This race has been on my list to try for a few years, and it finally worked out to run it in 2018. After taking some time off during the winter after an injury and just getting burnt out, this was my first race back. Packet pickup was really easy, they had the bib numbers organized alphabetically and we picked up our shirts as well. They had in-store discounts to the Runner's Roost store in Denver where packet pickup was held, and they also had Nuun samples, which is always nice! Pre-race communication was great, both through their emails and social media. Parking options were listed, as well as instructions for getting from the finish back to the start of the point-to-point course. They also offered free lightrail passes to runners to get back to the parking lots at the start line, which was very generous and helpful! There were numerous points along the course where spectators cheered us on. The course ran through downtown Littleton and then we hopped on the Platte River Trail along the Platte River and followed that to downtown Denver. There was a surprise hill at the very end, but getting to the top made going back down to the finish line that much nicer! The finish line was full of spectators and had lots of vendors. The only thing I wasn't very happy about was the post-race fuel-there was only one type of bar available, and the bananas had spots on them, but then again I tend to be picky about food so that doesn't take away from the experience at all! Overall, I really enjoyed this race and would recommend it to anyone interested!

Let me start off by saying that I ran this race in 2011, and it was by far the worst race I've ever run. I decided to give it another try in 2017 when a group of high school friends and I decided to all make the trip from various different states to run together. I was very impressed with the improvements that were made. In addition, I have to commend the race organizers for shifting gears last minute after the tragedy that occurred just six weeks before the race. They had to reorganize the entire pre-race festivities and also the start line. At the expo (which was amazing by the way, despite the long lines to purchase race gear), we had an opportunity to write a message in highlighter on big banners that said Vegas Strong and had the Rock 'n Roll logo. The banners were then placed along the Route 91 venue and there was a section of silence around that area, which I thought was a very nice and respectful way to honor the victims. The starting line area was a little difficult to navigate, but considering the change of location I think they did the best they could. I felt safe and really appreciated the security around the start line, including the helicopter flying overhead. The course itself was great, I loved running down the Strip! The halfway point was a little boring, but once we got back to the Strip the energy kicked up again. The finish line was nicely organized and it was easy to find our medals and water. Overall, I was impressed with the improvements made and the last-minute changes that had to be made to the course. I would definitely recommend the half marathon to anyone who loves running and loves Vegas!

This was not a great race for me, but despite that the course was nice. I want to start by saying that the course was a little difficult to follow at times. They had a 5k, 10k and half marathon all running at once, so things got a little confusing. At the start, the race director announced that the half marathoners should follow the black signs and then others should follow orange signs. That was fine until I started seeing both colors, and then we went through periods where there were no signs. I almost missed the continuation of the half marathon course, and even saw another runner stopped and looking totally confused. There was a big hill that we had to climb twice, so that was pretty difficult considering the sun was out and there was no shade. The views were great though! I would like to run another race within this series to redeem myself, but I might not run the same course again.