Several runners pass through a wash during a 20-mile run around Henderson on Nov. 13. The runners are part of a training group of more than 200 locals preparing for the New Las Vegas Marathon on Dec. 4. Photos by Jane Kalinowsky. Terry Collier, race director for the New Las Vegas Marathon, hands Gatorade to a local runner during a training run around Henderson on Nov. 13. A group of runners meets in Henderson to train for the New Las Vegas Marathon, which is scheduled for Dec. 4. Click image for enlargement.

From high-ranking race officials to county commissioners to the mayor's office, and even to the manager of Siegfried & Roy, when it comes to discussing the New Las Vegas Marathon, words such as "vision" and "plan" are consistently bandied about.

Those words are certainly accurate, as on Dec. 4 the race with a 38-year history will finally be run not only through the city, but down Las Vegas Boulevard and through the Fremont Street Experience.

But when it comes down to it, as with most things these days, the renaissance of the race really hinges on one thing: money. Lots of money.

"If you don't have the money, you don't have the event. End of story," said Bill Burke, president of the New Las Vegas Marathon.

And Devine Racing, a Chicago-based company that earlier this year bought the race from longtime president and owner Al Boka, had the money.

"Vision was important, but we needed to see that they had the experience and financial wherewithal to do it. And we did see that," Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid said.

Devine Racing, headed by chairman Chris Devine, definitely had the experience. The company also operates the Los Angeles and Salt Lake City marathons, oversaw the Chicago Marathon in the mid-1990s and still operates the Chicago Half-Marathon.

And the money was there to not only convince Boka to sell it earlier this year -- for undisclosed terms -- but to then pour into the event to make it happen as envisioned.

"We want to own and operate the finest quality events in the world," Devine said. "As such, we've made a significant investment in Las Vegas because of the tremendous upside and long-term potential."

Devine wouldn't divulge a firm amount, but did say his company's investment is already "in the millions," with a prize purse this year of $302,000.

Boka, who had overseen the race since 1983, said his annual operating budget never exceeded $500,000, and prize money peaked at $100,000 a decade ago. In fact, operating costs and lack of sponsorship forced him to offer no prize money as recently as 2002 -- on a course that started south of Jean and went nowhere near the city's major landmarks before ending at Sunset Park.

"The key words here are 'Devine Racing,' " said Boka, who was retained by the company as an adviser and ambassador. "Chris Devine's dream is to create events of superior quality, not only around the country, but internationally. And I believe Las Vegas is the focal point of these events."

Much like Boka with the Las Vegas Marathon, Burke owned the Los Angeles Marathon before selling it to Devine Racing last year.

"Al Boka did what he could with what he had," said Burke, who remains president of the L.A. Marathon. "For 20 years, I owned the L.A. Marathon, but I never had anything close to the resources that Las Vegas has now."

And those resources are entirely from Devine Racing, which said the race has no sponsors and no input from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority or Las Vegas Events.

The idea behind that, said Devine Racing chief executive officer Steve Miller, is to put on such a great event that sponsors will line up to support it in the future.

"Al Boka had a big heart and really good people, and they had a passion for the race," Miller said. "But they didn't have the budget to match their dream.

"We believe in the race at a level that allowed us to underwrite it in total."

So with Devine Racing's resources, the "vision" and "plan" for the race quickly could match the dream, as it became much easier to persuade city and county officials.

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From there, securing support for the marathon course -- particularly on the Strip -- became the next hurdle. Having the race start at 6 a.m. on a Sunday in December proved a smart first move.

"In the past, there's been a resistance to close the Strip for any reason," Reid said. "But when people realized it could be done at a time when it wouldn't inconvenience too many people and in a way that would help market the city, those who previously objected were silent."

The county commission unanimously approved the race's new course, giving support to Devine that Boka had long sought but hadn't been able to achieve.

New York City Marathon executive director Allan Steinfeld understood what Boka was up against. For the past 25 years, Steinfeld has been part of an event that had very humble beginnings.

In 1970, just 127 runners competed in the New York City Marathon, run entirely through Central Park. Three weeks ago, more than 37,000 runners competed, running a course throughout the five boroughs in what's become a huge annual event on the city's calendar.

"Al had a great event, but it was with Las Vegas as a backdrop, not as a showcase," Steinfeld said. "Every big-city marathon -- and that's what this is going to be -- encompasses the city, in New York, London, Paris, Chicago. And Las Vegas is known for one thing: the Strip."

Clark County manager Thom Reilly agreed the Strip was the key, but added that getting Las Vegas Boulevard as part of the course couldn't have happened much sooner than this year.

"Obviously, the experience Devine Racing brought in and the financial ability to put on a quality race definitely factored in," said Reilly, who plans to compete in the marathon. "But I think it's also the evolution of the Las Vegas Valley. As the Las Vegas Valley has transformed into much more than just gaming, with world-class culinary, shopping and night-life experiences, an athletic event like a marathon is another part of what Las Vegas can be and is.

"Ten to 15 years ago, there wasn't an appetite on the Strip to do this. But since then, the community has been embracing a lot of events to attract a whole slew of different types of folks. This whole community is evolving, and I think this is great for the community. It's so positive."

Specifically, Reilly cited last year's Tour of Hope -- a Lance Armstrong-led cross-country fundraiser to benefit cancer research -- as proof that the Strip could handle a major event.

"That event turned out spectacular," he said. "The Strip wasn't closed, but they rode down it at 5 p.m. on a Friday, with minimal disruption to traffic."

Several big players within the community also helped push the New Las Vegas Marathon onto the Strip and throughout the city.

Devine Racing hired Rogich Communications -- led by powerful and well-connected political consultant Sig Rogich -- to head up its public relations. Bernie Youman, who has managed Siegfried & Roy for 30 years and is a longtime friend of Burke, was hired as race chairman.

"Our vision was to do something where runners went up the Las Vegas Strip," Youman said. "To run past all the resorts, across downtown, with music and entertainment along the course, that's the spark. Someone may come to run it only once, but they'll say, 'What a great experience.' And that's thanks to the vision of the people who live and work in this community."

Even Mayor Oscar Goodman, constantly touting Las Vegas as a viable site for a major league sports franchise, quickly realized that a major league marathon -- showcasing the Strip -- was worth backing and could be obtained sooner.

"It's a natural. It was bound to happen," Goodman said. "I think the impetus for our enthusiasm is basically the magnitude of the event and what it can be with the management behind it. And these people got a first-class impresario in Bernie Youman. He put his imprimatur on this, and off it ran."

And almost anything that can sell Las Vegas gets a thumbs-up from Goodman.

"I think it's a maturation of the way the community thinks," he said. "We need to be ahead of the curve to give people new reasons to come here. We've got NASCAR, the National Finals Rodeo, now the 2007 NBA All-Star Game is coming here. These are world-class events, and Las Vegas should also be a home for a world-class marathon."

Goodman said he's also pleased the race will run through areas many outside of Las Vegas are unfamiliar with -- residential neighborhoods. After starting at Mandalay Bay and going up the Strip and through the Fremont Street Experience, the course winds north, west, south down Torrey Pines Drive and east on Twain before heading back to Mandalay Bay via Frank Sinatra Drive.

"It's not only going to be televised down the Strip, but Fremont Street and the neighborhoods. That's a real plus for us in this kind of event," Goodman said. "When you tell people you're from Las Vegas, they still say, 'What hotel do you live in?' "

Miller said highlighting more than just the Strip was part of what helped sell city and county officials on their plan.

"In any city, you have a passion for that city from the people who live there," he said. "I'll bet everybody in Las Vegas who feels good about this is glad Las Vegas will be at the center of this."

And that, said race director Terry Collier, has helped get the community behind the event in a relatively short period of time.

"It just gets better every day," said Collier, a longtime marathon runner and organizer. "As a resident of Las Vegas, seeing the momentum and spirit this event is bringing to the whole community is nothing less than the spirit that accompanies the marathon at an Olympic Games."

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Now, one week out from the race, some of the hardest work remains: getting the course set up, finalizing traffic control issues, handling an expected late surge of entrants, then getting up to 15,000 people off and running in an organized fashion at 6 a.m. on Dec. 4.

There will be a rolling road closure during the race, with event organizers in charge of clearing and releasing streets back to public traffic as the day proceeds.

The potential for race-day problems is huge, a fact not lost on organizers.

"One of the things the county and city were both very concerned about was that, logistically, the event takes place as flawlessly as possible," said Bruce Buzil, vice chairman of Devine. "They asked to talk to police in Los Angeles about how we handled things there. That helped get them more comfortable. We have a core logistics team out of Los Angeles that will oversee this event."

Said Miller: "In every activity, there is an inevitable amount of fallout. What you hope is that the overall outcome of the activity far supersedes any short-term negative."

Burke had perhaps the most intriguing analogy.

"At this point, I'm like an expectant father," he said. "On December 4, I just want to have a healthy baby."

That said, everyone involved is betting on success, from Devine Racing headquarters to Burke to Youman and Collier, from city and county officials to the big-city-marathon-experienced Steinfeld.

"I only have great expectations," said Youman, noting that there is a major title fight -- between middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins -- the night before the race at Mandalay Bay that will draw major media from around the country.

Youman said he expects some of those media members to turn out for the race.

"This community could end up on the front page of papers everywhere, and to me, that's exciting."

And the eternally optimistic Goodman has no concerns for race day, save one unlikely happenstance.

"I hope there's not a major snowstorm," he joked. "I'm not worried about anything. I think it's going to be a great event."