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| - Largest Night Race in the World.
Shooting for titles is fine, we are runners, it is what we (they) do.
But you have to do it right. This event was so poorly organized that it was borderline dangerous, and overall extremely stressful and frustrating. Looking back on it I don't even understand how they let that cluster-fuck happen (there is really no other word to describe the conditions we had to face pre-, during and post-race).
44,000 people is a lot. And that can be fine if the crowd is handled properly. But try to channel them PLUS their families through three doors at the back of a hotel and you'll see what happen: chaos. Of the most horrible kind. I shudder at what might have happened in the event of a fire alarm of any other kind of emergency.
I was lucky enough to not have to deal with gear check - that looked like apocalypse.
Even the running part of the race was a mess. Corrals were extremely difficult to get to, crowded with non-runners and poorly delimited. I crossed the starting line a good 35 minutes after the first participants, and I ran my first mile at a 15:45 pace. Needless to say - I usually WALK much faster. I was so frustrated that I wanted to punch someone but it got slightly better, and I just kept on running - trying to enjoy the lights and sounds of the Strip. I must have run a total of 15 miles slaloming between people, and I am perfectly aware that it is how it goes in larger races but this was just downright ridiculous.
There is more, though:
1. Water stations were located on both sides of the course. People were converging from every side, tripping over each other.
2. There was no Gatorade whatsoever, contrary to what was announced on the website.
3. I usually carry my water with me, but decided not to do it this time. Must have been my lucky day because I consumed the water provided by the organizers and didn't get sick despite the fact that it WAS PUMPED FROM HYDRANTS INTO GARBAGE CANS. A lot of people got violently ill during the race...
4. ...on the street because porter potties were so scarce. I remember seeing them at two different locations. That's it.
5. Marathoners started 90 minutes before half-marathoners, but there was really no point since the two races converged on the Strip at the busiest point. That slowed down everyone; forget about breaking personal records under such circumstances. Especially with parking cones scattered everywhere to try to separate the two different races.
6. Post-race snacks were out of reach. I was carried away by the flow, and miraculously stopped by the banana stand. All of them were unripe, and impossible to eat. What a waste.
7. Medical assistance was ineffective, and came late in several cases. The MC had to yell out repeatedly for someone to come over and help a man who was having a heart attack. I am not even joking.
8. The pictures of runners taken along the course are worthless. I cannot even find myself on most of them. And the cheapest one goes for $29.95. Yeah right.
9. It took me exactly 3 hours between the time I crossed the finish line and the moment I was able to sit down for dinner. No offense to Mandalay Bay - but it became synonymous with hell on earth for many of us.
So please, please, please. Read, listen and think. Don't open the race to 60,000 people next year or it will get really ugly.
No need to say - I am done with the RNR series whose only concern is to make money out of runners ($135 registration fee, empty goodie bag and a $40 supplement to pick up your packet on race-day....really?!?) at all costs.
What a shame.
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