Ivy Casavant's Staging Area

The whole idea being able to run the Las Vegas strip at night was pretty cool. It was a flat course. Too many walkers in duplicate blocking the course so I was left to dodge constantly around them. Expo was overly crowded and a little over the top in selling RnR goods…I felt there weren’t enough exhibitors.

Other complaint is they refused to change my race corral, which was very frustrating as i was stuck behind slower runners. Due to a death in the family and being out of the country, I missed the cutoff for changes in early October. I emailed and explained the situation. They responded saying there was nothing that could be done but I could have it changed at the expo. I get to the expo they said sorry we can’t.

As I mentioned nice idea to run strip at night but I wouldn’t run it again due to management.

This was my second marathon. The race was well organized with regular communications, security, and after party. Hydration stations every mile! Spectators lined everywhere and amazing energy similar to Boston I PRed at this race and did almost 30 mins faster than Boston.

My only recommendation for prospective entrants is be prepared for the humidity/mid 70s weather. As I did the Half Marathon the prior year, which takes place 2 weeks before the full marathon, I was prepared and anticipated it. Several of my friends were not prepared for this: some didn’t do well and another had to pull off at mile 23 for dehydration.

For those who don’t want to deal with crowds on race day, I’d recommend looking into signing up for a Virtual Training with Chicago Endurance Sports (CES) for $150. In addition to regular emails/checkins, they provide you with free entry to the Race Day Resort, which is right across from the start line (open from 5am – 430pm) at 430 S Michigan Ave. They provide gear check, complimentary massages & medal engraving, food, $5 compression boots appts, etc. Made for a stress-free race day!

Besides the London Marathon this is the biggest race in the UK with almost 60,000 people. After hearing from multiple sources what an awesome race it was my boyfriend and I decided to travel for it. They make a whole weekend out of it in Newcastle. Overall it was a good race with amazing crowds/energy and i had a PR at 2:35. Swag and after party were also good.

Suggestions for improvement:
-Field size: Too many entrants for too narrow of a course. Also too many walkers not following edict and blocking runners from great past.
-Packet Pickup: If you are coming Internationally for this race, there was next to no communication as to how you are supposed to pick up your bibs/goodies. We spent 30-45 mins being told by 4 different Great Run people they didn’t know or directed us to the wrong place. Race Organizers please provide better communication regarding this.

I’m not a huge fan of NYC because of crowds so I was thinking this race wouldn’t be good initially. However I was pleasantly surprised. Nice course, well organized, and easily accessible. At the time I PRed for a half at 2:39…since then I’ve gotten it down to 2:35. Fun post party at Coney along beach! I don’t have any recommendations…NYRR keep doing what you are doing.

I ran this in 2016 as part of the BAA Distance Medley. In terms of the course, this was by far my least favorite. The course is boring and doesn’t showcase the best of Boston neighborhoods (being a Boston native I can attest to this). While weather is unpredictable, I ran this is in the pouring rain and being hilly it wasn’t the best experience. Swag and post race were good as always.

My recommendation: Change up the course a bit.

Swag and post race were good as always.