No timing chip for 6.5K runners so no placements either... no big deal, this was my first race so I only wanted to experience it. I started in the friggin back of all the 6.5k runners so I have to run through all the walkers for both races in the first mile plus. My time suffered an easy 8 minutes because of it so, even though my time is a PR, I was much faster than I ever thought I would be and it was much easier than I though it would be as well, given better placement I would have finished in 32+ which is an absolute shock to me. I had an absolutely awesome time though This will be a yearly event. My wife and Father-in-Law got to see me "race" in my first race and my wife commented that: I almost missed you the first time you ran by, it din't look like you, you were running so effortlessly. Everyone around you was bouncing or pounding into the pavement and you were just gliding along, you looked like the first few guys who went by, only slower. AWESOME, I guess I have my form down, now to fix the pace!

Get into better starting position, wear a HR monitor so I can see what my HR level is, my RPE was only a 4 out of 10. Sign up for the 8 miler and figure out a good run costume! I can toally see why people do wacky stuff for runs.

Walked around to find my wife...


Ocean of walkers, didnt feel a need to perform faster, my wife would have never seen me then, I gave her estimated times to expect me at selected locations...thats the only reason she saw me the first time.


I say the course was too easy because the 6.5K was 50% inside MGM, you have crowd noise, cool scenery etc to keep you going, the 13k has 6 miles of roads to do first so Im sure theirs was a little more mentally challenging. I rate the race an average for "most people"...for me it was Outstanding. I couldn't have asked for a better race to be my first race.

The water wasnt cold at the finish line (other complaints not mine), it was at the aid stations though. How much water do you need for up to an 8 mile race anyway? I would have been more than fine with a couple of aid station cups, I dumped the 1 cup I took on my hat just for practice, FYI, next time Ill take my hat off and dump the water inside it before I put it back on. The only reason I used the station was to practice coming in, getting fluids and pulling out.

No finishing food (other complaints not mine)...everyone there should have had dinner a few hours before the race. If you went all day without eating then it serves you right! Im sure they assumed food would only be wasted trash. I ate spaghetti, meatballs and garlic toast at 5:30PM and had seconds when I got back to our Condo we rented at midnight. Even the "long" course was only 8 miles, not really a taxing distance as far as nutrition goes.

All in all, I think they did a good job figuring out the logistics of having a night race in the middle of the busiest place on Earth.