A while ago, I had a really good friend of mine from college come to Las Vegas on business. We spoke beforehand and promised to contact each other when she arrived to meet up and catch up. Our original plan was for me to head down to the Las Vegas strip and we’d meet and have a few drinks. Well, there were a couple of issues with this plan: my work demands and those of my family. As hard as we tried, we just couldn’t get it to work. Add to this the fact that my parents were also in town, the demands on my time were stretched extremely thin.

Ready to succumb to defeat, the running spirits intervened. She had been running in the mornings before her conferences on the strip and I had happened to mention I was going for a long run on Saturday. Well, one thing led to another and we finally scheduled a running date up in Red Rock Canyon for the predawn hours the next day.

Navigating the strip in the early morning hours is a little different from other cities. The streets are not desolate and in fact are filled with the previous nights partygoers finally returning to there wherever they came. Lisa was ready and we headed up into the foothills of the Spring Mountains and up to the canyon in the still sunless sky. I love running while it’s dark and watching the sun rise. It has to be the biggest high I get from running and in Red Rock it’s tenfold.

We setoff from the entrance planning to run to the high point of the loop and then back – 9 miles total. Among the dark shadows of the red and gold sandstone, we talked and ran, talked and ran. There were no interruptions by waiters or struggling to hear one another over a driving beat from the DJ booth. We covered topics from college to what has happened since we last got together many years ago. We arrived at the summit just as the sun reached the top peaks and had someone take the photo above. Now that’s a souvenir that no casino could provide. Learning that a bike race was headed our way, we quickly setoff on our return trip.

While many of us have experienced runs like this before is irrelevant. The point of the story is this: never will I meet an old acquaintance for drinks again. You better hope your a runner because that’s where we’re going if you want to get together. Lisa and I shared a lifetime of memories and stories in the hour and forty minutes running together than we ever would have been able to share anywhere else.

Next time you come to Vegas, bring your running shoes and then give me a holler.

RMFR

It was announced yesterday that the 2011 Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon will now be run at night. Aiming to become the world’s largest nighttime running event, I think Rock-n-Roll has to take a look at some of the details to make this thing work.

The first issue I have are the costs of registration for both the marathon and half marathon. If you register before March 10th you’ll ONLY be paying $121 for either event. If you happen to wait until later in the year, you could end up forking over $155 for the half marathon and $175 for the full marathon. Seriously? $175!!! I can tell you one thing, if these prices do not change, last year was my last year running the marathon in Las Vegas.

The second issue I have is that they put a time limit of 4:30 on the marathon. The marathon starts at 4:00 pm and the half at 5:30 pm. The half time limit has been set at 4 hours. This makes no sense. Not only are you alienating a ton of marathon runners but the math doesn’t add up. Based on these times, the marathon would end at 8:3o pm and the half at 9:30 pm. Why is the cutoff for the full marathon not 9:30 pm? This isn’t the Boston Marathon…never will be.

The final thing that needs to be fixed is the marathon route. If they don’t fix the jigsaw puzzle that constituted last year’s route, they’ll have a hard time retaining any repeat runners to this event in the future. I understand the excitement for first time runners. The strip is quite a site and even more so at night but isn’t worth the hassle if these issues aren’t addressed.

Stay tuned.

RMFR

This past Saturday was the Red Rock Marathon and Half Marathon in Las Vegas and what a great event!!! This demanding course is well worth it for the scenery alone being run in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (just 20 minutes west of the Las Vegas Strip) but what makes it a great event is the event organizers – Calico Racing.

I ran this event last year and loved the organization and attention to details and this year exceeded my already high expectations. From packet pickups on both sides of the valley to the constant email updates runners were kept well informed. Since there is no parking at the Canyon itself, buses transport runners from the Red Rock Hotel & Casino to the starting line every 15-20 minutes. It’s a great place to meet new people and I’d like to give a shout out to Hobey from Seattle (in Las Vegas with his wife for their 25th wedding anniversary) and Bobby from Las Vegas (going for his Calico Slam) – my bus mates to and from the race.

With two starting lines – marathoners started at the finish while the half started at the other end – both were well equipped with food, water and bathrooms. Race director, Joyce Forier, personally sees to the start of both races and seemed to be everywhere at once. Around 600 participated in the half marathon (another 100+ ran the marathon) and while the start of the race was a little tight packed, the group was easily separated when the climbs started. The really cool thing about this race is when the marathoners (who start before the half) meet up with the half marathoners. Constant encouragement (both ways) could be heard up and down the line of runners and really gave the race a hometown feel.

Running this route often, there’s NO WAY I could handle the hills out and back and I’m very content running the route one way. With around 1,800 ft. in elevation change, this is definitely not a race to go hunting a PR on but the challenge of the long climbs and fast descents is a running reward in it’s own right. Since I’ve been hampered with injuries all year long, this race was going to just be a fun run for me. With all races, it didn’t end up that way and I bested my time from last year by over 8 minutes – no worse for wear.

Want to talk about food? By far, the best post race feed I’ve ever experienced. Waiting just past the finish line was the Salvation Army serving up eggs, pancakes, pasta and peach cobbler along with cookies, bagels, fruit, etc. I’m not usually hungry after races but there was not way I was going to pass up this feast.

Calico Racing puts on a series of events in and around Las Vegas. While I’ve only run the Red Rock races, I’m certainly going to sign up for more in the future. If you haven’t run a Calico race in Las Vegas yet, you’re missing out on great smaller races from a well organized and dedicated group of racing professionals.

RMFR

I’ve been struggling as of late so I thought I’d throw a wrench into the workout routine. I went on a trail run. I know for most of you, this isn’t a novel idea but for me I’ve been an “Urban Warrior” since I started running. The crazy thing is, it’s not like I have to go very far to get to the desert and trails – less than a 1/4 mile.

I live on the west side of Las Vegas adjacent to the Spring Mountains and the Red Rock Conservation Area. There’s a lot of construction going on and it’s amazing how easy it was to run up there. There are semi-graded roads that could literally hold four lanes of traffic. This morning, the most they held was myself and a couple of bunnies.

Here’s an aerial of the area (from what I can measure online, it’s about 3 miles up to the first outcroppings of red rock). NOTE: If my family or friends want to know what to get me for my birthday in June, click here or here!!!

I was really hoping for some spirituality this morning taking in God’s creations (being one with my surroundings) and with “God Skys” (right B?) it was looking good from the beginning.

My son doesn't call these "God Skys" but says that people go to heaven by going up the rays of the sun to God.

The climb was steep but I didn’t think about it much. With my mantra by my side and trying to figure out which way to go, it didn’t take too long to reach my destination.

This goes back forever and I can't wait to get a descent pair of trail shoes and an entire morning to explore how far back these trails goes.

The way back down was a piece of cake and took about 15 minutes less than it took to get up here. I “hanked” a left when I should have gone straight and came out 1/2 mile from where I entered. It’s funny how things look entirely strange from a different perspective.

This photo is from my highest point. The red circle indicates the Las Vegas strip. The yellow circle is the Red Rock Resort.

The point of this entire post is that changing things up is good…no GREAT!!! Was I fully energized? No. Was I fully in a meditative state with God? No. Was my running desire restored? You bet your “Slump Buster”!!! Now I’m going to pick up a pair of Nike Air Terra Humara’s tomorrow.

As we enter triple digit temperatures here in Las Vegas for the next 5 months, I’m already daydreaming about the fall and winter race schedule. This year it filled up pretty quickly without much thought having been put into it. I’m dying to get back on a training program because not having one leaves room for skipping workouts. Here’s the schedule and a review of each:

2009 Disneyland Half Marathon
September 6
This will be the third year in a row that I will have run this family-oriented race. The course runs through Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks as well as the well manicured streets of Anaheim. While running through the parks is an event to itself there is a small let down as you head out on the streets during miles 4-8. Things again get interesting as you run by the Honda Center (home of the Anaheim Ducks), down the Santa Ana Trial (flanking the Santa Ana river), around/thru (ran the foul lines in 2007 and thru the “A” in 2008) Angel Stadium until heading back thru California Adventure and Downtown Disney to the finish. Running thru the parks with the characters and employees is awesome and the community support with bands and cheerleaders is second to none.

Ragnar Relay Las Vegas
October 9-10
(Valley of Fire to Las Vegas)
I’ve been interested in the Ragnar Relays since seeing their booth at my very first expo in 2006. Now they are finally coming to me and I’m pumped. This isn’t set in stone as of yet, but I’m working on a team as we speak. The relay calls for teams made up of 12 runners and a couple of support vehicles. You run for 5 miles, relax/ride/sleep/eat, run for 5 miles, relax/ride/sleep/eat, run for 5 miles and you’re done. The spirituality and camaraderie that will accompany this run has me so excited that I can’t wait for it to come.

Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon
December 6
As excited I am for Ragnar, I’m just as excited for the new management for the Las Vegas Marathon. This was my first marathon in 2006 and the event was going downhill ever since. The previous owners ran into financial trouble and it showed. In 2007 and 2008 I ran the halfs, but now that the Competitor Group has taken over and brought Rock-n-Roll to Vegas, I going long again. If you haven’t run the Las Vegas strip, this is a must run. It’s hard to give a proper review with the event changing hands but if it’s anything like what I’ve seen from the other Rock-n-Roll’s, it’s going to be great!!!

2010 Walt Disney World Marathon
January 10
Yes, I know I’ve told you that I’m excited for each of the previous races but this one is it!!! Not for the fact that it’s Disney World or that the entire race is run thru the park. Not for the fact that I’ve never been to Florida or that it’s another great Disney family trip. This one is going special. My sister, who just finished her first marathon relay, is going to be running her first marathon with me. She’s been so supportive of my recent running conversion that I could not be more excited that she has made the running leap of faith and we’ll be side-by-side cheering each other on. I’m sure the race will be great too.

Looking at my schedule will help me thru my training runs this summer. There’s only so many times you can tell yourself that 95 degrees isn’t that hot – at 10 PM!!!