Las Vegas – Run the Strip thanks to R’n’R Marathon

So it all started with an email to say I was one of the finalist for Dublin Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon Rock Idol. This was a competition where there was a finalist picked from each province and an extra one from Dublin. This started a stressful couple of weeks in the search for votes. I think people were avoiding me as I was constantly reminding everyone to vote. I can only thank every single person who voted for me. The effort they went to was out of this world and on August 3rd the announcement came with

I had won and now it was time to relax and finally get excited about the trip to Vegas. In my head I had won it 100 times and had everything planned, so to know it was real meant the countdown could begin. I got to meet the other idols at Dublin Rock ‘N’ Roll Half marathon, some who I still keep in touch with and follow their journeys on social media. It was a tough course but enjoyed the race. It also meant I had part one of the world rocker medal complete. I had done Lisbon R ‘N’ R half last year but missed Dublin so now I had my chance to do another race abroad.

Here we come Las Vegas

The long trip with Martha to Vegas began with overnight in Dublin before flying to London and then on to Vegas. Lucky I hadn’t been to the cinema in a long while because I had plenty of movies to watch to pass away the time. We eventually arrived at our hotel (Park MGM) at about 8pm. 1st thing we did was get some food in Shake Shack before deciding we should get an early night. Jetlag truly kicked in and we were both up at 3am and heading to Dennys for some pancakes. After another quick nap we decided to travel to the expo. We took the monorail and it was quick and easy to get to the convention center from there. It was one of the larger expos I have been at. Picking up my numbers were quick and easy. I strolled through the stands, we could definitely have spent a lot with the amount of choice but said I’d stay firm, I have so much already. We met Stacey from R’N’R who ran through some of the events for the weekend and there was a quick video to make. I thought it was going to be a few questions but it was more of a promotion video. Being Irish I was typically uncomfortable behind the camera but I gave it my best go.

I’ll have more than this medal this weekend

Being interviewed at the expo

Friday night was all about the VIP night in Hyde @ Bellagio. We walked to to the Bellagio and handed over our VIP passes and danced, drank and eat the night away. Ozomatli were the entertainment, I hadn’t heard of them previously but they had the crowd on their feet the whole night.

Enjoying our night

We booked a helicopter trip for early Saturday morning. We wanted to make the most of the trip. So we got our limo to McCarran airport and off we set towards Grand Canyon. The weather was perfect for it. The views were amazing and it was worth getting up at 6am for. Three Helicopters set off at the same time full with a large group from Scandinavian and us gatecrashing their fun 🙂

Getting back on the helicopter

View from the bottom

After that fun morning it was time to get a quick power nap and relax before heading to take on the 5k with Martha. We got the monorail out to the Festival Grounds. No fear of getting lost or worried about where to go since everyone on the train were going to the same place. Just like everywhere in Vegas we had to walk through a hotel and casino to get where we needed to go. We got into the grounds and found where we needed to go. Even with so many thousands of people there I managed to bump into one of the other idols who I was up against for the prize. Tracey Burke was out here to do the 5k and half and had great results over the weekend.

2 Rock ‘N’ Run Idols

Martha hadn’t had much time to prepare for this 5k and I know she would have preferred to be walking the strip than taking on a 5k in Vegas. The corrals were crazy but we found a section to make our way in. We had a long wait to get going but once we got going it opened up fairly quickly. Martha kept focused and I kept quiet. She ran down the kilometers and as the race went on her confidence grew and she got faster and faster. I was extremely proud of her as she pushed her way to the line. A very impressive finish and her 1st race in over 3 years complete.

Deserved medals

Medal number 1 for the weekend

It was an easy trek home via the Monorail again. Of course I went straight to Shake Shack yet again. They will almost know me by name now. Sunday morning we headed to the outlets and did some shopping. I planned to stay off my feet as much as I could but that is definitely hard to do in Vegas. I had some subway and when we got back to hotel I had some pizza. Having a race in the evening isn’t unusual back home but not the half distance. So trying to decide when to eat, drink and rest was hard. My main worry was I’d be hungry half way through so eating plenty early I hoped would help me out. We walked to the starting area and into the VIP tent.

VIP treatment

Having the VIP area was brilliant. No queue for the restroom, an area with foam rollers which I took advantage of, food that was perfect to fill the gap and easy area to bag check. I was able to relax with some chicken sandwich and gatorade while Martha got to sample all the food. We were right at the stage for Capital Cites but I was concentrating on the race and had to head off early as I was in the 1st wave and wanted to be close to the front to help me get into my rhythm.

Almost ready to head to start

Start line

With Dublin only being 2 weeks ago I really didn’t know how to to approach the race. I had kind of decided to go out as hard as I can and see how long I could hang on. I said to myself I’d go close to 6:30 / 6:40 min per mile. This is a good bit faster than my PB pace but since I already achieved my goals for the year if it all went wrong I didn’t have to worry. I do need to test myself. There was great atmosphere at the start line. Plenty of nervous people around while the countdown to the start ticked down. So I took off strong and with huge crowds around it was hard not to get too excited. There was the smallest of elevation rise on the way out of Vegas and passing the sign. I managed to do 6:31 and 6:30 for the 1st two miles. That was steady and as we turned and headed back towards the strip there was a noticeable elevation fall which I knew I would try take advantage of. The crowds going down the strip were amazing. The sun was going down now so it was finally getting dark. As we passed the start line again there were huge crowds still going through the starting shoot. It was then I could truly see the number of runners taking on the races today. Miles 3 to 7 were consistent and I was really happy how things were going. (6:27, 6:30, 6:31, 6:34, 6:36). I passed through 10km in 40:42, which is my 3rd fastest 10km I have done. Certainly not something I would have expected. Things going through my head was what if I didn’t have a marathon 2 weeks ago. But I kept the head down and said I’d keep going.

Passing the Vegas sign

After mile 7 things started to slow down. I could see as we were going down towards Fremont Street that we’d have to work our way back up as well. Not sure did that play with my head but my legs started to feel some pain. Probably was a bad idea going out so hard to begin with. 6:45, 6:56; 7:05 rounded out 10 miles. I passed the 10 mile mark in 66:40. Considering my 10 mile PB is 69:11 that was a huge boost. I gave it all I could but the next 3 miles were tough. The atmosphere around Fremont Street made me forget about my pain for a few minutes but that was soon behind me and I knew I’d have to drag myself home. I had passed a big number of runners in the 1st 10 miles and I could now see those catching me and passing me. A 7:24 and 7:36 for mile 11 and 12 meant I have lost a huge amount of time in recent miles. PB was gone and now it was a case of trying to finish it out and maybe still break 1:30. I knew it would be close but a 7:42 13th mile finished the chances of break 1:30. I pushed hard to the finish and couldn’t believe it I just missed the sub 1:30 with a time of 1:30:15. The 1:30 pacer was just behind me (he would have started further back) and in my head I was thinking maybe if I did go out with him I might have had a better chance of breaking 1:30 with a more consistent run. But when I look back on it I have to be happy with my performance.With the race being almost straight up and down with very few turns it definitely could be a PB course. My 3rd fastest half marathon only 2 weeks after smashing my marathon PB has to be a win. I gave it my all and my body felt it. I grabbed water, chocolate milk and pretzels to replenish. I was delighted to get the medal around my neck and now began the long walk to out of the runner area. I posed for many photos and smiled to hide the pain but I was done and it was time to meet Martha but not before picking up my remix and world rocker medal. Plenty of bling from the weekend. I was 155th out of 17100 overall, 16th out of 816 in my division (M30-34) so definitely can’t complain about that.

Showing off my collection in the club

After getting my bag I headed to Drai’s Nightclub in the Cromwell hotel. Does it feel right walking into a club with shorts and singlet? Maybe not but this is Vegas. I got my massage and food and met Martha. She made the most of the VIP experience and had met another runners wife. Martha and Arden were able to pass away the time while Ezra and I were running outside. The club was a great venue and was nice to put my feet up and enjoy everything that was on offer. It was great that Martha met someone as that meant she wasn’t on her own and she was so busy chatting she didn’t even see my calls 🙂 It was good to share our stories after the race and best of luck to Ezra when he takes on the marathon distance.

Enjoying the VIP night after the race

One of my photos on the walk back

And there was only one place to go to finish off the weekend. Yes – Shake Shack. Even the people behind the till mentioned “You got the same last night, didn’t you?” I had to laugh, when it was close to the hotel and very tasty I had to have them. I do badly need to fix my diet once back in Ireland. Since I’ll be cutting my training for a few weeks I better also cut my calorie intake.

Another shake and my medals.

After a long day it was time for an early night. We were on the go since we got here so a good nights sleep was needed. It was the 1st night we didn’t feel jet lag and we weren’t up at 3am looking for food. When we did get up it was time to go get pancakes for one last time before packing up. I’m glad in the end with the later flight because we had so much packing to do. We got ourselves organised and checked out. A quick Uber to the airport before starting the long trip home. LAS to LAX to LHR to DUB. Close to 22 hours travelling from when we left for the airport to landing and then a drive to Cork home. The trip ended up being a bit longer due to being on the runway in Heathrow for 2 hours due to rivets being missing on the plane. I guess it was important to put them back in 🙂

View on flight from Vegas to LAX

What a great weekend and again I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me and helped me win the Rock ‘n’ Run Idol competition run by Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin marathon. What an amazing prize to win. I always looked at the possibility of doing Las Vegas race but the cost of getting there meant it was always going to be hard to do. It was a once in a lifetime chance and I’m glad to have done it. It wouldn’t have been possible but for the hard work of family and friends who pushed hard in the weeks leading up to the voting deadline. And even after that both Martha and mine families helped us out hugely by minding George while we were away. The hardest part of winning the trip was that we would be leaving him at home but they took great care of him that no doubt he enjoyed his holiday as well.

Now it is time to put the feet up for the rest of 2018 and start again with big goals for 2019.

Dublin Marathon 2018

Build up

The build up to the race went better than expected. I avoided any serious injuries and managed a half marathon PB in my block of training. I used many races as part of my runs to help break up the long runs. With the help of the St Catherine’s members doing the marathon we put in some excellent and tough long runs. These gave me the confidence I needed and for the very 1^st time I managed to get a 21 mile run in as part of the block of training. Thanks to Brendan, Keith, Pat and Ted who joined me on those long runs. My goal was set at 3:30, I felt I could achieve this.

Race weekend

The weekend started with a wedding in Cork on the Friday. My alarm was set for 5am on Saturday where I set off on the drive to Poolbeg parkrun. The weekend was not just about the marathon but the ASICS Frontrunner team were having our meet up. We would be racing, pacing or cheering on at parkrun but plenty of other activities throughout the weekend. I got up there in time and managed to get in a couple of photos on the beach before everyone came along. It was great to see everyone and catch up, some team members I hadn’t met before so it was a good way to get to know more about each member. We see each other everyday on social media and we probably know more about each other than some of our friends but you can’t beat a face to face meet up and hear some stories, get advice and get to know each other even more. I was cheering on and it was great to see so many of the team have top performances as well as pace excellently and a few PBs in there as well.

Once that was done it was time to get some photos in before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the expo. I found myself on stage with Holly, Lauren and Kerry. I nervously answered a few questions. Time then to collect my number and meet up with Damian and a few club mates.

We headed out that evening then to the Irish Whiskey Museum, I learned a lot from it, some history that I didn’t know that I feel I should have know but of course I was never going to have the tasting but it was good to watch everyone’s faces as they tried it out. Food and awards followed before I jumped in a taxi home, of course I was going to have an early night big day tomorrow.

Race day

The extra hour in bed made no difference to me as I was up nice and early. The excitement was starting to hit but no nerves. Went down and met the team and had breakfast. Porridge, toast, egg and a bowl of Coco Pops was the perfect combo. We had a taxi booked for 8:15 so we didn’t have the extra few miles, anything to save the legs. The weather was perfect. There was a worry it would be extra cold and I brought layers just in case but in the end I only needed arm warmers. We got a quick snap, dropped off our bags and then Peter, Holly and myself made our way right to the front of the wave. Sarah, Becca and Lotta stayed further back. We were being brave standing on the line, now just to control ourselves. I had decided I’d go for 3:25, this would give me a buffer if I needed it.

Off we go

The countdown was almost at zero and then bang, its time to go. I sprinted off like I was doing a 100 meter race, but once I got around the corner I calmed down and decided it was a good time to get into the correct pace. Holly caught up with me and I could only laugh as she was wondering what was chancing us as we went off so fast.

Since we were in the 3^rd wave it was extra important to be up the front. It was a strange feeling having open roads in front of us as we went through the 1^st few miles. We would meet some of the runners from the 1^st two waves but overall we had plenty of space to get into a proper rhythm. Holly had decided she would pace me around, with the crowds behind it would be impossible to meet others on the course, so looks like I was stuck with her for 26.2 miles. Going through the course it brought back memories of 2 years ago and flashbacks to parts I could remember. The 1^st 5 miles flew by, 7:39, 7:43, 7:44; 7:41 & 7:41. You are into Phoenix Park at this point and you hit some big pockets of supporters. It was getting noticeably busier alright but with a long straight ahead of us in the park it was easy to find space. It was going through the gate at the end and back on to tight roads was when things started to tighten up a bit and it wasn’t long until we started to hit the large pack of runners from the 2^nd wave. As you come back into the park it has a lot of twists and turns and the crowds got even bigger.

The never ending drag with some downhill for a break

The next 5 miles (6 to 10) looked like 7:42, 7:47, 7:31, 7:40 & 7:39. I remember thinking at mile 6, “damn I have 20 miles to go, how am I going to do that”. I needed to get that out of my head and break it back down. There was huge support by Chapelizod and that definitely got the hairs standing up as I knew what was coming next after the Rock ‘N’ Roll half had this as its last few miles. In this section Holly had to inspect the portaloos a couple of times but she came sprinting back, no such thing as slowly catching back up. We met some great characters as we moved through the crowd here, Holly took the chance to take out the gopro and ask them a few questions. We had a guy in full army clothing, 2 guys dressed up as a rowing boat running together, Jerry who is one of Corks most recognisable athletes and top wheelchair athlete, Sonic made an appearance as well along the way. What faced us next was pretty much a long drag through half way. It was great to see Sarah R and Alechia at about mile 12 for a bit of support, the crowds are huge but its always good when its someone you know. Miles 11 to 15 were 7:45, 7:43; 7:49; 7:48 & 7:45. I passed through half way in 1:41:50, that was a whole 10 minutes faster than I did 2 years ago. I was feeling good through 15 miles but the race was only getting started then. Mile 16 to 20 looked like 7:40; 7:45; 7:45; 7:42; 7:41. I was really surprised with my consistency here. It certainly didn’t feel like it but I was knocking out some steady miles. But after this is where the marathon really begins, it is the time where people start to slow down

The miles started to get hard, almost as hard as the Jelly Beans

Miles 21 to 26 were 7:44; 7:46; 7:39; 7:33; 7:52; 8:00. This is where things started to get tough and if I was on my own I’d have so easily have given up or dropped off the pace. I felt a bit light headed at around mile 21 so I asked Holly to grab me jellys next time she saw someone giving them out. And she did, I grabbed them, threw them in my mouth and was expecting some soft haribo but instead they were rock solid jelly beans. My back tooth didn’t agree with them and next thing I know I’m chewing on bits of my tooth. I had somehow cracked my tooth on a sweet – I couldn’t make it up if I tried, now I am down the majority of a tooth. Hollys response to it was – you are lighter now so you can run faster. Good advice. So I had to forget about the tooth and continue on, but I was starting to struggle to stay focused now. My legs were getting tired, my head was saying you are done and I wanted to slow down. This is where Holly really offered the best advice and support. We took it one mile at a time and she ran in front and I had to keep up. It could have been so easy to just say no but I had to dig deep and say I can do this. I knew we had a good downhill and flat finish so I just needed to get to there. When I look at my mile splits now I see I wasn’t struggling physically and I was tipping away at a good pace. But just before mile 25 was where I was looking forward to all day. The ASICS Frontrunner cheer zone was located here. You could hear them from far down the road. What a bunch of legends. Cheering & motivating people a lot longer than I was running the marathon. The good vibes as I ran through gave me the much needed energy, you could really tell they were enjoying it. Looking at mile 26 will annoy me though, just because every other mile was below 8 minutes but as you can see I did lose some time over the last couple of miles but I’m not going to complain too much about that.

And the shuffle to the line

The last few 100 meters felt like they would never end. The crowds on either side were huge but I was just looking ahead at the finish line. Holly kept encouraging me right up to the line. It worked and I crossed the line with a massive PB finishing in 3:23:26. A hug for Holly for getting me the PB, picked up my medal and then got my phone out and powered it on as I wanted to check how everyone got on. My phone started alerting with everyone I was tracking and some amazing results there.

Thanks

There are so many people to thank:

Martha for giving me the time to put in the long runs, the short runs and the races, which meant I was out of the house a lot. It isn’t easy with a 2 year old and she sacrificed plenty of mornings and evening so I could train to get the target I wanted.

St Catherine’s members for the training. From speed work to long runs it always helps to have a good team around you.

Damian for all the advice on the build up to it and for years of encouragement. He helped me break 4 hours 2 years ago and he smashed through the 3 hour barrier this year.

ASICS Frontrunner team for keeping me relaxed on the build up to the race right up to when the gun went off. They offered great advice and gave me the confidence on the day and the work they put in at the cheer zone was appreciated by all.

Gazz & Holly for giving me the opportunity to be part of the frontrunner team and to run the race with ASICS and have the best kit for it. I hadn’t planned on doing it until they provided us with the chance. And then a huge thank you to Holly for her help on the day. I definitely would not have been able to do it on the day without her. Maybe up to 21 miles I’d have been ok but I would have fallen away after that but for the advice and encouragement she provided. It was really enjoyable to run with such a great runner who made things look effortless. No doubt everyone will want her as a pacer now. You can thank me later Holly.

After

After relaxing with a hot chocolate it was back to the hotel for some downtime. I do regret not joining the team at the cheerzone. You can check out the fun they were having here. That evening we all went out as a team for burgers and some celebration drinks (water for me). My burger was gone in seconds. Some went the extra mile and went out in fancy dress. My evening was about to end early after a long day but a call from Damian meant I was back out to meet him.

Overall

What can I say, this weekend went perfect. The race was the icing on the cake. The frontrunner weekend really helped relax me before my ‘A’ race and I’d like to thank the frontrunner team for everything. I really can’t wait for the next meet up. I’d definitely advice people to get out and do Dublin next year. The support was exceptional, the organisation was perfect and the course it tough but fair. To have over 16,000 finishers and have it run so smooth shows you how well this race is run and no wonder it continues to sell out and is a must do race. Well done to everyone who took part in the marathon, park run and cheered everyone on. Each of your deserve to the celebrations. Some amazing results out there.

What next

It is time now to relax and use Vegas half marathon as a fun day out. I don’t see myself racing for the rest of the year and come back fresh next year for more big challenges.

Photography – Carel Du Plessis CDP Photography Ltd & Jack Schofield Stage 7 Photography