The Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon is in my backyard and it’s my fourth time running some form of this race. I thought I’d be as helpful as possible and breakdown the marathon course for first timers and those of you traveling to our wonderful city to run this event. First of all, congratulations to the Competitor Group for a marathon route that is 100x better than previous routes. After running my first marathon on the old course, I promised myself that I wouldn’t run it again until they changed it. For those of you running the half marathon, you’ll be basically running the entire race on the strip.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the course and I will try to answer them the best I can.

RNR Las Vegas Marathon Course

Mile 1 (Ascent 38 ft./Descent 4 ft.) –  If you’re aiming for a PR, beware of the first mile. Since they’re shutting down both sides of Las Vegas Boulevard, the marathon is starting south – instead of north like previous years. This fact doesn’t concern me. Near the airport and the train tracks, the course turns north to the other side of the street. If the organizers expect 15,000 runners to squeeze thru the opening left by the tracks, it’s going to be tricky. Even if they turn us around at the stop light at Sunset Road, it could cause a backlog – especially for those back in the pack.

Mile 2 (Ascent 29 ft./Descent 43 ft.) – After navigating our hairpin turn, it’s back towards the start and Mandalay Bay. Could get interesting if there are a bunch of early morning flights since we’ll be running adjacent to the airport.

Mile 3 (Ascent 94 ft./Descent 73 ft.) – Here is where the sightseeing really picks up. As you near Tropicana Avenue, the Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, Tropicana and MGM hotels dominate the skyline. There’s usually tons of people during this section. Watch for spectators on the walkways over the strip. There is some construction right around 2 1/2 miles on the left side of the road. Not sure if it’s still going to be there in two weeks but it could cause some backups. Try to stay to the right side of the road if possible.

Mile 4 (Ascent 214 ft./Descent 280 ft.) – Don’t let the elevations fool you because any grades are gentle. Our newest behemoth, City Center, looms on your left and check out the huge video screen at the apply named “Miracle Mile Shops” at Planet Hollywood – there’s usually a running message on it on race day. I don’t seem to recall if the Bellagio Fountains or Mirage Volcano were on during past events but there’s always the possibility.

Mile 5 (Ascent 171 ft./Descent 195 ft.) – Remember the Fashion Show Mall. That’s where we will be turning on our return trip down Las Vegas Boulevard. Besides the Wynn, we start to leave the glamour and glitz behind.

Mile 6 (Ascent 14 ft./Descent 28 ft.) – Not a lot going on here. We’ll pass the Riviera, Circus Circus and Sahara and some construction. This section is really flat. Might be able to really find your stride in this section and the pack should be thinned out.

Miles 7 – 9 (Ascent 107 ft./Descent 148 ft.) – Here we’re heading towards downtown Las Vegas. Previous routes went down to Fremont Street but we’re spared that this year. The turnaround comes at Garces Avenue and the route winds thru some older residential neighborhoods and commercial/industrial buildings before reconnecting with Las Vegas Boulevard heading back south.

Mile 10 (Ascent 68 ft./Descent 63 ft.) – Déjá vu will strike as we head back. It will be interesting to see how many people you’ll see on the other side of the course. Depending on how fast you are it could be quite a site.

Mile 11 (Ascent 108 ft./Descent 56 ft.) – Right around 10 1/2 miles the route turns west at the Fashion Show Mall and Treasure Island. At the second light we veer off Spring Mountain Road to Mel Torme Way (you’d be amazed at some of the streets we have named for entertainers around here) and down to Industrial Rd. There is some construction on Industrial so mind your step.

Mile 12 (Ascent 132 ft./Descent 64 ft.) - Driving this was confusing but it should be well marked to get onto Twain Ave. Here we meet our first real incline as we pass under Interstate 15. It’s not that long but could zap you a little if your not ready for it.

Mile 13 (Ascent 63 ft./Descent 39 ft.) - Twain is basically uphill since the Strip lies in a valley. It’s a gradual ascent and the street is nice and wide. At almost 13 miles the route turns south on Decatur Boulevard.

Miles 14 & 15 (Ascent 77 ft./Descent 56 ft.) - Decatur is mainly a commercial street and it should be easy sailing along this stretch. There are some inclines but they’re not that bad.

Mile 16 (Ascent 81 ft./Descent 29 ft.) - Make Hacienda Avenue your friend because you’ll be seeing a lot of it for the rest of the way (about 8 miles of it). Mile 16 comes right after Jones Boulevard and is blocks away from where I work. I’ve run on Hacienda countless times and is one of my favorite city streets to run on. The incline is gradual and we’ll be running thru residential neighborhoods.

Mile 17 (Ascent 70 ft./Descent 10 ft.) - For those in dire need, we’ll be passing Spring Valley Hospital at Rainbow Boulevard (although I’d suggest having someone take you to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals San Martín Campus a few minutes away – shameless plug for a client). The route also brings another hairpin turn into play. Once we get to Rainbow, we turn north towards Tropicana Avenue and double back to Hacienda. There is a gentle incline/decline on Rainbow that may come into play – depends on how tired you are.

Miles 18 – 20 (Ascent 168 ft./Descent 98 ft.) - Back on Hacienda, we run up the backside of the Spanish Trail Country Club. It’s filled with some high end homes and I have to assume they will be more than a little annoyed that this street will be closed. This section of Hacienda is my favorite. There’s not much going on as far as scenery but it’s just a straight simple road that’s fun to run on. Again it’s uphill but it’s gentle.

Mile 21 – 24 (Ascent 92 ft./Descent 197 ft.) - It’s all downhill from here!!! How many times have you heard that? That gentle incline we just went up now turns into a gentle downhill. Enough to keep you headed in the right direction but not so much that it will tear up your hamstrings. The Strip comes back into view here too. On the first part The Hotel will be right smack dab in front of you and then the Luxor will dominate your view. The elevation change is skewed slightly because we hit a nice bridge over the railroad tracks right before mile 24. This could be our version of Heartbreak Hill.

Mile 25 (Ascent 46 ft./Descent 85 ft.) - There’s another climb on the bridge over Interstate 15 down to the Luxor. Let’s call it Heartbreak Hill Too.

Mile 26.2 (Ascent 157 ft./Descent 234 ft.) - I think my Garmin started smoking crack at this point. It’s flat to the finish. A lap around a Luxor parking structure gets us down to Frank Sinatra Drive (remember what I said about street names) to the back of Mandalay Bay to the finish. If it’s like any of the race finishes before, they’ll have a huge setup in one of the parking lots. There’s tons of room for spectators, food and rubdowns.

Total Ascent: 1,730 ft.
Total Descent: 1,704 ft.
*Approximate since my Garmin obviously has a drug problem.

Can’t wait until race day!!! Hope everybody’s training went well and you’re heading into the event injury free.

RMFR