We've been doing a lot of running, and this race has been on my list of "to-do's" for some time. I always found one excuse or another until I started really taking running seriously in 2015. It wasn't until 2016 until we could make it work in our schedule and I'm so glad we got to do it!

We enjoyed a nice easy drive from Vegas on Saturday and made it to packet pick up with time for a leisurely dinner and check in to the hotel.

Sunday morning we got up with time for me to take my husband to the Marathon drop off so he could catch the shuttle and I headed over to the half marathon start. I had plenty of time, so I stayed comfortable in the car and got myself ready. I always get a little nervous leading up to races, and I'm slightly awkward in groups/crowds, so I spent as much time in the car as I could.

At the start I met up with a few Half Fanatics (I'm HF12553!) and we took a group photo before getting situated in the corral. There were plenty of race officials present, as well as some volunteers, keeping everyone organized and excited for the race.

Then we were off! We started on time, with great weather. Clear skies and calm winds - the start of the race was perfect. I'm a walk-runner, and fairly slow at that, so I take my time on course. I meet people, I have "social miles", and I try to soak in the whole experience with great detail. I had a blast throughout this entire race! The volunteers on course are all great with a lot of high energy aid stations.

The course is out-and-back, which I know many people get "bored" with, but this course was anything but boring. The scenery was great, the hills weren't too terrible (nice rolling hills), and although it did start to heat up some toward the end, it wasn't unbearable. The race shares part of the course with multiple distances, but in my opinion it never got too crowded.