As far as I can tell, the Las Vegas Marathon is no more, which is good news for all concerned because now the Rock’N’Roll folks have taken over and are running their version of a brand new marathon there this December.

In an unprecedented move, the marathon is going to be the first private event to shut down both lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard, which allows the half marathon course to be almost entirely on that one road.

Honestly, if there’s one road I’d want to run on in Vegas (when there’s no traffic of course) it would probably be right there on the Strip so you could see all the craziness as you ran by.

The runners will be treated to all the staples at the aid stations such as water and sports drink, and if Vegas holds true to my experiences on the strip they’ll probably be treated to some pornography as well.

Of course, even with better race management I still have to wonder…why would anyone really want to run a marathon in Las Vegas?

Before I went out to visit, I probably would have thought that it would be a great idea. Having been there, though, I’d much rather run a marathon outside of that bowl of pollution.

Inside the city, you’ll have trouble sucking down the air even going 2 or 3 minutes slower than race pace. Head just 20 minutes outside the city and cross the mountains there, and you’ll have all the clean air and beautiful scenery you can handle.

My recommendation is that if you are going to visit Las Vegas to run a marathon, take a look at the Calico Racing schedule and see what events they have going on. You’re lungs will thank you.

(More Info: LV Marathon Home Page – Calico Racing)