The Las Vegas Marathon is an annual Marathon foot-race run in and around Las vegas, NEVADA.
The 26.2 mile course begins at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino heading north
on the Las Vegas Strip, through the Fremont Street Experience, winds through
several residential neighborhoods, and
eventually ends up back at the Mandalay Bay. In
keeping with the Vegas spirit the event features
things not found at most other marathons,
including live entertainment at many of the mile
markers, several Elvis impersonators running the
race, and a run-through wedding chapel where
participants can get married or renew their vows.
The race is one of the oldest marathons in
the United States, having been run since
1967.
The marathon was organized by
Al
Boka since
1983, who sold the marathon
in
2005 to Devine Racing, a Chicago-based race
organization company that is responsible for
several other races, including the Los Angeles Marathon.
Devine redubbed the race as "The New Las
Vegas Marathon", and updated the course to
include the
Strip.
Introduced on
December 4 2005,
the new course marks one of the rare occasions
that the Strip is closed to traffic. Prior to
that, the course had run on the old
Los
Angeles Highway, beginning in the community
of
Jean, Nevada,
and ending inside Las Vegas proper (Sunset
Park).
Additionally in 2005, the date of the
marathon was changed from January to December to
help ensure better weather.
