the terminus of SR 157 Kyle Canyon Road, which was to be part of the marathon course for the first 21 miles. Starting at 7584 feet, the first half mile was a climb of 66 feet in elevation followed by a drop of 153 feet for the remainder of the first mile, where we proceeded eastward toward the sunrise. From the first mile marker toward the fourth, we descended at a rate of 244 feet per mile; as we passed mile 3, the presence of pine trees disappeared as we headed into the desert. The fifth mile began with a 46-foot incline lasting a sixth of a mile before turning off into the Spring Mountain Visitor Gateway at mile 4.87, where we faced another uphill of 34 feet cresting at the mile 5 marker. Overall, the total descent of the fifth mile was 127 feet. The sixth through twenty-first mile on Kyle Canyon Road averaged a decline of 234 feet per mile. Those wanting to follow the shortest course had little difficulty in identifying the tangents. Just past mile 21, we turned onto a frontage road parallel to US-95 heading south for the next two miles. Supposedly closed to traffic due to construction taking place during the week, we encountered some drivers who seemed to get around the barricades. Now within the city of Las Vegas, we could see the skyline of The Strip from afar. Average descent here was 111 feet per mile. Continuing south toward the finish line, mile 24 flattened out. It was the only mile split where runners actually saw an incline, albeit a very small one of 15 feet. Heading toward the finish line at the Family Sports Complex, we descended an average of 81 feet per mile in the final leg of the course. Weather at the finish was 79 degrees, 17 percent relative humidity, clear skies, and west wind of 5 mph. ORGANIZATION: Nicely run event by the REVEL organization. No detail was left unchecked. Online coach Paul Carmona's course preview was spot on; recommended reading for those who strive to attain a BQ or PR. Course support by the local sheriff and police force was done well, aid stations less so--in a couple of instances, it was clear that the volunteers were more interested in amusing themselves opposed to supporting the runners. SPECTATORS: Sparse. Except for the finish area, spectators were not allowed on the course. There were a few living in Mount Charleston present to cheer us on. CONCLUSION: For those who enjoy running a fast downhill course in the desert and enjoy the diversions Sin City has to offer, this marathon should not be missed. Well done, REVEL.