Disclosure: I received a complimentary bib to run The Double Your Luck Challenge because I am a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro at BibRavePro.Tumbler. com.

This was the first year for the Sin City Run, a 5k, 10k, and double-road-race held in connection with the annual Sin City Shootout games. I’m pretty sure there should have been 2-3 times as many people running this event, as it was pretty and fun! I would estimate the 10k had about 65 people running. There was a two hour time limit, making this 10k completely walker-friendly as well.

There was no race expo for this event. Registration/packet pickup was available on Friday night, as part of the main Sin City Shootout registration, or on Sunday just before the race. There was no Saturday pickup. The main advantage of Friday is the ability to purchase the special Sin City Shootout mug, which comes with a slew of drink specials at the various affiliated parties over the weekend. Due to personal circumstances I had to skip Friday, so I arrived early to get my things on Sunday morning. While there was a line, it was pretty fast-moving, and I felt like it wasn’t a big deal.

Packets contained your race bib, a discount on EnergyBits, samples of gummy vitamins, Clif Bar minis, and samples of BioFreeze, in addition to safety pins. There was one packet for each runner, so running two races didn't get you two packets (and I think that's a good thing.) I loved that there wasn’t a ton of junky paper involved (I usually recycle all that), and that all the items included were things I can and will use that are relevant to runners. Two of the boxes of shirts were stuck on a UPS truck somewhere, so I’ll be getting mine in the mail. (They only had small, and I’m not small.) The shirts are cute, with the Sin City Run logo on the front. I know I’ll wear mine.

There is a single finisher medal for either 5k or 10k, though if you do both you get a bonus medal. The race medal is poker-chip-themed, and double-sided enamel. The bonus medal is also poker-chip-themed, and is a spinner. Both feature wide colorful ribbons. Overall, I thought these were executed beautifully.

The course runs through Sunset Park, which is a protected wildlife dune just past the airport. The one thing I disliked about this event is that there was no transportation provided, and no forum or facebook group or other way to arrange a ride share. The Sin City Shootout host hotel is the Tropicana, though I stayed at nearby Harrah’s. My taxi out to the event cost around $30, and I wasn’t the only one who took a taxi—it would have been nice to have a way to coordinate rides. (I hitched a ride back to the strip with Laurel, another BibRave Pro who ran the event.) Some people did drive, but since I was just staying overnight the cost of a car rental was crazy. There was ample free parking right by the start/finish (which was actually in the parking lot).

As I was saying, Sunset Park is a desert dune. The 10k race course repeats the 5k loop around a portion of the blacktop-paved trails twice, and then added a shorter third loop to make the full 10k. Despite being right in the middle of Vegas, the race course seemed very nature-y and not particularly urban. I spotted at least two dozen bunnies and a few jackrabbits or hares, as well as multiple desert-dwelling birds. (The birds fascinate me, since I don’t live in the same climate.) I’m not sure how to describe the landscaping, but it was a natural mix of yucca-like stuff, a few cactus, and the usual desert-like trees. I could see mountains (and snow!) in the background.

Initially, I was freezing cold—it was in the 40s, even though I’d checked the weather report and it said 60s!—but after I started running that wore off. The course was flat and as I mentioned 100% blacktop. There was the most minor of downhills at one point in the course, but you really had to be paying attention to notice it. Since I had just run the 5k, I felt the 10k course was a little bit repetitive on the one hand, but on the other hand it was kind of nice to be on familiar ground and be able to judge how much run was left.

Like the 5k, the course had one aid station with water (and music and cheering) which each runner passed four times during the run. (It was the same aid station as the 5k.) The course was marked on the blacktop with chalk, with cones and XXX where appropriate to make sure runners didn’t stray from the path. There were separate markings for the 10k, and the 10k markings identified which loop (e.g. loop 1, loop 2) so you knew where to go. Again, there were volunteers at every point where the course might have been even a little bit confusing, as well as at the few places where the course crossed a road open to vehicles. The volunteers were really great, cheering for every runner who went through the course.

The finish line had someone to announce each finisher. A few steps beyond the finish line runners had an assortment of post-race snacks, including a beverage called rumble that I’d never tried before. (The vanilla maple is delicious.) Other offerings were water, bananas, Clif organic trail mix bars, pretzels, and tortilla strips.

For the 10k, the volunteers and race crew "ran in" the last runner. I thought that was a pretty cool touch. One thing I like about smaller races is there is a better chance that the finish line will still be standing and stocked with food when us slower-types finish. (I've been to more than one race where I ran under/over the finish line as it was deflating, or after the finish line had been taken down!).

This is less of a “destination race” and more of a “race in a destination.” It was small but mighty! This would be the perfect race for someone who wants to go to a small but extremely well-managed event. This would make an ideal race for a friends’ getaway weekend; I could see combining running these events with a longer weekend in Vegas—maybe go to the opening parties Friday, see an afternoon show Saturday, run Sunday morning, and then head to a champagne brunch buffet.