And it was a HUGE race! They announced that there were nearly 30,000 runners between the two races (the half and the full), and looking at the results later, there were over 19,000 finishers in the half alone! As you can see, there were tons of us! I started way back in corral 25, and we weren't even the last corral - there were 32 altogether!
If you couldn't see, in the right hand picture above is a Pace Rabbit. Fun! The back of his shirt says "Follow Me" and in the two circles below it says "Run 10, Walk 1" (the run-walk pace he'd maintain). Written on the inside of his ears is 2:30, his pacing time. And I was so distracted by his ears, I didn't even notice the tail at his water bottle until I was looking at the picture later on my camera!
The race itself, in terms of running, was actually a pretty good one for me. I'd had the Head Cold That Wouldn't Die through a lot of November, so was a little worried at how I'd hold up for this race, when I had only had one real long run since Long Beach in October. I did OK though. It wasn't a PR race, but I was only about 8 minutes off my PR, so I was pleased with that (in a 2 1/2 hour race, 8 minutes isn't as much as it seems!) So apparently a good training plan for me was to train for a big race in October, "taper" in November (i.e. get sick for a month), then race in December again. Seemed to work! Most importantly, though, I kept my pace steady through the whole race, and wasn't feeling like death warmed over when I finished - both I consider very important achievements!
The course was a good one. For the half marathon, the course ran up the Strip from Mandalay Bay, looped through Downtown, and then back down the Strip back to Mandalay Bay again. The two pictures below are from the part of the course in Downtown (yes, that is a building shaped like a glass of beer). First time I'd been in Old Vegas, actually! Besides being nice and flat, I liked the course because you could see the landmarks easily. So, as you got closer to the finish line at Mandalay Bay, you could see yourself get closer to New York, New York, the Luxor, etc. It was a nice, visible sign of the miles passing. The busy-ness of Las Vegas, which is so distracting when you're driving, really helped the miles pass too. You could appreciate all the crazy casino buildings, all the flashing lights and billboards, etc. and it helped distract you from the fact you'd been running for 2 hours at that point!
I couldn't have asked for better weather, either. It WAS a little on the chilly side, I will admit, as we were waiting around for the starting line. And I did wait as long as possible to check my gear (and my sweatshirt) before starting the race. But we weren't moving then, and the sun wasn't really up yet, so it was understandable. Once we got moving, thought, it was perfect. No real breeze, just a little air moving; not too glaringly sunny; and just cold enough that you felt comfortable as you ran. I do like cooler races like this compared to summer ones! My 1/2 Marathon PR was a March race, come to think of it!
And I have to say, I'm getting better at taking pictures while I run these races! :) Since I take regular walk breaks on most of these races, I've been using those to grab some pictures. The camera is all pulled out and ready to go as I'm still running along, then as I slow for my walk break, I pause, take my picture, and then keep walking. It works out pretty well, too. I try to be good about going off to the side when I start a walk break, so people don't run over me, and that makes it very easy to pause and take a 2 second picture, without adding tons of time to the race. And it's not like the pauses are extra stops in my run, either. I have to slow to a walk anyways when I grab water or a gel - I'm just not that coordinated to do it as I run without spilling on myself or dropping everything. So I take my picture, grab my water, and then my minute walk break is up and I'm back to running. Perfect!
The Rock and Roll series of races always pays a lot of attention to the music on the course (the whole gimmick of "Rock and Roll," right?). There are always local bands spread throughout the race courses. My favorite band this race was the one at the very beginning, a Blues Brothers cover band. "You make me wanna Shout" and similar songs - perfect music to get you pumped up before a run. Just so upbeat and happy!
And of course, being Vegas, there are the Vegas-only touches to the race. There was the Run-Through Wedding at the Venetian, for example. Yes, it's legal, and there were a bunch of people getting hitched or renewing vows. And of course their running gear reflected their happy occasion. I saw one bride-groom set with Mickey Mouse ears on their headgear, but they were too far away to get a picture :(
Another Vegas touch was the large number of Running Elvi (the plural of Elvis, if you didn't know). Here are just 2 of many pictured below. I think they said that Vegas boasts the largest number of Running Elvi of any of the races. I do know they had a special reception for all of those decked out as Elvis, though!
One of the things that was uniquely Vegas, too, was the number of billboards for the race. I've done R&R races in 3 other cities now (Virginia Beach 3 times, San Diego once, and the Phoenix-Scottsdale-Tempe area once). And yes, there is a lot of advertisement of the race in the other towns, but Vegas is designed for flashy, noticeable ads - a major feature of the Strip area, really. And with this race, there were several billboards that were for us! First time I'd ever been on a billboard :) The billboard on the upper left is from the starting line area, and the one below it is the electronic view of the race. The Mandalay Bay board was showing the news coverage of the race, so as we waiting in a later corral, we could watch the runners ahead of us setting out. Pretty neat! The other two boards (the electronic ones) are from Bally's and Planet Hollywood along the strip. Those two each had several screens with messages for the runners that they'd scroll through. I'm just glad I got clear shots of each!
A final Vegas touch to the race was at the exit from the finishers area (where you head out to get your checked gear and meet up with family and friends). There were showgirls there to pose with us. The camera person on my lane was nice enough to grab a quick shot with my own camera too, which I'm very thankful for! The showgirls cracked me up, though, because to stay warm in spite of their costumes, they were all wearing warm boots. Very sensible, I know, but it made smile to see a row of women decked out in feathers, silver, sequins... and Uggs. :)
And of course, I had to get a picture with my medal and number and the Vegas sign. Thankfully, the sign was located between the finish line area and our hotel (we stayed south of the Strip). Meant that I didn't have to walk out of my way to get my picture! Little things that tired legs appreciate :)
Oh, and if you want to see them, here is the link to my official photographs. And yes, my good-picture-luck at mile 11 holds steady, Mom, though there is another picture in my batch where I blinked :)
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