Yes, there are a ton of bad bad bad reviews, but after reading most of them, I just don't think they even come close ! RnR has sold out, its not for runners, it's for walkers, and packing as many as you can into overcrowded streets.

This was my 57th marathon, 21 with Rock n Roll, and it will be my last RnR for a very long time, maybe forever. I guess I now find the whole idea of a massive marathon-for-profit to be rather disgusting.

Do yourself, and the world, a favor, go find a nice small marathon that is sponsoring a local charity. Being one of 45,000 unhappy runners is hard to get over.

I have done this race twice in the past and the Las Vegas marathon is the equivalent of Christmas for me. I really look forward to it all year. This year I had a lot of disappointment to say the least and I am not 100% sure I'll be back next year.

I do agree with many of the sentiments expressed by others, but here are my pros / cons:

Pros:
1) Awesome course - where else do you own the strip.
2) Nighttime run that the crowds actually came out for this year.
3) Very cool t-shirt / medal.
4) Nice expo (albeit expensive and crowded)
5) Super convenient shuttles that got me to and from my hotel without any issues (Aria)

Cons:
1) Lack of bathrooms on the course. I saw many people using bushes or businesses. With that many people on the course, you really have to have the bathrooms available
2) The marathon merge. I was running 8:15's and suddenly I was running in a crowd doing 10's at the half way point. It took so much mental and physical energy not to give up. This is a *MUST* fix for me. I couldn't enjoy the course because I was constantly weaving around people. I even accidentally elbowed some poor girl.
3) Not much Cytomax on the course. I found very few stations that offered glucose drinks  mostly I got water.
4) Pricey race, but I got in on the first day, so it didn't get any cheaper.
5) Sort of disappointing post race food. Bananas were inedible and there really wasn't any place to go other than inside Mandalay Bay.
6) No Las Vegas girls to get your picture taken with at the end like they did in years past
7) Mandalay Bay was completely overwhelmed post race.
8) Marathoners really didn't get to see the band (I would like to see Brett Michaels back)

Hopefully the Competitor group will fix the problems they had with this race. I'd like to keep my streak going as this is the highlight of my running year.

I have run a few Rock N Roll events in the past and while I've always found them to be a mixed bag I thought the positives outweighed the negatives. Not so in this race and it was so bad I suspect I will avoid their races for a long time.

While I prefer smaller races there is an excitement to a large race that is appealing. The Rock N Roll races encourage folks to have fun and get involved and I support that. Also in the past I have felt that their races were well organized. Until this race I felt that their experience was evident.

Well as everyone has stated this race was not well organized and the elements that I did not like in their past events has begun to overpower things. All of their races are sadly impersonal. You never get a 'local' feel. They are an outside company who come into town, run a race and then leave so I guess this is to be expected. They took over a beloved Half Marathon race in my home town and the race has lost something. Also let's face it they are a for-profit company and you always feel this at their races. Post race food is always meager and clearly determined by donations not by any real desire to replenish tired runners. We live in a capitalist country so you can't blame a company for trying to earn a profit but in a world where so many races are non-profit the differences are keenly felt. It seems to me that all the water issues could have been avoided if the race has bought bottled water like so many races do. A nice medal does not make up for people getting sick from Fire hydrant water.

I had planned on running Rock N Roll New orleans this year but I will not after this experience.

I'm really shocked to find out about the water. I was sick to my stomach for 4 days. At 1st I thought that is was just the acid build up from the run (the 1st day) after it continued I assumed I must of caught a bug/ stress/ nerves, I never would of thought it was caused by the water I was giving during my run. I agree that some of the runners stories sound over exaggerated. I did not feel nauseous until the next morning. The water did taste a little off to me, but i assumed they added electrolytes or something to help the runners. I ran this same marathon 2 years ago and they handed out water-down Gatorade and gels.. this year there was none of that.

I ran the 1/2. A poorly run event at every level. This one is for those who are looking to say 'I did it!' or for those who are strictly recreational runners and looking for something to run. Even in that case, I'd still pass and do another event - it was that bad!

it's all been said here and there's truth in all of it. it's just too many people and rock and roll obviously isn't big enough to handle it. the only thing i can add to it is the inconsiderate people. the half marathoners (lots of walkers) who refused to move out of the marathon lane should be ashamed of themselves. no amount of pleading by runners or yelling by runners/race officials on bikes would move these people. i never imagined in a community such as the running community that people could be so rude and inconsiderate of others. they knew they were in the wrong. rock and roll, you can't sell this as a marathon when you can't control or protect the marathon course. we trained the most, we ran the furthest and were treated as an afterthought. marathoners, DO NOT DO THIS RACE. you will regret it.......

I won't go into full details because other comments have. Everything in the other one star posts is completely accurate. Stay away from this race.

This event was extremely poorly organized. I just ran the NYC marathon with a similar number of runners and the difference between these two events was like night and day. I attempted to run the LV half, but for reasons to follow, did not finish. First, the transportation to the start was completely insufficient. I decided to take advantage of the pre-race shuttle from the Venetian to the start. After waiting in line for over an hour, I approached the front of the line and realized the very occasional shuttle only could transport about 20 runners at a time. Seriously? In a race of over 44,000, this was a huge problem. I boarded the shuttle at about 5:30 pm (gun time) and then proceeded to drive around the outskirts of Las Vegas for over an hour because the driver was completely lost. At about 6:30 pm (now an hour past gun time) the driver gave up and dropped us all off in a dark parking lot in the middle of nowhere. This was a serious safety issue to say the least. We made our way through the dark to the start, but there was no way to get any pre-race hydration or drop off our bags. I decided to run with all of my belongings. Once on the course, I realized that the people who were running the full marathon were merging with all of the half marathon walkers. It was total chaos for the full runners trying to get around all of the walkers. What followed was a lack of any Cytomax, a couple of crappy bands and nearly zero spectators. Mile 11 was my hotel and I decided not to risk being stuck at the finish with no way to get back to my hotel, so I dropped out. This is the first and only race I have not finished. After reading the stories of the deplorable conditions at the finish, I realized I made the right decision. Bottom line: this was the worst race I have ever run. Shame on you Competitor.

Some of our group ran the full marathon and some ran the 1/2. We were a group of friends (18 in all). We all drank some water along the course. None of us got sick. I would also think alot more people would have gotten sick if it was just the water. Enjoyed course and spectators. Organization of course could use improvement. We had a lot of fun, and will probably do it next year too.

I've run some tough races (Bristol.NH, Chicago), and some large races (Boston, NYC, Chicago, Arizona R&R, Disney), and this was my 23rd overall, but it was my WORST EVER experience. In order of 'could have been easily fixed' -
1. Crowd at Mandalay Bay post-race. Absolutely dangerous, the fire marshal of the city should fine them, and if someone filed a class action, I'd join. Reckless and irresponsible of organizers. I've never experienced a panic attack like that before, feeling closed in and helpless, no signs for where to go, no crowd control, no help at all.
2. Merging marathoners with walking half-marathoners at mile 16. Some comments this was at 13, but I didn't hit them until mile 16 (I know I'm slow). No fault of the half-marathoners, this was an organization failing. Pre-race, the instructions that there would be lanes enforced convinced me they had it handled, but I was very wrong.
3. Pre-race food. I tried to eat a banana, and apologize to the guy next to me who tried as well, if my attempt made him think it would work. Total cardboard, practically frozen. Had to spit it out.
4. Race food/water. Best memory was at mile 19 (or so), getting Cytomax in a cup full of ice. OK if the race was in July, but at 40 degrees, it was just offensive.
5. Post race food/water. Tired plain bagels and the same bananas. You knew it could get cold, as you told me. You should have had something warm to eat/drink.
6. 1st 13 miles of course. I guess I just didn't realize that the reason they were handing out headlights in the goodie bag was that we'd be running on unlit streets. I thought it was a 'Strip at Night' promo. Fool me once....
7. Offer by race to give me discount on next R&R race, to soothe my disgruntled feelings. Sorry, guys, this doesn't cut it.

A few positive comments.
1. Volunteers. Helpful as they could be. Not sure why some stations were abandoned later on, but my experience says this is never their fault - it is the instructions they get.
2. Spectators. I was entertained by the drunk spectators taunting me as I went by, but others might not have been. And, my family was there (not drunk!), so I have to give them points.
3. Weather forecast. Not happy at the conditions, but I have to admit that weather.com told me it would happen.