Running News Daily

Rock N’ Roll Marathon Returns this year to Las Vegas with night run On strip

For 37 years, the Las Vegas International Marathon ran from Jean to Sunset Park. Somewhere between 500 and 2,000 made the 13 or 26-mile trek. Each of the last ten years of the Las Vegas International Marathon someone would ask why it was not run on the Strip. At the time only one event warranted the obstruction and impact on the hotels caused by closing the Strip – New Year’s Eve. It was a non-starter. Until 2005.

I must admit, when Elite Racing approached LVE about producing a marathon on the Strip I was skeptical about our prospects, but they had done their homework. They talked to the hotel operators, proposing the race be run early Sunday morning. Commissioner Rory Reid championed their cause and LVE supported it. The first year the race drew 13,425 for both a half and full marathon. That was a good start!

Elite Racing founder Tim Murphy, while running the lonely miles of the Heart of San Diego Marathon, pondered how he could bring some excitement to a marathon. The first Rock n’ Roll Marathon took place in 1998, drew over 20,000 runners and culminated with a concert featuring Huey Lewis and the News, Pat Benatar and the Lovin’ Spoonful. The brand and experience of the race continued to evolve.

In 2007, Falconhead Capital purchased the Rock n’ Roll Marathon from Murphy. The company that managed the series was Competitor Group. They grew it from five races to 34 including six in Europe. In 2009, Competitor Group capitalized on the new brand and marketing Vegas to all of the races in the series and doubled the number of runners to 27,765.

Dale Eeles, LVE’s vice president of event development, ran the half each year. He wondered out loud why we didn’t run the race at night. I wondered out loud how we could get the hotels to support a night race. Turns out they were appreciative of the strong visitation, agreed it would be a better experience and would draw more runners. And that’s what it did.

In 2011 the Rock n’ Roll Marathon used the simple tagline “Run the Strip at Night” with the name of their race. More than 40,000 runners made the Vegas trip and another 20,000+ of their friends joined them in Las Vegas to root them on. Pre-race concerts began with acts like Cheap Trick, Macklemore, Kid Rock, Snoop Dogg, Kesha, and Capital Cities.

After a COVID break the Rock n’ Roll Running Series returns February 26-27, with a refurbished experience. The full marathon has been eliminated. Anyone that ran the full race will recall the maze downtown and dark and suspicious stretches. The race is partnering with Resorts World who will host the Health and Fitness Expo and stream a live feed of the race on their 100,000 square foot LED display on the West Tower.

The 5K will take place downtown giving fans a tour of Fremont Street East and the Saturday night party at the Downtown Events Center will feature a 32-piece Symphonic Rock Show. This is a treat itself. The orchestra and band covers the likes of Pink Floyd, Elton John, ELO and The Who.

LVE’s charge is to secure events that bring visitors and then work with producers to grow each event. The runners that participate in Rock n’ Roll Running Series are affluent spenders and more than 75% of the runners each year are new to the experience.

The race in Vegas showcases the most iconic stretch of real estate in the world and provides a backdrop for a one-of-a-kind running experience. Since the first night race in 2011, Las Vegas has prospered from more than 569,000 runners and their friends participating in the most unique running experience in the world.

The new owners of the Rock n’ Roll Marathon – Ironman – have developed a plan to substantially grow runners. It isn’t more advertising or Google ads. It is the experience. Runners will be pleasantly surprised about what Ironman has planned for their Night Run of the Strip and the entire weekend.

(02/15/2022) Views: 1,460 ⚡AMP
by Pat Christenson

Rock 'n' Roll marathon will be returning to Las Vegas in February 2022

The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is returning to Las Vegas next year, but there will be some changes.

The IRONMAN Group, which organizes the marathon series, announced Tuesday that it will stage its next edition of the run on Feb. 26 and 27, 2022.

A full 26-plus mile marathon will not be included in the return, however. Instead, there will be a half-marathon, 10K and 5K races through the Las Vegas Strip.

"We are extremely excited to start this next chapter for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas event," Elizabeth O'Brien, managing director for Rock 'n' Roll in North America, said in a press release. "Moving to February will provide our participants the same amazing experience of the biggest running party on earth, with a few new twists along the way."

The annual marathon was normally held in November, though last year's event went "virtual" due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

O'Brien said the race was moved to February to guarantee the race date.

"Moving to February further evolves this one-of-a-kind event because it is a Vegas weekend carved out just for Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas," Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events, said in a release. "We look forward to again partnering with The IRONMAN Group and developing the new experiences runners can look forward to."

The full marathon was eliminated after organizers could not find courses that "lived up to the high expectation we set for ourselves, or what our participants deserve," O'Brien said.

(02/10/2021) Views: 1,299 ⚡AMP
by Matthew Seeman

The 2020 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon has been postponed due to the pandemic

 The 2020 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon has been postponed, organizers announced Thursday.

"To best meet the needs of our participants, the Las Vegas community and local authorities, the 2020 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon cannot take place as originally scheduled for November 14-15, 2020," organizers said in a post on social media.

Officials said they are "working diligently with our various host city partners and stakeholders on all potential options."

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon said that all further event updates will be communicated as soon as possible.

(06/05/2020) Views: 1,460 ⚡AMP

Thomas Rivers Puzey won the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon for the second consecutive year

Thomas Rivers Puzey of Flagstaff took first place Sunday with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 4 seconds, according to marathon organizers.

It was a shade slower than Puzey's winning time for the 26-plus mile contest last year: 2 hours, 25 minutes and 53 seconds.

Heather Bray from the Netherlands was the women's champion with a final time of 3 hours and 13 minutes.

In the half-marathon, Tyler Day and Brittney Feivor were the winners, with respective times of 1 hour, 3 minutes, 48 seconds and 1 hour, 13 minutes and 20 seconds.

The annual marathon closes the Las Vegas Strip to give runners free access and a big party for the weekend.

(11/19/2019) Views: 1,805 ⚡AMP
by Matthew Seeman

The 11th Annual 2019 Humana Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon Marathon and Half is this weekend

The 2019 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon is Nov. 16-17, giving runners the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run under the lights on the famed Las Vegas Boulevard. Serving as the only private event to shut down the Las Vegas Strip at night, the Marathon and Half will host 35,000 participants of all levels.

The weekend of festivities will be punctuated by an unforgettable performance from GRAMMY-nominated and Multi-Platinum singer/songwriter, Kesha when she takes to the Finish Line Festival stage on Saturday night following the 5K presented by Brooks.

With visitors coming from around the country and the globe, Las Vegas will enjoy an influx of participants, their family and friends all enjoying the world-class food options, staying in the luxury hotels, and partaking in the myriad of entertainment options that the city has to offer. With last year’s event generating an economic impact of $214.6 million for the city of Las Vegas, this year’s event looks to build on that and continue to showcase why it is one of the premier running events in the world.

With 35,000 participants, 68 percent of whom are first time visitors to Las Vegas, filling out an approximate 110,000 hotel room nights when paired with family, friends, and supporters, the event will have the city buzzing. In addition, through the Rock This Town charitable program for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, local Las Vegas charitable groups will be the beneficiary of grant funding. As part of the best-in-class running series, the course at the 2019 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon gives participants of all abilities a unique opportunity to run The Strip at night, touring iconic Las Vegas landmarks such as the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign, the Bellagio Fountains, and downtown Las Vegas before a stunning finish in front of the Volcano at the Mirage Hotel & Casino.

The event will start on Saturday night at 6 p.m. with the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas 5K presented by Brooks followed by the 10K, half marathon and the marathon distances on Sunday evening. 

(11/15/2019) Views: 2,236 ⚡AMP

Jenny Whitaker says her bout with Cancer sent her into a depression but running half marathons got her back on track

Following a yearlong course of treatment, one that had her going in every three weeks for a full year of “an infusion of some kind of chemical,” it also sent her into a depression. “I found myself kind of framing every decision I made like ‘What if I don’t make it?’ … and it really just started messing with my head so I just needed to set a really big, audacious goal.” That goal — one she came up with last November — is why the Bozeman, Montana, resident will travel to Las Vegas this month to race in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. It will be her 11th half-marathon of the year as she nears the completion of her goal — one half-marathon per month for each month of 2018. Whitaker said she has been a runner for 20 years, but not too seriously until the past few years. She had been racing more and started doing half-marathons, posting her best time in September 2016. Two weeks after that half-marathon, her husband, Rich, found a lump near her ribs. Four months after a mammogram had come back clean, Whitaker was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer at 44 that took a year of treatment and wrapped up in October 2017. (11/07/2018) Views: 1,934 ⚡AMP

Despite being visually impaired she is not letting her disability stop her from running a marathon.

Terri Rupp (photo center)  trains four days a week for the Las Vegas Rock and Roll marathon in November. She knows it's going to be an uphill climb. "I can't see detail. I don't see well enough to drive. I don't see well enough to read or recognize faces." Terri has optic nerve atrophy. She is mostly blind and there's a possibility she'll completely lose her sight. Since she was diagnosed at 8-years-old, she says she's struggled with self-worth. "I felt like because I can't see well enough. I wasn't good enough." Then her daughter was also diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy. But she remained strong and positive. "I knew that she was going to be okay because I'd already gone through it. Now, Terri is the president of the National Federation of the Blind Nevada. She teaches braille at the Blind Center, blogs during her free time, and is part of Achilles Las Vegas -- a non profit providing training and support for athletes with disabilities. (06/17/2018) Views: 1,645 ⚡AMP