When I first head about the Rock n Roll Vegas I was immediately interested in running the strip at night. I love having unique race experiences at least once. This did not disappoint!

I originally had signed up for the marathon but because of several factors, I decided to switch to the half. About two weeks before the deadline I emailed and had my race changed. When it came time to confirm our entries, I was still in the marathon. This is my biggest complaint on the race organization. I made sure to follow the deadline and give them all the information needed to switch and they did not follow through. I tried emailing and received no response. I sent a message on Facebook and was told they would have a HALF bib for me at the expo but they did not. I keep my bibs and I wanted to have the correct bib. It's slightly disappointing that I follow instructions and they mess up twice.

The expo was easy to get to by monorail. You could also park for free per the info they sent out. The expo wasn't busy at all on Friday afternoon and was quick and painless to get my bibs and t-shirts.

I had seen the t-shirt designs online and was super excited about them. They look really great in person and are of similar material as the other Rock n Roll t-shirts I have (which are some of my favorites).

As for the race, it was definitely worth it! I would recommend doing at least once. For me personally, once was enough. I followed instructions and went to the pre-run party to get to the corral. I was in the corral before the cut-off time. I was in the corral for almost an hour before I actually started. My legs and feet were already tired by the time I started (despite spending most of the day relaxing in my hotel room).

Turns out, many people didn't follow all the directions and hopped in the corral chute in several spots along the way. I was in the blue group and people in green and yellow were getting in. I was supposed to be in blue 12 but ended up somewhere in blue. I probably could have pushed forward more but didn't really care to.

I heard some people talking about their time. They said it would take them four hours. I thought, oh, they must be doing the marathon. I took a peek at their bibs, nope, half marathon. Please do not lie about your time when signing up. There is no way you would get in blue for a 4 hour half. These same people ended a few corrals/minutes ahead of me and I passed them in my first quarter mile. I get it, I'm not the fastest but I would never fudge my time that much just to get an earlier corral. I felt bad enough as is because I should have been a few corrals back but kept getting pushed forward.

There was some dodging and weaving early on, which is expected but once you got out of the start it opens up. Since the entire strip is shut down there is plenty of space.

The course, if not for the strip at night, would probably be fairly boring. You run out, turn around, run really straight for a while, turn around, and come back. It's really being on the strip and seeing all the lights and casinos from a point of view you normally do not get.

I also loved all the crowds. The sidewalks and overhead walkways are full of people watching and cheering. It really helps push you through, especially at the end when you are really tired.

The course between the strip and Freemont/Downtown has very little to offer. Not many crowds or sites. There were several wedding chapels (got to see a few people getting photos done) and apparently the pawn shop from TV. At least according to the people behind me and everyone stopping for a photo.

The Container Park has a praying mantis sculpture that erupts fire. Well, I did not know this and it scared the crap out of me (and I think a few others around me based on reactions). We could not see the sculpture and all of a sudden we hear "whoosh" and see flames coming from the roof of a building (from our perspective). We round the corner and look only to see the praying mantis all light up.

The finisher chute was almost a half mile long. I didn't get a thermal blanket from a volunteer. They were running low and I was like oh I'm not bad. I'll get out and get my clothes from family. Wrong! I got cold quickly but luckily one other tent (bubbas burgers I think) was handing them out too.

My biggest issue with Rock n Roll this year is the post-race snacks. Only the banana halves are gluten-free! I had this issue in Phoenix in January as well. I can't have the granola bars, Pringles, or pretzels they hand out. In previous years I have been able to have mandarin oranges, other brands of chips etc. As a runner/athlete with celiac disease, I can't have anything with gluten. Luckily we were able to get in early at the place we had reservations so I could eat something fairly quickly after.

Swag: The medal alone is worth it! This is probably my favorite medal ever. It is a roulette wheel with three cards (that move!). The cards indicate the distance (1, 3, 1 for the half). There's glitter too. It's extra. And I love it!

Overall/TLDR: Great race, fun swag, long wait times, lots of runners but not really crowded.