Rock and Roll Half Marathon - Las Vegas

We went back to Vegas. A great weekend of work and play, with the Rock and Roll Half Marathon closing things out for me.

I took a bunch of pictures and just enjoyed the course. The music was fun, with bands and DJs mixing it up, mostly with classic rock sounds.  Many of the usual race course anthems-- I think I heard TNT by ACDC three times.  The picture above was at a place flagged as the "World's Largest Selfie", where they project your image onto the Resorts World hotel. Pretty cool. Then below are pics of a Blue Man and me and the mascot for the Vegas NHL team.

This race is a bit of a pain to get to the start, with a corral system and about a 1.5 hour wait. Not as bad as New York, I suppose. But the runners were reasonably spread out. The race starts in the late afternoon, and the course turns to dark, with the huge bulletin boards of the Las Vegas Strip. It's pretty cool. The course is well supported and I've really enjoyed it these past two years. 

Afterwards, it was a long walk back to the Luxor (Pyramid hotel), where we stayed, but that was just an opportunity to check out some of the stores and food options along the way.

 

Highlights from 2022

 Here is a list of highlights from 2022.

 

1.     New York City Marathon

 

It was great to have a second go at this spectacle of a race. The Marathon itself had a bit of a renaissance, after the Covid years, shall I call them. I was glad to be one of the 50,000 ants, weaving through the streets, to that Central Park finish. 

 

2.     Honolulu Marathon

 

Aloha in December! This marathon was different than any I’ve ever done. It’s a big city one, with 30,000 runners or so. But half of them are walkers! And it started in the dark at 5 AM, and then it got hot when the sun came up. But we had pretty kind weather, considering. Pretty cool to walk to the shuttle to the start from the condo, and then walk to the condo from the finish line. And then Oahu, Waikiki, and the so much aloha!

 

3.     Desolation Peak, North Cascades National Park

 

Mike and I knocked this one off my bucket list, and it was long overdue. I’ve wanted to go here since forever, but never ordered up the water taxi or did the long hike…until this summer. It turned out to be pretty easy to arrange, but the hike was a bit grueling in the heat. The views were everything. And nice to meet the lookout ranger.

 

4.     Couer D’Alene Marathon

 

My first ever DNF at a marathon. I did not feel good at the start or at mile 16, when it was easy to pull out. Parts of the course were pretty, but the big joy was hanging with friends over that way and catching Bob Dylan live the night before in Spokane.

 

5.     Skagit Flats Marathon

 

I’ve done the half marathon many times, a favorite, and volunteered many times, but this was only my second time doing the full. It was very smoky, making it a hard day. But this is Skagit, and so there were views of farms, Mount Baker, folks fishing the Samish River, and friend sightings.

 

6.     Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon 

 

Another modest life goal has been to run the Las Vegas Strip at night, with all the neon lights shining. I’ve done a few of these Rock & Roll events over the years, including the very first one in San Diego. This was easily my favorite, and I’m not much of a Vegas person. The whole run at night in the cool Nevada air things works.

 

7.     Baker Lake 50k

 

It was a good weather year at Baker Lake, with great views of the mountain. A little warm, even, I think. #19, and the wheels were a bit slower this time around. I ran the whole event with a serious ankle brace. So great to see many friends on trail, before, during and after.

 

8.     The Great Sedro-Woolley Foot Race

 

Only 2 miles this year, but I walked them with Deb, which made it specialer. 

 

9.     Kalakaua Merrie Mile

 

And I walked this 1 mile race with Deb too, and this one was even better, down the main drag of Waikiki, followed by a Olympic class miler race and breakfast on the beach. 

 

10.  Circumpolar Race Around the World- The Official Finish

 

My team of internet runners finally completed our virtual relay race around the globe, a 30,000 mile project we started together during the pandemic. This event may have been virtual, but it was really good for me, getting me out on the flats of the Skagit on many weekend mornings. We still have some extra credit work we’re working on, for an extra 15,000 miles or so, to fill out our map, and we should finish that in 2023.

 

I found 2022 to be a hard year, but when I list the events, I see I kept moving and there was a whole lot of goodness. I didn't include the Chuckanut DNF, which I didn't really feel up to, and which was not a highlight, from any spin. I guess it was an ok morning walking around int he rain. There were many, many runs along the Skagit River and out to Bellingham and back from Fairhaven, which were highlights. And then there were shorter walks. There also was that day Deb and I decided to go for a hike in the North Cascades but ended up driving to Winthrop for a late lunch instead. 

There were the visits with family in Virginia and the Carolinas. These were really special. I hadn't seen my siblings since before the pandemic, and seeing the kids was terrific. Much joy there. Much ado in my work and volunteer activities. A few ball games. And so on. As I write this, I'm not sure why I say it was hard, but I think there was a lot of anxiety in the world, holding over from the pandemic. Uncertainities. I'm grateful for all the good stuff, and glad as always to be able to get out there.

Oahu

A bunch more pics of Oahu here, which have nothing to specifically to do with a race or run. 

We spent 10 nights there, five in Waikiki and five in Makaha on the west shore. We arrived on December 7th and watched the Pearl Harbor Day parade that evening in downtown Waikiki. We did the deluxe package tour of the Polynesian Adventure Center, which was amazing--touring six different pacific island groups and learning about their history and culture, a luau and then a fire show. The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, thrown in there. 

Pearl Harbor visit, although unfortunately we weren't able to get out to the Arizona due to winds. I felt like I took away plenty from the experience, picturing planes coming over the hills and the panic and response. There were many exhibits and museum halls to learn from. 

We stayed in a high rise with ocean views in Waikiki and then a condo on the water in Makaha, a much quieter, local setting. We twice made it up to the North Shore, where we did the tourist thing, including shaved ices at Matsumotos---known for their..shaved ice--and then caught sight of the winter big surf on the Banzai Pipeline, Halewei and elsewhere. They take their surfing very seriously in Hawaii, with a channel dedicated to it, and surf shops everywhere. The Dole Plantation, briefly. Many stops in local groceries to see how folks live and taste the tropical treats. A boatload of macadamia nuts and coffee for the return trip home. 

Fun eats all along the way, including malasadas at Leonards in Honolulu. Guava and lillikoi donuts, straight from the fryer, etc. Roy's, excellent. Musubui Cafe, Hula Dogs, and poke. Taro bubble tea with tapioca. I kind of got into tapioca cups with fruits. There was the Hawaii Poi Factory too on the east shore. Giovanni's shrimp in Halawei. Papayas and local honey.

Stargazing was a thing for me, especially in the second five days on the west shore. I saw Neptune through binoculars. I spotted most of the planets. The Geminids meteor shower was one night and they were shooting every few minutes for a while then. We also had a night with sideways rain, which was kind of cool. Tradewinds. I saw a whale from our lanai. 

Oahu was better than expected. I thought this island would be a bit too busy for me. And Waikiki is loud and busy, for sure. But that was fine, especially when wrapped up with the marathon, some dining, and other city stuff. We really loved the quiet beaches we found on the west side, and the Polynesian Center was amazing. There were a lot of amazing beaches with very little in the way of visitors. Seeing everything during the holiday season, with the Christmas trees and Hawaiian wreaths and other Polynesian decor was extra special.

Honolulu Marathon

Here are some pics from the Honolulu Marathon. As good a reason as any to visit Honolulu and Oahu. I found the race itself to be tough, in part due to my fitness, but the course and running conditions are tough.

The race starts at 5 AM. To get to the start line, I had to catch a bus at the Honolulu Zoo between 2 AM and 3:45 AM. This was all a bit nuts for a marathon. Getting to the start so early was sort of project, forcing me to attempt going to bed in the early evening. The race finishes near the Zoo, which is also near where we were staying in Waikiki, and so that worked out really well at the end. I just walked back to the condo after the finish.

The 5 AM start is nice insofar as the first two hours are in the dark. There is a big fireworks show with the start, plus lots of music. 

The race had about 27,000 participants, I think. One of the five biggest in the US, I believe I heard. The race draws a strong contingent from Japan and is promoted by Japan Airlines. Honolulu is well aware of the tourist impact of the event--the race was a top news story in the days coming up to it, race day, and the day after, which was kind of fun.

The race is extremely welcoming to walkers. They say they do not close the course. Some people take more than 10 hours completing the course. 

Even though it is dark, it was warm at the start. I was sweating in the first few miles. The first six miles circle around Honolulu downtown, including by the palace, city lights, and down Waikiki's main drag. After that, the course is something of an out and back to east Honolulu, past Diamondhead. Many of the water stations are self-serve water systems, which I took full advantage of, dumping water over my head routinely. There's a tough climb at mile 24, but it was a walk for me, as well as most around me, I was basically back of the pack for the runners and ahead of the many, many walkers.

At the finish line, they promise a malsada (doughnut), but I skipped the lines on that, and picked up my finisher shirt. They have a great expo with all sort of aloha running products, but the race shirt is handed out at the finish. 

This race is scheduled near Pearl Harbor Day. We were able to see the parade on December 7th, which local schools, veterans, and others really turn out for. 

I found this race to be tough, both on the course (due to heat and course design) and as far as the start time. Glad I did it though--its a pretty cool event. I think what I liked most was how much the city comes out for it, and the absolutely zero pressure to finish before any deadline. 

Hawaii is of course beautiful. I'll probably add a post here of other things we did.