"This is about limits. Reaching them, exploring them, exceeding what you thought yours were. Then coming to the conclusion that there aren't any limits."
An airplane cabin, at altitude, is only pressurized to an altitude of 8,000 feet. Being a pilot, I experience that altitude all the time and I feel comfortable with it.
It’s a whole different world trying to trail run at that altitude, however, particularly when the top of the hike is at almost 9,000 feet. That’s what happens when you go trail running or hiking in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area near Las Vegas, NV.
Although the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Las Vegas was, despite any positive spin attempted by Competitor Group, a fiasco and #EpicFail, I didn’t feel right just leaving a negative review and moving on. One runner described the marathon as “… being like you broke up with a long-term girlfriend. For days you can’t stop talking about it to anyone who will listen because your expectations were so high for the relationship.”
But there is hope for the RnR Las Vegas. It will depend on what actions they take next. If anyone has any further suggestions, leave them in the comments and I’d like to hear it. Maybe Competitor Group will listen. Their actions in the coming days will show just how serious they are, and just how much they actually listen to their customers. Then, as consumers, we can decide whether or not we wish to support the organization in the future. I would like to do that, but it will depend on their actions going forward. So how to fix Las Vegas RnR Marathon? Here is how I would do it:
After the disaster that was called the “Zappos.Com Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon” the reputation of RockNRoll (@RunRocknRoll) marathons was not only tarnished and hammered on Facebook/Twitter and other social media, but everyone from competitive to back-of-the-pack runners seemed to tell the similar stories of horror. And despite injuries many runners incurred from too many runners trying to squeeze into too small a space, the organizers are advertising they want to increase from 44,000 runners to over 61,000 runners next year.
I can not, in good conscience, give a good review or recommend the Las Vegas Marathon. In fact, nothing about the race is unique or can not be experienced for free, 365 days a year, on the sidewalks of the strip. (Photos and Video at the end!)