rockgremlin
01-18-2006, 05:28 PM
Last month I went down and ran in the New Las Vegas Marathon. They are calling it "new" because last year the course was changed. The old course ran on the outskirts of town, in the sagebrush and sticks alongside I-15 south out of Vegas. The "New" course was routed straight down the Strip, and through Fremont Street - a dramatic change for the better.
It began at 6:00 am at the Mandalay Bay Casino, went down the Strip, through Fremont Street, out west to the Texas Station Casino, and then south again through residential neighborhoods to finish at the Mandalay Bay again - a big 26.2 mile loop.
This was my 3rd marathon, and probably the funnest one I have ever run (if you can consider 26.2 miles of pain fun). I am registered to run it again this December. It was very well done, and the community was very supportive. I was surprised at how well received it was by the community. Cheerleading squads from local high schools came out and cheered, Ms. Nevada and Ms. Clark County showed up and were cheering on a street corner in some residential neighborhood. Big Bands were playing at about every other mile. Local Baptist churches gathered together groups of revival singers to sing "praises" at about four different locations.
Very well done Las Vegas - major props for executing a very well planned and enjoyable marathon. Marathon planners afterward said the biggest problem they had were people running down the strip who were not registered runners. There was a major rodeo event scheduled for the same weekend as the marathon, and there were quite a few Wrangler-clad "Cowboys" running alongside registered runners at the very beginning of the race. :roll:
Here's a few pics from a disposable camera I took along with me...
It began at 6:00 am at the Mandalay Bay Casino, went down the Strip, through Fremont Street, out west to the Texas Station Casino, and then south again through residential neighborhoods to finish at the Mandalay Bay again - a big 26.2 mile loop.
This was my 3rd marathon, and probably the funnest one I have ever run (if you can consider 26.2 miles of pain fun). I am registered to run it again this December. It was very well done, and the community was very supportive. I was surprised at how well received it was by the community. Cheerleading squads from local high schools came out and cheered, Ms. Nevada and Ms. Clark County showed up and were cheering on a street corner in some residential neighborhood. Big Bands were playing at about every other mile. Local Baptist churches gathered together groups of revival singers to sing "praises" at about four different locations.
Very well done Las Vegas - major props for executing a very well planned and enjoyable marathon. Marathon planners afterward said the biggest problem they had were people running down the strip who were not registered runners. There was a major rodeo event scheduled for the same weekend as the marathon, and there were quite a few Wrangler-clad "Cowboys" running alongside registered runners at the very beginning of the race. :roll:
Here's a few pics from a disposable camera I took along with me...