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| - If I could sum up this, my fourth and final 2013 Rock n Roll Marathon event of the year, in two words, it'd be: flesh wall.
I knew it'd be a popular race. I expected it to be packed. I had counted on not getting a PR here, due to the number of registrants. I guess I just *hoped* for something better. Turns out the only way I would have been able to PR this course would have been if I had started in the first two or three corrals, but I would have been cursed at and probably run over by the elite runners there.
My three biggest complaints about this race would be the size, the lighting and the lack of safety notifications on the roads.
I saw that there were 30,000 runners registered between the full and half marathons. For some reason, they thought it'd be a good idea to start both races at the same time. That made for a nice mess. It was bad enough to be squeezed from all sides by the thousands of other runners, but the course really only provided one or two spots where you could find your stride...only to be forced to modify your pace again when the lanes narrowed back in.
Las Vegas Blvd was the best, of course. It was nice and wide, the lights were sparkling and twinkling, and there were crowds of people out to cheer you on. The on-course entertainment was sparse, but they had some good quality bands out to motivate us (that was a huge negative for the other RnR runs I've participated in this year).
Of course, the entire course was not on the strip itself, and there were a lot of places where a band would have been most welcome, but none were to be found. There were also a ton of places where lighting would have been welcome (and would have made it feel less treacherous), but again, there was none to be found.
Two of the worst spots were the first mile out of the start line and the residential areas before you looped back to the Strip.
For the first ¾ of a mile, you were running in the dark, with only one spotlight and a bunch of disco lights to guide your way. That's great and all, but we were running INTO the spotlight, which caused some gnarly shadows and practically blinded us. Then, right when we got to the point where the light would be a benefit instead of a hindrance, we were assaulted by the disco lights of the first band's setup.
The residential areas we were forced to run through were also way too dark, and were again punctuated by one strong spotlight at the end of the street, so that we were running into the light. I'm guessing they didn't think about the shadows that the groups of runners would cause, but it basically negated the effect of the lighting. I think it was worse, because the shadows were shifting and moving with the runners, so it was practically impossible to see where you putting your feet.
And that leads right into my last gripe. There were a lot of cracks, bumps, recesses, and such in the roads. In every other run, these types of things have been called out either by safety cones or paint, or sometimes covered up completely, so that the risk to runners is diminished. This was not the case here.
I get that they put up the barricades and blocked off the course in record time, but it would have been nice to have the road made a little bit safer for us. I know I spent the majority of my run watching the pavement, after having hit a particularly bumpy patch and tweaking my knee around mile six.
Those were really the only things that pissed me off that day. I can't say enough good things about the hundreds of volunteers that lined the course, passing out water and Gatorade, cheering us on as we neared the end, and who walked Finishers Village passing out refreshments and telling us how awesome we were.
The on-course entertainment - which I alluded to earlier - was the best to date. I can't tell you how great it was to see actual *bands* out there, putting on a show for the runners and the spectators. Sure, there were only a handful of bands, but they were fantastic. The KISS cover band was my favorite, and the Elvis impersonator in front of the Wedding Bells Chapel had me laughing.
And that praying mantis metal sculpture that randomly spit out fire towards the end of the course? Made me scream and pee my pants. Funny in retrospect, but at the time, I was not amused. Completely unnecessary at that juncture of the run. In any run, actually. Who thought that was a good idea?
As much as I loved the night-time start, I don't know that I'd come back to do this run again, now that I know what to expect. It was just way too crowded, and with the registration prices soaring - even with early registration and the previous run discounts applied - it just isn't worth it to me.
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