Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas 5K Race Recap

I was pretty excited to be running the Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas Remix Challenge. For those that don't know what that is it's running a total of two races, a 5K on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday. I was pretty psyched to to be running this challenge for the first time and in Vegas. I knew the Strip at night was going to be awesome! I was a bit worried about the runs being in the evening but it worked out ok, at least for the 5K.

PACKET PICKUP: We went to the expo Saturday morning. I would have liked to go on Friday but that was the day we went to Red Rock Canyon which turned out to be pretty awesome. The expo was at Las Vegas Convention Center and it was very easy to get to since we were coming from Henderson. We got there around 9am and parking was not hard since we were there early. Bib and shirt pickup was fast and easy. There were lots of booths to browse. I did end up buying another pair of the Altra Olympus shoes that I've been wearing. I couldn't pass up the deal. I also stopped by the Sparkle Athletic booth to pick up my Flash shirt that says "We're what happens in Vegas". 

Source: werunsocial

The 5K shirt is nice! Rock'n'roll always does a great job with their shirts, at least I think so. 

The race did not start until 6pm so after the expo, we figured we'd do some site seeing with the kids and explore the Vegas Strip. We walked more than I should have but we got to see a lot of the strip. The kiddos had a blast mainly because they were catching lots of Pokemon along the way. :p 

When it got closer to race time, I brought my running gear so I changed quickly and had Hubby drop me off near SLS Casino where the start of the 5K race was. I had him drop me off close to 5pm since I wanted to make the werunsocial meetup. I wasn't quite sure exactly where to go, but the crowds of people made it easier to find my way. I just followed where they were going. The sky was beautiful heading to the festival grounds.

Upon entering these light up sticks were being handed out. They are pretty neat. I love how they have different light up settings. I got one at first then realized I should probably get another since I knew the boys would love these. 

I then headed towards gear check for the werunsocial meetup. It was really cool seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. I met Kimberly, Nikki, and Steffany for the first time. I got selfies with them but they will be in my half marathon recap since I saw everyone again the next day. :) Here is the werunsocial crew in full force! I almost forgot to mention that there were lots of donuts at the meetup. From Krispy Kreme to donut holes, and someone even brought fancy donuts. I went with the donut holes. Good stuff.

Photo credit: werunsocial

When it got close to 6pm people started heading to their corrals. I was in corral 6 and headed there. The race started pretty much on time but I had to wait a bit since I was in corral 6. It wasn't until about 6:13pm when I started my 5K run. See all the light sticks? Pretty cool that most runners were running with them. I had two in my hands.

This is the course map. It started on the festival grounds. It seemed we were on the roads of the fairgrounds for a bit and then headed out. It was nothing exciting and then we headed out on a real street, Industrial Rd.

Here's a pic I got running on the street. Even running on this road there was nothing real exciting but it was better than near the festival grounds. We were on it for a bit then turned around at around 1.5 miles. It was crowded in some parts and I was feeling good and found myself passing people. Passing was difficult due to some crowding in areas but I was careful. 

After the turn around we headed back towards the festival grounds. Always nice to see the Brooks guitar guy on the run.

The best part of the run was seeing Meb at the finish and he gave me a high five! :)

I ended up doing negative splits on the 5K. According to my Garmin, my time was 28:53.

My splits:

Mile 1: 9:26/mi

Mile 2: 9:18/mi

Mile 3: 8:43/mi

.1: 8:08/mi

I did not really have a plan for the 5K, I just told myself I was not running for time, so I'm happy with how it went. I was feeling good and ended strong.

Overall an ok 5k. There were snacks at the finish, the usual bananas, pretzels, water etc. which was nice, however if I went to Vegas just for the 5K, I would have been disappointed. The course was a bit boring and not on the main Vegas Strip. Also the crowding in parts did not help. But since I'm doing the remix challenge and will be getting the extra bling, I'm ok with it. I was glad I got to experience running a 5K before the half marathon to complete day 1 of the Remix challenge.

Look out for my Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas half marathon race recap coming soon!

Have a great weekend!

Disclosure: As as member of the Rock'n'Blog team, I received a free race entry for the Remix challenge. As always all opinions are my own.