. . "I'm so torn on this race. I want to like it much more than I do. But, unfortunately, it's not really what I'm looking for.\n\nIt seems like everything here, like a Schwartz, comes with an up side and a down side.\n\nUp side: You get to run up and down the strip. I mean, really, how cool is that? They only shut down the strip a couple of times a year, and to have it shut down for this it's extremely cool.\n\nDown side: You're really only on the strip for a few miles. You get the full length on the way up, but only about halfway on the way back down. (Wow that sounds dirty.) And if you're doing the marathon you're going to spend a lot of your time on the west side of the 15, and nobody wants to be there.\n\nUp side: It's an experience every runner needs to have!\n\nDown side: It's an experience every runner needs to have. This past time (2013) my first mile was at about a 10min pace (I was looking for about 8min). There was just a wall of people that you couldn't get around. And despite the fact we were in the right corral for our starting time we spent the entire race passing people.\n\nUp side: The organization. They've fixed most of the problems they had in 2011. Signs were clear, the finishing area was nice as you were just dumped off into the strip, which made walking back to the hotel easier.\n\nDown side: Still room to improve. Once you entered the starting area you were stuck there; you weren't allowed to leave even to warm up. And from the start area it was still a good half-mile walk to the corral we were in.\n\nThis is a race to run once, and with no expectations of a PB/PR. I've done this race 4 years in a row now, and I don't think I'll be back for year 5. Unfortunately the annoyances have finally built up to the level where they overtake the good parts."^^ . "3"^^ . . "5"^^ . "3"^^ . "3"^^ . "2013-12-03T00:00:00"^^ .