The first half course was very scenic (LV Boulevard and Downtown) with many spectactors, however from mile 12 to 22 it was very lonely, boring and dark but still challenging.
I found the weather very warm and sunny at the beginning and windy the second half. I would have loved to have had iced water and Gatorade. It was always warm.
Beware runners who are not used to run long distances in the afternoons. I had problems with my stomach. I should have taken a lighter breakfast earlier.

Every other marathon providing results through this service lists the ages of runners. How can one do age-related research without this invaluable data? This glaring omission is most disappointing.

The good:
The merge between the marathoners and half marathoners worked well this year.
Decent food/drink at the end (but bananas would have been good!)
Fremont street at night was awesome.
Finish location provided for lots of options of where to go afterward and relieved the congestion from last year.
Expo was well organized and not too congested (though not easy to get to.

Improvement Opps.:
Too many very slow runners in the first few corrals - consider asking runners for proof of their estimated time to finish?
Needed few more water stations the last 6-8 miles (every mile).

Yep, after 2011, I gave them a 2nd chance, and I'm glad I did. They put a lot of work into fixing their problems. The new course gets a little dark and lonely between 11 and 20, but running through the old downtown near the end with the screaming crowds was OUTSTANDING.

We only shared the course with the half marathon for a couple miles at the end, and there was clear separation.

I had heard about all of the horror stories from 2011 and after reading about the proposed changes for 2012 decided to give it a try anyway. From an organizational standpoint things went really well.

Packet Pickup/Expo Fine
Race Start - great. They released the corrals every 30 seconds, crowding wasn't a problem, I was running almost immediately upon crossing the start line.
Aid station support - also great. Water/gatorade stations were plentiful and well staffed (the final aid station you had to pick up the water yourself from the table was all), they also had Gu a handful of places, and medical tents with vasoline and salt.
There was no problem merging with the half marathoners as there was a fence separating the groups. The crowd did spill onto the course during the final 1/2 mile though making things a little tight, but not problematic.

In terms of the race course - the 13 miles of it that were on the strip and fremont street would be a 5*. The 13 miles in North Las Vegas would be a 1*.
Same with crowds, on the street and in fremont street was great, North Las Vegas - non-existant.

Note that the temps were rather warm, mid-70s at the start cooling down to maybe 69F at the finish.
Also, there was a strong wind from the south, so the final 10 miles were directly into a 10-20MPH headwind which was a real challenge.
Overall I would recommend the half for people as you would just run the fun portion of the course.

This year's marathon was one of the best organized events I've been in.
The expo was massive and world-class; the start line, finish line and the course were nicely marked and prepared with great planning.

The crowds were amazing, supports can be seen throughout the whole course, from a little kid cheering to the neon signs of the big Casinos.

You guys out did yourself! And thank you for the wonderful experience u gave us yesterday! You guys ROCK! This is what the Rock n Roll marathons are all about!

It's was a very well organized race. The starting area was well done. Lots of portapotties, water, even fruit. Start was smooth and not too congested.

The course was well marked and clean, with no traffic interference. And thank goodness the marathon and the half marathon were seperated. Could have been a mess near the finish. The course was interesting for about 8 of the 26 miles. The course was mostly empty, no bands or spectators,just windy empty space.

The only course complaint was near the finish when the crowd encroached on the course,leaving only enough room for two abreast. Very dangerous.

The volunteers were also great, and water stops about every two miles. Outstanding.

When there were spectators, there were very enthusiastic crowds. I especially liked going through this pedestrian mall, which is a great course addition.

This is definitely not a PR course, but a great excuse to go to Las Vegas.

I would definitely recommend this marathon.

Got very sick during this marathon and just found out that many others also got ill. The health department and race organizers dismissed runners' complaints about bad water and said it must be something else, including 'regular runner gastrointestinal distress'. I never had these problems during 45 marathons and several ultras, and I drove straight to the race from out-of-town. I also did a ten year PR two weeks after this race. The Finish was crowded and the full/half marathoners linkup was a nightmare. If they don't figure out what caused the illnesses, and how to deal with the crowd, be careful with this race.

This was the least runner oriented, least well organized event of any kind I have ever participated in. An extremely high registration fee, requirement to pick up race packet the day before at their expo, running out of shirts, medals in an event thet was 'sold out' weeks before. Poor support on course, extremely poor finish area.
I could do 3 better organized races for the same money.
I wont do another Rock and Roll/ Competitor event!

I have done 26 Full, 68 Half's & 54 10K's and raced over 2,000 miles in total. This is not the most 'organised' race I have ever run.

I did the half marathon in this event since the first one and I usually finished my other half's in the 2:30 range. I had my Angiocardiogram done 10 days prior to the event and was diagnosed that one of the blood vessel is completely blocked. I had no choice but to walk most of it. Believe it or not, my walking most of the race might have kept me alive. If I have finished at my usual time, I might be dead in the crowd trapped at Mandalay Bay (refer to other posts).

Most of the problems stemmed from being too crowded at certain sessions on the course and lack of directions at various spots.

TWO simple solutions that might help:

1. Have a few minutes separating the start of each corral; or at least distance of a block separated between each corral - that will reduce the congestion in most part of the race.

2. Move the day of the event to Saturday - able to round-up more volunteers on various spots, especially for crowd control at the finish area.


As I did the DisneyWorld Wine & Dine Half at night time a couple of months prior, I like to throw in a few notes on night races.

DW Wine & Dine - started at 10 pm (dark) vs. RnR LV - started at 5:30 pm (dark)
- same environment

DW - running through theme parks (winding course) vs LV - running on the strip (straight)
- DW no problem because of the time lapse between start of corrals

DW - water & fuel on both sides of the course vs LV - one side only
- reduce congestion and improve safety

DW - lots of portable WC's vs LV - less portable washrooms
- and even worse, less than in previous years *_*

At this point of time, I will not recommend this race to anyone. Myself? Maybe.

I have also done 3 years in a roll for the RnR Seattle half, experience of which was not perfect, but not as bad as this one. So I will not say that ALL RnR races are crap events. I might give them one more chance in 2012. Will see.

On a side note, as a pin collector, I was really disappointed that they sold out the half marathon pins at 4pm at the expo ... WHAT? Sold out?