By Pat Christenson special for LVSportsBiz.com
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.
Pat Christenson is president of Las Vegas Events