I should have written this closer to the date but alas...
Pros
Strip at night - seriously, the view.
Flat course
Expo was a breeze but we also went through later at night and were not focused on going to each booth/collecting freebies
Complementary entry (+ guest) into Tao, Lavo, Chateau, and a few others was extremely worthwhile ** yes, I am in my mid twenties and will wear heels to dance all night after running 13-26 miles
Goodies at the expo and at the finish line!
Goodies at the finish line!! I did not have enough hands for the snacks but they were top of the line and plentiful -- something not all races stock.
Cons
- Shirts run SMALL. This is often an issue for me so I take each experience as par for the course. I also had a terrible experience with a training shirt I ordered 2 months prior not arriving until after race day but the customer service with Competitor made up for it and I cannot speak poorly of them!
- Shuttle (We stayed @TI and they said to take the shuttle but it truly exists for Mirage guests and we waited too long to be stand by. In retrospect we should have walked since I waited so long at the start!)
- Corrals... I started more than a mile away from the finish and wasted an hour when I pace at 11 minutes/mile
- The portion not on the strip is not well lit and appears to be not the best part of town
- If you pace slower than 10 minutes/mile or are in a corral that is after 25, you may not have Gatorade/ goo at later stops (this is why I run with a pack but I've been stuck in this situation before!)
- Finish line is pretty chaotic, you walk through another 1/2 mile or so before being able to meet with any non racers and it is a bit of a zoo (like most races)
It was a different experience for me to run at night but the weather was not terribly cold (or windy) so it worked out. I had a great weekend with friends and it was a solid excuse for me to come to Vegas -- I definitely recommend that everyone experience it at least once!