Tag Archive | "Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon"

Joshua Holmes – Denmark Dash 5K – Feb 2012 – Run It Fast

42 Mini Race Reports: Joshua Holmes’ 2012 in Review

42 Mini Race Reports: Joshua Holmes’ 2012 in Review

Here is a quick look at the 42 races I ran in 2012. That total is comprised of 32 ultras and marathons that averaged 50.50 miles and ten shorter races consisting of 10k’s, 5k’s, etc.

2012 Marathons and Ultras for Joshua Holmes

  1. Walt Disney World Marathon (26.2) – 3:32:23 – One of my faster marathons. Great training with James Krenis leading up to this race to help him to reach his goal of running a sub-4 hour marathon. If you had to train for one marathon and really wanted a big, grand experience with a lots of sights and people then the WDW Marathon should be on your list.  – January 8, 2012
  2. Maui Oceanfront Marathon (26.2) – 3:37:58 – I broke a couple of ribs surfing two days prior to this race. I could only take half breaths and rib cage/chest/arm became extremely painful the last 15 miles. Couldn’t lift arm afterwards without extreme pain in ribs. Always fun catching up with the speedy RIF #70 Chuck ‘Marathonjunkie’ Engle. Maui Oceanfront is a beautiful marathon with amazing views the last 18 miles along the coastline. – January 22, 2012
  3. Jackson Jackass 50K (31.0) – 6:29:29 – A race I decided to put together to help a friend run his first 50K. I was nursing a broken rib so I was cautious throughout the race, yet still slipped and fell 10x on this very muddy and messy course from heavy rains the night before. A very challenging yet fun day. – February 4, 2012
  4. Carl Touchstone Memorial 50 Miler (50.0) – 10:22:07 – This was a very muddy and wet course. Over 80 water crossings, most thigh high and extended for 20-30 feet at a time. A tough day with the conditions but solid performance considering the conditions. The joy from this one was helping RIF #3 Jonathan Bobbitt train for this race and successfully complete it.  I also enjoyed running part of the race with RIF #12 Kevin Leathers and RIF #24 Emily Conley.  – March 3, 2012
  5. Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon (26.2) – 3:59:41 – Drove down to NOLA immediately after finishing the MS 50 Miler the night before. Big thanks to RIF #38 JD Favara for picking up my bib for this one.  I was horrible, sluggish and not very good for the first 18 miles. I was on a 4:15 pace to finish yet came alive the last 8 miles to slide under 4 hours. I enjoyed catching up with several RIF members from Jackson after the race including RIF #35 Todd Shadburn. – March 4, 2012
  6. Land Between the Lakes 50 Miler (50.0) – 9:25:33 – A new 50mi PR after setting one the prior weekend down in Mississippi. I felt pretty good for most of this race. It was cold at the start yet bearable. I pushed hard at the end to go sub 9:30. It turned out to be a comfortable and beautiful day to run. It was good seeing my good friend RIF #2 Naresh Kumar before, during this race, and at our post-race meal at the po’chop place.  – March 10, 2012
  7. Savage Gulf Trail Marathon (26.2) – 7:25:52 – An inaugural event that no one knew anything about. The most difficult and most beautiful marathon I’ve run to date. Lots of the course was un-runnable due to intense roots and boulders. A must do for the serious marathoner than is not afraid of a challenge. You will only PR at SG if it’s your first marathon ever. Met RIF #18 Rick Jarvis during the early miles of this one.  – March 17, 2012
  8. Umstead 100 Miler (100.0) – 23:36:11 – This was another 100 PR for me, and I had the chance to share the course with good friends RIF #57 Trent Rosenbloom, Beth McCurdy, RIF #88 Hideki Kinoshita, RIF #92 Steven Lee, etc. I was strong for the first 50 then my legs started to fall apart a bit. I walked most of the last loop and was happy to finally have a sub-24 hour 100 mile finish. It concluded a crazy March of racing. – March 31, 2012
  9. St. Jude Country Music Marathon (26.2) – 3:34:17 – I have historically ran very poorly at this event in the past. It was my only race scheduled for April and maybe that helped me some this time. I was coming off some minor injuries from Umstead but felt semi-healthy. This is the first race I ran in Hokas. A lot of people faded during this one due to the heat, but I stayed pretty strong throughout. Ran into RIF #63 John Hudson and RIF #35 Todd Shadburn shortly after finishing. RIF also had a large number of members show up for the pre-race photo. – April 29, 2012
  10. 34th Annual Strolling Jim 40 Miler (41.2) – 7:34:43 – Another event I haven’t performed extremely well to date at. I was off to a good day as it was overcast and cool the first 15 miles to start this one. Then at my mile 15 drop bag I downed 3 Boosts and a couple of other things. At about that time the sun came out to play and my stomach was never the same. I spit up various things for most of the last 25 miles but pushed hard, especially the last 10 miles, to have a relatively strong finish. Always a great party after the race and I enjoyed spending time with several RIF members and friends. – May 5, 2012
  11. Scenic City Trail Marathon (26.2) – 3:57:31 – I ran this race in 4:27:34 the previous year. So I went in wanting to go sub 4-hours as my goal. I pushed the pace early on the first loop and was able to keep it close to the first loop pace on the second loop. I was strong until the last 2 or 3 miles but being so close to sub-4 helped me push to finish under my goal. A great race put on by the Rock/Creek people. – May 19, 2012
  12. Run Under the Stars RUTS (10 Hours) – 55 miles – My most miles put down at RUTS in my three years running this race. This is a great event and one of my favorites. It’s like a party within a race or a race within a party. About 20 Run It Fast – Club members ran this one and helped make it a blast. Enjoyed watching good friend RIF #151 Chris Estes put down 63 miles. – June 9, 2012
  13. The Jackal Trail Marathon (26.2) – 4:32:32 – Another event that I put together that went off really well. It was a very hot mid-June day in West Tennessee that upped the degree of difficulty a bit. I felt good throughout, finishing third overall, and used it as heat training in case I decided to run The Last Annual Vol State 500K in July. – June 23, 2012
  14. The Backass Jackal Trail Marathon (26.2) – 4:52:51 – I ran the previous day like it wasn’t the first of back to backs. I ran about 2 miles before the race as I was trying to set up water coolers and find Sulaiman before the start. My legs were tired from the prior day, but I was competitive as RIF #151 Chris Estes and I battled throughout the day for the win which he ended up with. Five of us finished this one after doing The Jackal Trail Marathon the day before.  – June 24, 2012
  15. The Last Annual Vol State 500K (314.0) – 5:17:04:04 – An epic race that I did for the first time last year. I wanted to just finish the race in 2011, but this year I wanted to be competitive and see how well I could perform over this grueling slugfest that covers 314 miles on hot asphalt in Tennessee and touches several other states.  The weather was a chill 85 degrees the first day, and I decided to take advantage of it and see how many miles I could put down before finding rest. I recorded 93 miles in 23-hours before heading to the hotel where naturally I couldn’t really sleep.  During the next day I covered 49 very slow miles. To make a long story short I was in fourth place after four days and ended up with a mad fury of miles on the last day and sped up Sand Mountain to finish second place overall with a time of 5 days and 17 hours.  Special thanks to RIF #13 Mikki Trujillo, RIF #2 Naresh Kumar, RIF #183 Kirk Catron, and RIF #143 Scott Flowers for helping crew me for all or parts of this epic race.  – My Full Vol State 500K Race Report – July 12, 2012
  16. Blister in the Sun Marathon (26.2) – 3:58:16 – A challenging race in Cookeville, TN that good friend Josh Hite has put on the last three years. It’s a 5-loop course on what is usually a very hot day. I was still recovering from Vol State but didn’t want to miss this one since I’d get to see many of my best marathon running friends.  I ran a bit better than I thought I would considering my Vol State rust. I originally thought I’d take it easy and run something over 4 hours. I got in a groove though among RIF #79 Dallas Smith,  RIF #196 Bill Baker, and RIF #186 Danny Staggs and pushed probably harder than I needed to but was honored to finish just a few seconds behind the great Dallas. – August 5, 2012
  17. Pikes Peak Marathon (26.2) – 7:59:23 – For a West Tennessee boy from the flathills this turned out to be quite the challenge. I’m sure I was a bit dead-legged coming in but this turned out to be a really tough, dizzy, and staggering day for Cosmo.  The run starts at around 6,500 feet and goes up to 14,115 feet at the halfway point before gravity pulls you back down to the starting line to finish. I did pretty well the first 10 miles going up but then the altitude gave me a headache, made me a bit dizzy, and I started staggering like a drunk. If you trip to the left going up then you fall several thousand feet to your death. I took it easy as I didn’t feel right the miles leading up to the summit and for several miles on the way back down. I ran pretty well the last 4-5 miles. It was a beautiful climb and view from the top of Pikes Peak, but from a running perspective I did nothing that day that should be put into a time capsule. I did enjoy spending time with RIF #83 Brad Box who had a good race.  – August 19, 2012
  18. Lean Horse 100 Miler (100.0) – 22:41:28 – Leanhorse happened to be just a week after Pikes Peak, but I felt pretty good going into it. This was my second time running this race so that was worth something. This race takes place in beautiful South Dakota.  I stayed at a hotel close to the convention center where the buses would depart from for the starting line at 5:30am. I mistimed walking over that morning and missed the buses. Luckily, I was able to hitch a ride with an older couple at the hotel next door that was going to the starting line 15 miles away to see their daughter start this one.  Leanhorse has the best running surface I’ve run on at any race. It’s a very finely crushed limestone/dirt mixture that is smooth and easy on the legs.  Being late to the starting line, I forgot to take a pre-race Roctane and a couple of other things. Luckily over the course of a 100 miles you have time to remember that and catch up without falling too far behind.  I ran well at Lean Horse for a majority of the race. My bottle went dry a couple of times during the hottest part of the day and my stomach got a bit upset, but a sweet woman from Canada and Lanier Greenhaw gave me some ginger during the race and it settled it down. My goal was to improve upon my 26:30 time from the year before and go sub-24 hours.  I tired over the last 20 miles but kept pushing and was able to finish LH with another new 100 mile PR of 22:42:28.  A great 100 I’d recommend to anyone looking for a new one or for a place to run his or her first 100.  – August 25, 2012
  19. Tupelo Marathon (26.2) – 4:05:33 – Tupelo was the week after Lean Horse, but I had signed up for it months before and wanted to run it again and see many of my running friends.  Tupelo is a rolling course with some minor hills that starts at 5am in the morning, in the dark, before it gets too hot and humid. However, the heat never really came this year but it was extremely humid from the opening bell.  I felt like I struggled and had a mediocre first half but after a quick pit stop and reversing direction for the second half I ran well and passed many people.  I realized I was pushing too hard to go sub-4 during the last 5 miles or so. I finally realized I would likely miss sub-4 by a minute or two so I pulled back a bit and played it safe to finish.  I was still really drained and tired but enjoyed the food and fellowship after the race as a few others and myself waited at the finish line for everyone to finish. – September 2, 2012
  20. Endure the Bear 50K (31.0) – 6:29:46 – This was a first year race that took place in Big Bear Lake, California, which is high up in the mountains in a very beautiful Gatlinburg-esque town.  I had no clue what to expect going in to this one. What’s new, right?  RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales met me at the start with some Roctane (since I was out), and we caught up for a bit before this one started. It was a straight up-hill climb for the first 5 miles or so then it had big hills up and down throughout the day. One of the more challenging 50K’s I’ve run. I was very tired at the end but pleased with my effort overall. – September 9, 2012
  21. Big Sur Trail Marathon (26.2) – 4:07:02 – I gave RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales a ride up to this race since it would be way too risky and dangerous riding with her.  Big Sur was a beautiful marathon that took you up towards the heavens for the first 3 miles before dumping you amongst the big trees with sneak peaks of the blue Pacific Ocean from time to time.  I ran stronger and faster with nearly every mile and with the intense descent back down to the finish for the last 3 miles I blistered a couple of sub-7 minute miles to finish 10th overall and with a pretty fast time on a challenging trail marathon course. I also tweaked or did something to my left knee during those last couple of miles as well.  – September 29, 2012
  22. Yellowstone-Teton 100 Miler (100.0) – 21:23:55 – This race was a lot of fun and amazing on several levels. It’s only the second race I’ve ever had a crew to help me out with. I was very thankful that RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales made the trip to Idaho/Montana to crew me for this one. She was really a great help outside of finding me a cheeseburger.  I have to admit it was a bit daunting at the start of this one. The race started in West Yellowstone at 6am. It was pitch black and 9 DEGREES. It was briefly overwhelming to be that cold, that dark, that early in the morning knowing I had 100 miles to run.  Three miles in my handheld was frozen solid. I ditched it and would only drink water when I’d see Lisa.  The sun finally did come up and the temperature did a bit as well.  It got up to about 46 during the warmest part of the day before dipping back down to the low teens once the sun hibernated again.  I was having a great day for about the first 30 miles then I tore something in my left knee that progressively got worse for the next 12 miles.  At about mile 42 it was so painful and uncomfortable that it was a struggle to walk much less run. I was about 98% sure I was going to drop when I decided to change shoes and put this compression sleeve around the knee. I then rolled the sleeve up and down until the pressure was so intense that I could barely feel anything.  The knee was still painful but with every step thereafter I was able to block it out more and more.  I then began to run more and walk less and thoughts of dropping started to recede from my mind with each mile I was able to click off.  I think the extreme cold helped once the sun went down. It was distracting and helped take my focus off my knee. I knew I likely could do serious damage to my knee and be out of commission for awhile, but I was on a PR pace and in the Top 10 for most of the day so as a stubborn ultramarathoner I kept ‘falling forward.’  I wasn’t fluid with my running over the last 60-70 miles, but I gave it everything I could.  I was able to finish with a new PR, a top 5 finish, and an age group win.  – October 6, 2012
  23. Javelina Jundred 100K (62.0) – 16:33:34 – This was by far my worst race of the year and perhaps my life.  I signed up for the 100 miler yet had only been hiking since Yellowstone since my knee was still jacked up and on strike. I think my meniscus was torn.  So my first step of JJ was the first I had run in almost a month. I didn’t know how my knee would hold up or respond until landing that first time.  I found out it wasn’t 100%, but it was never a concern for me on this day as too many other things turned out to be more pressing and depressing.  My first loop and a half (roughly 21 miles) I was great and ran extremely well. Then when I hit my second drop bag on the second loop everything went south. Like south of Hades south!  I drank a couple of Boosts, had some food, and switched water bottles since my strap had broken on my main one.  I don’t know if it was the JJ water or food poisoning but over the next few hours I visited the porta-potty about 15x and in a not to be shielded from the intense sun kind of way.  From that mile 22 point for the next 5-6 miles I was in a bad place.  I felt like I was getting stabbed in my stomach to the point I couldn’t even walk. Someone or something was holding me hostage within my stomach and they weren’t exactly abiding by the constitution. All I could do was bend over to my toes and wait for it to subside a bit so I could slowly walk some more.  At one point there was no porta-potty for at least 3 miles and I needed one bad so I wandered off into the desert (no trees) and finally found a small incline that would have to suffice as a prop.  From there, which was pretty low, I didn’t think it could get any worse but it did.  A few minutes later I was on all 4’s between two cacti puking once then twice. Dozens of runners passed, some laughing, as I was just happy to still be alive.  The puking helped a little. I was able to walk slowly after that. All I wanted to do was get to the aid station at 28 for porta again and then walk the 2 miles back to headquarters at 30 and drop. So I’m walking slowly towards 28 when I scoot over slightly for a runner to pass when I suddenly feel this piercing, striking pain in my right thigh. I look down and this cactus ball had jumped off the cactus and stapled itself through my shorts with over 100 of it’s barbed needles.  I had no words. I tried to pull it off and it wouldn’t come off.  I then decided to run with it before deciding better that I needed to get it out or it might cause some sort of infection or be poisonous.  So i finally grabbed the bottom of my shorts and ripped them away from my skin as hard as I could and it violently came off leaving 60-80 needles still lodged in my skin. I stopped to take them out one by one as I was literally shaking my head in disbelief.  Finally, un-barbed, I began my march again.  The Garmin data would later tell me I put down a 48-minute mile during this stretch. My stomach was still a mess, ginger wasn’t helping, and I was trying to get back to mile 30 so I could drop and go back to the hotel.  I finally finished the loop and I was still sick yet for some odd reason, instead of heading to the car, I took that first step onto the third lap (walking) as I did slowly for the next six miles. Finally, I started to feel a bit better and ran pretty well from 36 to about mile 50.  That is when the sun started to set. I also realized that due to my stomach that I had not consumed any calories in hours.  That reason along with the tricky footing in the dark among the rocks made me start to reevaluate my goal.  I didn’t want to injure my knee worse, and I also knew I’d have a hard time catching up on calories.  I then decided to make it back around to the headquarters and take the 100K finish that is offered for finishing 4 loops and count my blessings that I was able to push through for 40 more miles and finish 100k after my intense brush with the dark side earlier during the race.  I felt pleased with my effort and what I had overcome on this day to accomplish a meager 100k. One that will never come close to the personal record books but that will never, ever be forgotten. – October 27, 2012
  24. Catalina Eco Marathon (26.2) – 4:40:32 – This was a very beautiful race on Catalina Island. It’s a small island that takes 1-hour to get to from Los Angeles. If you can survive the ferry ride without losing your breakfast then that’s half the battle.  This was another race where we gained around 1,500 feet the first 4 miles before it leveled for some fun and scenic running. It was extremely windy throughout this one and it felt at times as if it was going to blow some of us off the cliffs.  I ran well until around mile 18 or 19 when I hit the Catalina Crush. I was already starting to be crushed before it, but the CC is a climb that can’t be run by us mortals. It’s extremely steep as you can only stare at the heavens as you walk up it.  I managed over the next 3 miles or so and then ran strong down the semi-technical trail for the last 3 miles back to the finish.  A must-do race if possible or within your budget. I’ll be back to this one at some point for sure.  I enjoyed meeting RIF #69 Nadia Ruiz Gonzales and Aaron Nowlin on the ferry over to Catalina. – November 10, 2012
  25. Malibu International Marathon (26.2) – 4:21:15 – RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales picked me up and hauled my tired legs and body to the start line of this one in Malibu. The first 10-12 miles is inland and boring. My legs were bored and tired as well from the beating they took the day before at Catalina. But around mile 12 we reached the ocean and ran on the Pacific Coast Highway along the ocean all the way back to Zuma Beach in Malibu. It was beautiful, scenic, and I saw a couple of dolphins jumping in and out of the water as I was running. It’s flat with a handful of medium sized hills near the end. – November 11, 2012
  26. Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon (26.2) – 3:49:30 – My favorite road marathon of the year and one of my all-time favorite races. I had to start with the early-starters due to a death in the family.  I missed out on some of the festivities having to do that but still had a lot of fun running this race on what turned out to be a cold November morning.  I was the first across the finish line (of the early starters 😉 ) Many more finished ahead of me from the regular field. This race is such a great homecoming of great runners and friends from across the South.. The post-race spread is worth the price of admission itself.  Big thanks to RIF #57 Trent Rosenbloom for all the hard work he puts into making this event great. Thanks to RIF #151 Chris Estes and RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales meeting me before the early start. – November 18, 2012
  27. Black Diamond 40 Miler (40.5) – 6:22:48 – Another race I put together that went extremely well according to those that took part. RIF #65 Jonathan Harrison set a blistering pace for the first 30 miles as I couldn’t catch him. Then as we approached Humboldt I started to gain ground and passed him once we made it into the city. I felt good for the first 34 and PR’d 50K and other splits.  I ended up winning this race by about 9 minutes (and a new 40 mile PR). I had such fun watching several RIF club members set PL’s (personal longs) in knocking back 40 miles for the first time. – November 23, 2012
  28. Death Valley Trail Marathon (26.2) – 3:57:02 – There was great weather this year for the Death Valley Marathon after the wind cancelled the official version last year. This race has a slow gradual climb up until about mile 12.5. From that point it drops from 5,300 ft down to sea level (0) at the finish.  It was all about the Quad City DJ’s on that intense downhill. I left everything on the course and ran it as if I didn’t have another marathon scheduled for the next day.  I’d highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a challenging race with unique and powerful views along the way. – December 1, 2012
  29. Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon (26.2) – 4:14:51 – Dead legs and just an overall cranky body from the Death Valley Trail Marathon the day before made for a miserable first 16 miles in Sin City. I ran into RIF #114 Rigoberto Tellez at mile 16 and seeing a fellow RIFer, that I was not expecting to see, among the masses picked up my spirits. We ran together and paced each other for the next four miles. I picked up the pace from there and finished with a decent overall finish. I had calculated around mile 15 I was on pace for a horrible 4:45 finish so I was pumped with how it ended up turning out. I also enjoyed meeting and talking to RIF #20 Laura Raeder before the start of the race. RNR did a great job fixing the problems with this race from the year before. – December 2, 2012
  30. Lookout Mountain 50 Miler (50.0) – 10:24:06 – LM50 was my first 50 miler a couple of years prior. I had no clue what I was doing that day back in 2010. Luckily, I’ve raced a lot since then and learned a lot along the way. I was curious to see how much I had improved since that first time on Lookout.  I came in with tired legs and a couple of nagging things but overall I felt pretty good.  Two years ago I ran this race in 13:02:23.  I ran well for the first 25 miles and had a nice split, but from 28-38 something didn’t feel right. I was off and struggled through those miles. However, I was able to sew it back together, and I finished strong over the last twelve miles and was very pleased with my time, knocking almost 2 hours and 40 minutes off my 2010 time.  However, my favorite part of this race was getting to run it with several RIF members including RIF #57 Trent Rosenbloom and RIF #65 Jonathan Harrison and  seeing RIF #83 Brad Box, RIF #221 Karl Studtmann, RIF #166 Nathan Judd, and RIF #185 David Pharr complete their first 50 miler.  It was a great event, and I hope to be back again next year.- December 15, 2012
  31. Trail of Fears (10 Hours) – 43.0 miles – A race I put together based on Laz’s Big Dog Backyard Ultra with a few tweaks and changes to it. The basis of the race being that runners have 60 minutes to complete a 4.3 mile trail loop. If they couldn’t then they were eliminated or if they didn’t toe the starting line for the restart of the race every hour they were eliminated as well until one runner remains standing.  The time was dropped by a minute after four loops/hours and eventually got down to 50 minutes for the last loop. I got in 10 loops/43 miles and was pleased with my effort. I could have done a bit more, but I wanted to take over as RD and cheer my friends along and enjoy the show.  A great day and event as I got to witness many friends and Run It Fast – Club members go further and beyond distances they had done before.  I was 85% sure it would be my last race of the year.  – December 22, 2012
  32. Across The Years (24 Hours) – 100.8 miles in 19:49:39 – Well it turned out I had one more race in 2012 to run. I felt like I needed one more long tune up before the HURT 100 in January so I decided to drive over to Phoenix for the ATY 24.  A race I’d been eying for several years. I had wanted to do the 72-hour, but I knew I needed to play it safe and run the 24.  This is a great event where a lot of really cool runners show up to hang out and put down a lot of miles. I enjoyed running with RIF #66 Robert Boluyt and RIF #121 Ed Ettinghausen. I put down some fast splits for the first 30 miles then struggled mightily from 30-40. Mostly it was just tired legs and a bit of fatigue. During this time, Vikena Yutz gave me some great advice that helped with my dead/tired legs the rest of the way.  For several miles from 30-40 I just hoped to get to 50 so I could call it a day, but I hit 50 and kept going. I was on a PR/sub-20 pace and I kept nailing my splits as I crept towards the century mark.  It helped drive me that I had never gone sub-20 hour before for a 100.  Long story short is that I had it timed perfectly to go sub-20. Then another runner reminded me for the math to work right I’d actually be going 100.8 miles.  So I pushed hard the last 10 miles to make up for that extra 0.8 and ended up hitting 100.0 in 19:39 and 100.8 where I stopped in 19:49:39.  I could have easily kept going or walked the last four hours and won the event (as it turned out), but I did well to keep my focus on the HURT 100 and not getting hurt at ATY. Another great event that I hope to be back at in 2013.  – December 29, 2012
All the Smaller Races of 2012

  1. Denmark Dash 5K (3.1) – 19:50 – Ran pretty well. Finished 8th overall, 2nd age group. – February 25, 2012
  2. Run for Haiti 5K (3.1) – 20:47 – Finished 3rd overall, 1st age group. – April 14, 2012
  3. Milan Glow in the Dark 5K (3.1) – 20:47 – Pretty warm nighttime 5K. Finished 2nd overall, 1st age group – April 19, 2012
  4. West TN Speech & Hearing 5K (3.1) – 21:50 – Cold and very windy. Ran poorly. 8th overall, small field. 1st of 2 races on this day. – April 21, 2012
  5. Leadership Jackson 10K (6.2) – 44:08 – Ran well after doing a 5K right before this one.  Finished 2nd overall, 1st age group. – April 21, 2012
  6. Strawberry Festival 10K (6.2) – 43:11 – Planned to take it easy. I was in 10th place after three miles then everyone in front of me peeled off for the 5K finish so I had no choice but to Run It Fast and win this one. – May 12, 2012
  7. Zoom thru the Zoo 4 Miler (4.0) – 28:25 – A very hot and humid afternoon in Memphis. I gave a strong effort and finished 31st out of about 1,200 runners.  – May 24, 2012
  8. Buford Pusser 5K (3.1) – 20:57 – One of my favorite 5K’s in West TN.  It’s always hot, humid, and very sunny for this one.  I finished 6th overall, 1st in my age group.  – May 26, 2012
  9. Milan Knock Out Cancer 5K (3.1) – 21:02 – Small field of 20 runners. I won this one. It was hot and humid and no one was close to me for the last 1.5 miles. 21:02 should never win a 5K though, even in the Sahara.  – May 28, 2012
  10. Bluesfest 5K (3.1) – 19:32 – Hot June day. I ran well and scored a new PR while finishing 4th overall and 1st in my age group. – June 2, 2012

I want to thank all the great people in the Run It Fast family, my friends, and especially my family for all of their support in helping make 2012 such a great success for me. Remember that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. The mind is stronger than the body. – joshua holmes

Posted in Marathon, Race Reports, Running, Ultra MarathonComments (1)

Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon Medal – 2012 – Run It Fast

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Medals (2012)

Here are the finisher medals from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon (below) that took place on December 2, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Solid medal from the Rock ‘n’ Roll series that is a bit similar to last year’s version.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Marathon medal photo submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – Follow him on Twitter @bayou. Half Marathon medal photo submitted by Chris McCartney – Follow him on Twitter @mccartneycl12]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Half Marathon, Marathon, MedalsComments (0)

Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Pete 1/2 Marathon Logo

Runners Hating Competitor Over Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Pete 1/2 Marathon Now

Competitor, the for-profit group that owns and puts on the popular, yet controversial Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon and 1/2 marathon races is not making too many new friends with the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Pete 1/2 Marathon that takes place this weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida (event website).

The biggest complaint this time is the unexpected costs and inconveniences that runners anticipate encountering on Sunday, February 12, 2012.

Rock ‘n’ Roll events are pricey. For this 1/2 marathon it is costing runners north of $105.00 ($125.00 if you sign up at the Expo on Saturday).  That is a lot of money for a HALF MARATHON. Almost $10 bucks a mile! Ouch!!!

But no one is forcing runners to pay that much and Rock ‘n’ Roll/Competitor is having record turnouts across the country.  I have stopped running the more expensive races myself.  I did get into the 2012 Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon with some heavy discounts for $40.

I run lots of marathons and ultras. I try to have a simple formula on what I’m willing to pay for a race. I usually try to not pay more than $3/mile.  So roughly my limit for a 26.2 mile marathon is $78.60.  For an ultra-marathon it’s more like $2/mile (50 miler @ $100/limit or 100 miler @ $200/limit).

But normally I tend to try to stay away from RNR events, especially after the disaster on the Las Vegas strip this past December during the 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon (and Half Marathon).

So why exactly are RNR St. Pete runners upset according to WTSP 10 in Tampa/St. Pete?

In addition to the $100+ entry to run, runners are being charged:

  • $15 to park at the Expo on Friday or Saturday to pick up their race bib
  • $15 to park near the start of the RNR St. Pete 1/2 on Sunday
  • $10 to get a shuttle ride from the finish line of the race back to their car or walking 45 minutes back (the race finishes 2.3 miles from the start).

To quote an agree Facebook poster, “That’s absurd!  Pay to run, pay to park, pay to get to start/finish.  Just raise the entry fee and quit nickel and diming everyone!”

And that pretty much sums it up! However, if you are going to run a RNR event or a race in a large city then you should be prepared for additional costs and inconveniences.

Rock ‘n’ Roll isn’t without its flaws though as was mentioned repeatedly here after the trainwreck that was Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas (see HERE).

Big events can be fun but the true beauty of running is often found at smaller races where you can actually run without obstruction and without stress.

Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Pete is expecting over 8,000 runners for the inaugural event.

Related: The Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon Full of Sin

[RNR marathons run: RNR Las Vegas (2x), RNR Country Music (2x), RNR San Diego (very first marathon), RNR New Orleans]

[source: WTSP Tampa]

Posted in Half Marathon, RunningComments (2)

Mandalay Bay – Las Vegas Marathon

Competitors Silly and InSINcere Offer for Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon Victims

Those of us that were lucky enough to survive the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon or Half Marathon (Full Story) earlier this month received an email from Competitor (company that puts the race on) today offering us $50 off the entry fee for Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona that takes place on January 15, 2011.

  1. Offer was made via email today, Dec 13, for a race on January 15, 2012.  Very tough and short window for runners to plan and arrange travel/training.
  2. $135 – $50 is still $85 to run Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona. Add in travel (gas, plane, rental car) and hotel and you are going to be down $500-$1,000 to run a race you didn’t want to run in the first place (or else you would have already signed up for it.)  $50 off is a small percentage of the cost it would actually take to run the race.
  3. Almost all RNR LV runners that plan to run RNR AZ have already signed up and paid full price for it.
  4. Offer was likely made knowing that very few could accept it.  That way Competitor can say, ‘Hey, we tried to make up for our mistakes at Las Vegas.”
  5. Competitor/Rock ‘n’ Roll is not going to get the benefit of the doubt from anyone anymore.
  6. Most runners I’ve talked to seem to agree. Insincere offer. Some deleted it immediately as they broke out the SMH!
  7. Some believe it’s a way to fill a race that hasn’t sold out yet.
  8. While some runners have sworn to me they will never run another RNR event even if it was free.
  9. Runners by and large are whiners or running divas, but what went down in Vegas was absurd. After the merge, every runner’s safety and health was in peril unless you were an elite or at the head of the pack for either race.
  10. The offer would have had legs if it had been for $50 off of any RNR race in 2012.

Competitor is right to offer something to try to smooth over what went down on December 4, 2011, but this offer is coming across to runners as an offer that most are unable to accept for a variety of reasons.

What happened that night in Vegas for sure didn’t stay in Vegas.  Competitor’s reputation, which was already mud among marathon veterans, is at an all-time low with almost all runners that were in Vegas.

40,000 runners ran that night. Those 40,000 runners have lots of running friends. Word of mouth is believable due to the heavy amount of complaints coming from an array of runners and stories on the news and in print.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Facebook page has been an endless ticker of negativity and hatred towards Competitor.

The CEO of Competitor, Peter Englehart, called me late last week and he did seem sincere in listening and wanting to find out everything that went wrong in Las Vegas so they could make changes for 2012.

I bet you can’t MERGE this offer with any other discount codes!!

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

How bad was Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas? Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon Full of Sin

Dirty Rumors from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon

2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Medals

[photo of runners trapped inside the Mandalay Bay. via A Trail Runner’s Blog]

Posted in Half Marathon, Marathon, RunningComments (8)

Las Vegas Marathon Start Area

Dirty Rumors from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon

 

There has been a lot of filth to come out the the 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and 1/2 Marathon that took place this past Sunday night in Sin City.

A lot of it has been true while some other tidbits seem exaggerated, distorted, or simply false.

Here are a few of the more scandalous rumors that I’ve come across in the past couple of days:

  1. “read the comments on the rnr page. Kate (Gosselin) didn’t run the race. She was on the sidelines and riding to the checkpoints on someones tomos scooter and at every checkpoint, the announcers gave platitudes to Kate and none of the other runners. Pissed many of the committed runners off.
    It was a paid appearance to garner support for a race and a charity that isn’t a 501c3 organization and like everything in Las Vegas, what happens there, stays there. Her bodyguard didn’t walk the entire course carrying a pink handbag. He was on a scooter pacing her for 3 miles and then picking her up and pacing the race to keep the shoe tag legit. When they came to a checkpoint at 500 feet, Kate jumped off as the crowd and contestants were too busy to notice. Kate made all the check points. She actually completed the marathon but she didn’t do it toe to heel. – Comment by Kim left on Reality TV Star Kate Gosselin Finishes RNR Las Vegas Marathon
  2. Shenanigans by the Competitor CEO and his wife, in taking 1st Place AG for the Half! As exposed by journalist Don Pemberton – “calling Shenanigans on the CEO of Competitor Group and his wife. They ran the Las Vegas half marathon together, as a wedding couple, supposedly attended the run-thru-wedding chapel on the course, and somehow both managed to win their age divisions with a 6:31 avg pace. They wore each other’s bib numbers – technically you can be DQ’d for wearing someone elses number. They have NO split times for the 5k and 10k marks. AND – their bib numbers indicate that they should have started in the last corral. How did they manage to run a 1:25:16 half marathon, starting in the last corral thus having to weave thru all the walkers, and attend a wedding?!? SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!” – Marathon Maniac FB page
  3. The bananas were green! 😉 – Stated by 578 running divas on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Facebook Page

The above are just rumors being floated out there and haven’t been verified except for #3.  Although, some have stated that bananas had turned yellow by the time the last of the half marathoners had reached them.

Everything else that we know went wrong and made this event sub-par can be found in this post: The Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Full of Sin

Have another dirty rumor from the most scandalous marathon of 2011? If so then drop it in the comments.

Posted in Half Marathon, Marathon, RunningComments (2)

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon Medal – Kate Gosselin

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Medals (2011)

It was a trainwreck on Sunday night in Las Vegas at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon but a few survived…and some of us even received a medal for finishing.

For the rest of you? You can expect to receive your medal in 4-6 weeks according to the Competitor Group. Running out of medals at any event is a disaster, but it was the least of the disasters Sunday night (Full Story).

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Marathon medal photo via Kate Gosselin.  Half Marathon photo submitted by Lisa Gonzales. Follow her on Twitter @runlikeacoyote]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Marathon, Medals, Ultra MarathonComments (0)

Kate Gosselin Start Line Las Vegas Marathon

Reality TV Star Kate Gosselin Finishes Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon

Reality TV star Kate Gosselin who rose to fame on Jon & Kate Plus 8 ran her first marathon on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

She finished the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon in 4:59:21.

Gosselin ran the first half in 2:15:51 before hitting the massive traffic jam of half marathoners on Las Vegas Boulevard (Full Story HERE).

Kate tweeted earlier today, “Good day, all!2 days post marathon &I’m feeling pretty good..still really tired but focusing on what’s next..&still basking in it all!:)”

Gosselin went on to tweet, “So sore last pm-hard X walking..but today less sore&back in heels!:) Yes, ready to start training for next 1…to beat my X!”

So it seems Kate has the marathon bug.  Congrats to her and the inspiration she likely will become for her many followers on Twitter and television.

Follow Kate Gosselin on Twitter

Posted in Celebrities, Marathon, RunningComments (6)

RNR Las Vegas Marathon

The Nightmare on the Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Full of Sin

I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon last night and it was the worst put on marathon that I’ve ever toed the starting line for.  I’ve run 42 marathons/ultras and this one took the cake for futility by a long shot.

8,000 of us full marathoners started at 4:00pm with 36,000 half marathoners starting at 5:30pm.  The full marathoners started and immediately left the strip for about 85 turns in the first 13 miles before we returned to the strip.  When we did we merged with the half marathoners onto 2 and 3 lanes of the road. Most of us merging were relatively fast marathoners. Not superstars but not near the back of the pack either. We were merging with half marathon corrals 30-44….slower half marathoners that were dominating all lanes of the road.  Not all but many of which were walking.

The marathoners were supposed to have the far left lane but it was unenforced and unenforceable.

Bedlam ensued!

Runners were pushing slower runners out of the way. Walkers were hitting runners with their swinging arms. Several runners bit the asphalt. Runners were having to hop the sidewalk, when possible, to get past slow logjams.  Runners were cussing at other runners and walkers.

I overhead a pious marathoner on the plane this morning say this. “I was running and these two walkers were swinging their arms wide leaving me no room. So I pushed their arms out of the way and ran through them.  They called me a ‘f**ing a**hole’ and I yelled back to them, ‘Maybe if you were faster you could speed up and kick my a**.'”

Just horrible!

I’ve read several tweets about runners having to be rushed to the hospital last night because of the conditions and over-crowding.

And you can imagine when a combined 40,000 runners plus would come upon 3 tables of water or Cytomax that the pushing, shoving and slowdown only intensified.

Rumor has it that the RNR people want to have 61,000 at the race next year to set the world record.  If they allow that many runners in next year without extreme improvement then an even bigger disaster awaits them.

I felt bad for runners running their first full or half marathon.  What a bad experience and taste to be left in one’s mouth from this marathon of a disaster. I hope they find a smaller, more organic race in the near future to baptise them anew with how great and fun our sport can be under better circumstances.

Everyone I’ve talked to that ran was upset and outraged in a similar fashion.  Some of the best complaints were on the RNR Las Vegas Marathon/Half Marathon Facebook page.

Comments from Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon Facebook Page:

Holly Miller – What is the value of a full marathon medal when you hand them out to half marathon participants? Sad and disappointed to hear the bands complaining that their fingers hurt, and the cherry on top- green bananas! I ran California International Marathon in the morning before running Vegas that night and I am blown away that for half the price CIM offered a significantly better experience.

Philip Rupp – This marathon was my 13th marathon that I have done. I have done small races that have less then 1,000 people and large races like NY and Chicago. But I have to say I would not recommend for any to do this marathon. I would recommend the half. The full is not worth it. They might as well just get rid of the marathon and only have the half. 3,766 finishers in the full and 33,123 in the half. Us in the full were treated like second class citizens and we paid more to do the race. Also agreed very unsafe.

Jason Turner – This is one of those rare occasions that a dis like or extemely dislike button would be incredibly useful on facebook. After having to literally run 3 miles from Wynn to the start, because the shuttles abandoned a few hundred people at Wynn, I found the course poorly laid out and cramped. Total crap I want a refund.

Violeta Lopez – Well I know you have been bombarded by ugly comments, its my third year running LV ..planning to go back every year EVEN if it goes UP to $175 which is kind of ridiculous… anyways I ran the full, the cut out for it was 4:30… how can u expect runners to finish in that time if there was so many Half marathoners walking right after we hit the strip, I think you planning this to be a Half marathMaybe poles with a string to divide the side for the half and the full like in the SF marathon at the Golden Bridge, Im not blaming any half marathoners here its just you and your bad organization on this event, we are already tired from running 13.1 to be putting up with this mess, not to mention the price we did PAY for it!!! thank you and i hope in one future you will solve this problem i think is a pretty neat idea but it needs to be planned a little more!

Lisa Miller – I have participated in over 20 marathons/half-marathons and the logistics following this one were the worst ever. I was one of the thousands of people trapped in the Mandalay Bay walkways with no where to go. The crowd wasn’t moving, people were trying to go in opposite directions and people were passing out all around me. It took over 30 minutes for security personnel to arrive and attempt to disperse the crowds. Once the crowds started moving there were over a dozen people on the ground that had to be treated by emergency personnel. This was definitely a nightmare!

Jason Lee Schenck – Ok, I have to get this off my chest. So, I finished the first half in 1:49, so I had a decent pace going…until we merged with the halfers. Many were walking in the marathon lane and slowed my pace to 11:00/mile. When a group of girls were walking in the marathon lane and I couldn’t get around them, I yelled, “Half to the right…please!”. One of the girls turned around got in my face & yelled..

Greta Hanson – Am completely blown away by the overwhelming lack of response by the RNR team and those who support this page. Their lack of communication and acknowledgement of what went down last night puts the final nail in the coffin: I will never run another RNR rave or event put on by Competitor. It’s clear they have no concern for the runners or their experience.

Walt Schneider – Little tired of the “What did you expect?” comments. If you are a runner and you signed up for a “Marathon”, I think you would expect it to be conducted like a Marathon and not just a clever title like the World’s Largest Night Run.

Charlene Ragsdale – You money hungry mongers! U were so ill equipped to handle this event. I spent the night in the hospital because of your lack of willingness to provide medical care. I am a 1:44 half.marathoner and hv run several night races. I am done with RnR. Hope you get sued.

Jenee’ Blundell – I won’t repost all of the previous complaints about the race itself, which are valid in my opinion. But I feel the need to repost to the half marathoners…as said previously us marathoners had a tiny, broke up, slanted, wet part of the road you all had a very large space. I spent my second half jumping up and down curbs and dodging half marathoners that were in our lane. I was pissed every time I had to scurry around a half marathoner that was rudely in our section! Respect the distance of the marathon and respect fellow runners. I love runners because everyone is so positive and encouraging and we support one another in our efforts to reach our goals. I wasn’t feeling that last night.

John Valli – I volunteered in medical at the finish line but I spent most of the time in (attempted) crowd control since it is hard to spot somebody fall when 500 people are jammed into such a small area. I saw lots of bottlenecks at photos and medals but was unable to do anything about it. I know they were well short on volunteers this year but even apart from that as has been stated many times, there just wasn’t enough planning to make a 40,000+ person race run smooth.

Gael Henville – If you want to right all of the wrongs of yesterday; you should consider the power of your bosses: runners. I do hope your PR folks are hard at work with a satisfactory response and a respectful compensation for yesterday’s epic disaster of a race. To not address these issues in a timely manner would be a great injustice to me and my fellow running mates. In advance, thank you.

Karen Schroeder – This race was ridiculous. I can’t believe you all actually CHOSE to put that many people on the strip and START them so that they could run together. That togetherness was an utter nightmare. You cost a lot of people their PRs and caused too many injuries related to over crowding. I’m sorry, Rock and Roll, but you’ve lost many customers. Get your stuff together. I’m leaving extremely frustrated that I invested and actually PAID for this “experience.”

Rachna Sizemore Heizer – And the half marathoners who complained about being asked to leave the 3 feet wide lane allotted to the full marathoners – really?? You all had 90% of the road and you complained about being asked to move into your own lane? The marathoners were given the worst part of the street – the slant of the road, the sticky part next to the water tables AND the widest turns on all the turns and you still complained because you couldn’t have the entire road to your disposal?? Respect the distance we were running and your fellow runners. Shame on you.

Jon Chernila – The crowding at the merge of the full with the half should not have come as a surprise to RnR. I passed on a chance to pace the 3:50 group once I figure out this WAS going to happen. I emailed the RD and posted about it on this page a couple months ago. With a 90 minute start differential, only the fastest marathoners were going to get past the merge without a crowd. Starting the full 30-45 minutes earlier would have solved most of the problem.

Steve Reincke – As a runner that trained for 7 months to do a 3:40 full I was on track until I hit the WALL of people at the 1/2. No control of the Full vs. Half lanes was so disappointing! Ran 8:04 miles for the first 1/2 then over 10 minutes per mile killed my opportunity for PR. TOO many runners for too narrow of a course. GREED rears it’s ugly head on the LV R&R Marathon!

DeAnn Mena – My very first half marathon event so I really don’t have much to compare it too. However what happened inside the mandalay bay was absolutely horrible, unsafe, and totally inexcusable. Running out of water, citomax, was also very unsafe!!! Not having enough medals for people is just downright rediculous. And wtf is up with your sizing chart of the tshirts?

Jennifer Lucas – The actual half course was great! The amount of people on the course that were clueless about race edicate was dangerous. The volunteers needed better information and commitment. With 44,000 people and compact conditions PEOPLE WITH HIKING/WALKING POLES, DOGS ON LEASHES AND BABY STROLLERS SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO RACE AND REMOVED IMMEDIATELY.

Kelsey Sibanda – I ran the half and felt awful for the marathoners. Bummer that they shoved you all into a sliver of the road and didn’t clearly mark where the line was. And I’m still not sure how so many walkers were in front of me. That is just bad etiquette. Stay with your corral and if you need to walk a little, stay to the right for everyone’s safety.

Raegan Carter – This was my first RnR event and my first half marathon. I started in corral 39 since I knew I’d be slow. First half of the race was fine (except for tying to stay out of the way of the marathoners- why the hell they planned it to merge marathoners with half-ers who planned to finish in 3:30 is beyond me), second half was horrible. Water and cytomax were gone by the time I got to the stations.

Rosie Bava – I’ve never been told to f*ck off or shut up by so many half marathoners who I dodged or politely asked to move out of the way.

Tava Bingham – What happened in Vegas clearly did not stay in Vegas. Surprised neither Rock ‘n’ Roll nor Competitor have made a statement.

Nancy Howard – If participation is anything more than what it was this year (rumor has it in the 60,000 range), TRUST ME, I will NOT be back. While I do appreciate walker participation, to have them walk 4-5 abreast was just too much. This race and the expense of traveling to this event left a very bitter experience. I must say not one person I have spoken with has not had at least one negative comment…the biggest for me…getting stuck at the finish line and unable to cross the mat due to the traffic jam. Thankfully this was not my first nor a race I was trying to PR

Denise Clancy Zack – Lackluster ending to a bitter-sweet journey… RnR 1/2 #10 ROCK IDOL for me. Felt great stopping at marathon mile 25 to help a marathoner in trouble get back on track and get her across the finish line… Only to find out there were no finisher medals left, no-post race fuel, volunteers all gone, photo guys wrapping up… and I wasn’t even last! Before you decide to host an event with this many folks again – you should make sure you have all your “medals” in a row… especially with all the money folks spend to make these events successful.

Bill Egan – First and Last Las Vegas R n R even for my wife, sister and me! Not worth repeating all the fails. Will recommend to all in the Phx area to stay away.

Elizabeth Bittner – the Vegas race chaotic! They had the Full runners meet up with the Halfer around the mid point which made it super crowded. One guy actually pushed me aside and said “get out of the way of the elite runners!”

Tara Boyle – The coordinators should be removed and an apology issued to those of us who participated and a meeting with city officials to coordinate a better route for the race, more blocked off safety for the marathon course to keep it separate from the 1/2 and actual provisions on the race route. Thanks for the pamphlet on safety and hydration – how about you read it before the next event.

Brian Pursel – I felt really bad for the marathoners. I was (on the right side of the cones) near the 3:20 pacer and witnessed a lot of angry and frustrated marathoners getting trapped by half marathoners in the left lane. I blame the organizers for poor communication and enforcement. Many first time half marathoners probably had no idea they were sharing the road with full marathoners until hearing “HALF MARATH

Breanna Rebman – I’m very sad that a good course and a great first half marathon run was overshadowed by the scary chaos at the end…I questioned after last night whether this was my first and last half …luckily many have told me that wasn’t typical…I will probably do another but I really hope I am not disappointed again

Christie Henderson – My running partner and I trained our hearts out for a personal best marathon and ended up smack in the middle of the 2.5hr half marathon crowd back at Mandalay. We ended up at 3:54 vs 3:40 and I have bruised ribs from being elbowed by slower runners in the marathon lane. Great scenery for 12 of the 42k. Mixing marathoners with halfers in that fashion is not good for anyone. Great city – disappointing the race went the way it did.

Jen Lee – Wow where to start? positives: the strip was beautiful. Negatives: what everyone else is saying-I’m too sore to type—first race I’ve been this sore after…since I had to run around everyone, jump curbs, zig zag and try to tread lightly over all the empty gel packs/water cups-eventually I knew there was no hope of recovering my usual pace.

Kate Spencer – I got so sick – nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, that I ended up in the hospital, this marathon is going to cost me a lot more than the entry fee!! Cytomax and bad water???

Dawn Hurley-Trogdon – 4th year running the strip. This year compares to how the race was organized before RnR took over. Sad for Vegas!! And of course all of us 44k runners.

Stephanie Stinson Barras – Just got a “sorry we ran out medals here is $10 off for your next race” email. Seriously?! I can get $10 with any random discount code. EPIC FAIL!!!

Sintasera Sorbetes – This is my 3rd half marathon this year and it was very disorganized. I also saw a lot of runners LITERALLY pushing others out of the way and hitting the volunteers with empty cups of water (some filled with a little water)…I had to stop and apologize on behalf of these people who were very rude. This is my first and definitely my last Rock n’ Roll marathon. It’s a shame since I actually encouraged at least 5 other people to join and some of them were traumatized by this event. NEVER. AGAIN.

Las Vegas Review Journal: Las Vegas Marathon Runners Say They Were Sickened by Bad Water

Did you run it? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Posted in Half Marathon, Marathon, RunningComments (30)



Run It Fast on Twitter

twitter button free

Archives