Okay folks, first of all I have to say what a great time we had. Last night was our marathon along the closed Las Vegas strip and it was a spectacular event. The amount of work that went into making this even happen was staggering. I have zero complaints about the registration fee given the experience we had last night.
The first challenge was getting to the event. The monorail was backed up with runners trying to get close to the starting line and the main road was closed to traffic so all transportation was constrained and slower as a result. We elected to try for a cab, sharing a ride with two strangers also trying to get to the race.
When we arrived there was a sea of port-a-potties like none other. We were grateful however on account of our need to use one each. We made our way to the staring line and decided to move up in corral from where we had been placed because we’d been pacing faster in our recent runs. I’m glad we did, because we spent the majority of the race running past other runners.
At this point, something strange happened. The clouds darkened, bringing on night more quickly than expected, the wind became intense and suddenly there was a prediction for rain over the next three hours. It felt like we were in an impending storm, about ready to unleash on the city.
We started the run, running on Las Vegas Boulevard heading away from the main strip area. As we felt a few drops of rain we turned back and headed down the main casino/hotel strip. We passed by our hotel at about three miles in to find our families waiting on the side lines, cheering us on. How sweet!
The rain started a bit more then and we realized we had two hazards to contend with: first, there was the road itself which was wide, but had inset lane markers that raised slightly from the street. Because we were passing runners and people shifted around frequently, watching to make sure you didn’t stumble over a reflective marker was a bit of a trick. We also were getting into more rain, which was making the usually dry roads slippery. I did fall down at about six miles in, but it was a controlled fall (I’m only half a klutz) and I survived with only a sore rump and a little bruise.
We made it to Fremont street and saw the edge of the Fremont Street Experience and then made a few turns after which we headed off into the marathon only track, leaving the half-marathoners to head back to the finish line. It was at this point that the race got a little less flashy and more urban street-esque as we headed through other areas of Las Vegas for another thirteen-some miles.
The run at this point was fun, although less casino-esque. Oh, forgot to mention we ran down a whole row of marriage chapels before. I knew there were a lot of wedding chapels, but I’d never seen them before because I’d never been to that area of Las Vegas. We passed the municipal building where my husband and I officially got married six years ago (our ceremony was in the Bellagio later that day.) We also ran by the Pawn Stars store from the well-known reality show.
We spent the next several hours looking for Uncle Jonathan who we knew would be ahead of us and telling stories. We found him—I ran across the line and hugged him—and then carried on. When we reached the turnaround I looked back and couldn’t believe how far away the Stratosphere was. I also couldn’t believe how high up we were. We had been gradually running uphill for miles.
Running downhill was nice, but nicer still was each and every hydration station. It’s at about eighteen or twenty miles that the race becomes a bit of a chore, but we were still managing our pace (which we were doing very well on) and we were still running easily.
When we made it back to the stratosphere however, we were ready to be done. Most of the race is great but the last several miles are steady hell and running in the cold, high winds was making the last part of the race challenging. It was cold, but I’d had my shirt off and around my waist for a lot of the race but later on it was too cold and we were ready to be done.
We had been passing people most of the race and we kept on passing people (which is a huge motivator mentally) even though our legs were protesting and complaining about fatigue, pain, cramps, etc.
Once we passed the stratosphere we still couldn’t see the strip. The main strip is big where the heck was it? Eventually we saw the Wynn Encore building but it taunted us and maintained its distance for what seemed an eternity. Finally we passed it and realized the end was fairly close.
We crossed the finish line to the cheers of our husbands, who had been following us via their cell phones throughout the race. The had brought us our jackets and were so great to be there to support us. We had text messages from family and friends congratulating us and we were exhausted but happy.
Was it a good race? Hell yes. It was so much fun. I’ve told all our friends who were there, some of whom ran their first half-marathon and some who ran shorter races during the weekend, that I’m doing this again next year if possible. I loved it.
I loved even more though the time if afforded us to spend with our family. My husband’s three siblings and their partners, wives or friends joined us this weekend. We got to spend time together (albeit with the busy schedule of the weekend it was tight to fit in as much time as we would have liked.) I’m not sure I have enough happy words to describe how much fun this weekend was.
Thanks to everyone for the support and thanks to all who joined us to make this such a special weekend all around.
The Big Boy Update: My son is going to be a leader, even if only in his own mind. He loves telling people what to do.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter is going to be the best friend you could imagine. She loves people and loves to be friends with everyone.
Fitness Update: Rock & Roll Marathon Las Vegas … check!
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