Runners participating Sunday in the New Las Vegas Marathon and half-marathon near the finish line at Mandalay Bay. Approximately 16,000 people competed in the event. Photo by Ronda Churchill.
Tom and Bellinda Erikson, left, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., laugh Sunday while renewing their wedding vows at A Special Memory Wedding Chapel near mile five of the New Las Vegas Marathon. Photo by Sara Tramiel/Review-Journal.
Scott Powell of Dallas runs Sunday while holding a beer during the New Las Vegas Marathon. Photo by Ronda Churchill.
Matt Pensyl hugs Andrea Haley after proposing to her just before the finish line of the marathon. Photo by Ronda Churchill.
A mass of participants moves along the Strip on Sunday after the start of the New Las Vegas Marathon and half-marathon. The full marathon was a 26.2-mile loop with views of the Strip, Fremont Street, downtown and surrounding areas. Photo by Ronda Churchill.
The gang of a couple dozen Elvises hit mile five, and a few of them decided to hydrate -- with cold cans of beer that they had gamely pushed along in a stroller.
"It's light beer," said 57-year-old Jeff Padilla of Newport Beach, Calif., as he adjusted his wig and genuine 1970s polyester jumpsuit.
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About 16,000 runners participated in the New Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday, most without beer, but all determined. It was the second year the race ran on a new course that started and finished on the Strip.
Pre-dawn fireworks, sideline performers such as Blue Man Group and 28 couples stopping at a quickie-wedding chapel during the race were all meant to put the Las Vegas stamp on the huffing herd of humanity.
"Running on Las Vegas Boulevard dressed as Elvis? Nothing's better," said Padilla, who said he has run in more than 140 marathons, many times dressed as Elvis.
Jason Thomas, who had just wed Kim Engle at A Special Memory Wedding Chapel, said "Where else in the world can you do this?"
But for a select group of elite runners, this was about more than personal accomplishment, getting married or showing off sideburns.
Kenyan Joseph Kahugu won the men's field in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 19 seconds.
The women's winner was another Kenyan, Jemima Jelagat, in 2:35:13.
Kahugu and Jelagat received $15,000 apiece for winning the men's and women's titles, and Kahugu got a $50,000 bonus for being the first marathoner to cross the finish line. The elite women started about 18 minutes ahead of the elite men, and it took Kahugu 251/2 miles to catch and pass Jelagat.
This year's participation, about 8,000 in the full 26.2 miles and an equal number in the half-marathon, leapfrogged over last year's 10,000 racers, but last year's race did not include the half-marathon.
"The event this year was definitely a step above last year's by 10 times, and it's only going to get better," said Terry Collier, the executive race director. He credited the 7,500 volunteers and the support of the Las Vegas community.
Before sunrise, the runners had lined up on the Strip in front of Mandalay Bay as the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" blared over loudspeakers. As they started their trek, the runners were urged on by a pair of men in jeans and polos who appeared to have been up all night. The duo cheerfully held aloft a beer bong as they jogged alongside the pack.
But no matter how much route-side encouragement and Las Vegas glitz are added to a marathon, the fact remains that for most it's very difficult to run so far. Sunday's weather didn't make it any easier.
"God, it's cold!" one runner called to the small, cheering crowd around mile 12, near Decatur Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road.
At the end of the course, runners talked about the headwind blowing over the last stretch of the race. There was a 31 mph wind out of the southwest at McCarran International Airport at 8 a.m., said Charlie Schlott, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
"It's a bad day to wear a kilt," said Andy Fusco, the pipe major of the Desert Skye Pipes and Drums, an eight-piece Scottish drum and bagpipe band performing near the finish.
People began gathering along the course around the 6 a.m. start time. Some were there to cheer on family and friends or simply to encourage the athleticism.
The Rouse family had set up picnic chairs and brought blue-and-white pompoms and air horns to cheer the runners.
"We're a sports family," 10-year-old Madison said, pulling her hat lower on her head.
The family of four didn't know anyone participating in the marathon, but it was important for Keith Rouse to support his fellow runners.
The 40-year-old former marathoner leaned on a cane and cheered, watching wistfully as others ran by. He said he was severely injured in an accident and hasn't competed in a marathon in several years.
"I know what they're going through," he said. "They're hurting in the legs. They're going uphill against the wind."
He yelled to the runners: "Looking good, guys!"
A cowboy who stumbled out of Fitzgeralds on the Fremont Street Experience and encountered the early morning race scene didn't think they looked so good, however.
"This makes my head hurt," he said, then turned around and moseyed back into the dark confines of the casino.
The runners -- and walkers -- who made it to the last few miles were cheered on by the likes of Joan Rivers impersonator Frank Marino, Cirque du Soleil dancers and Japanese drummers. Of the more than 30 acts on the course, 10 were located between mile 24 and 26 alone, a critical stretch for most runners in both the marathon and half-marathon, said 24-year-old volunteer Rob Wills.
The first few runners, though, had to do the last mile in relative silence because there was a delay in setting up some stages for the performers. Fifteen minutes after their official 7:45 a.m. start time, the Kaminari Taiko Drummers stood under their tent, waiting.
"We're here to perform. and it's sad because there's no stage," said 18-year-old drummer Kristine Wakida. Still, she did her best to make some noise, screaming encouragement at runners as they ran by.
By 8:30 a.m., a steady stream of drums, bagpipes and pop music gave the runners a beat to move to.
Some runners had a hard time finding the energy to complete the course -- limping, grimacing and gagging their way across the finish line. One man collapsed into a wheelchair at the finish line.
Others had enough energy to sprint across the line, and one man did a cartwheel just before finishing.
UNLV women's basketball coach Regina Miller caught an early flight back from Long Beach, Calif., where the Lady Rebels won a game on Saturday, and completed the half-marathon in a personal-best time of 2:10, only a couple of months after undergoing shoulder surgery after a bicycle accident.
"I'm happy. I didn't stop once," Miller said.
For runners Matt Pensyl and Andrea Haley, the end of the marathon marked a beginning. Just a few feet from the finish line, Pensyl dropped to his knee and proposed, taking the engagement ring out of his fanny pack.
"We've come so many miles in our time together, and I look forward to thousands of more miles with you, running or otherwise," Pensyl said. "I want you to be by my side. Andrea, I love you. Will you marry me?"
Haley said "yes" before breaking down in tears.
"I had no idea," she said afterward. "He said I was getting an early surprise for Christmas, but I thought I was getting a massage, honestly," she said. "I'm just completely blown away by it. I was shocked, but I'm so happy. I think we're going to make this (the Las Vegas Marathon) a tradition."
Pensyl, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Navy stationed in San Diego, said he started getting nervous midway through the race.
"I started crying at mile 15. I couldn't even breathe anymore," he said. "I was worried about her saying no for some reason. I didn't know if we were going to make it that last mile. It was really, really tough the last mile. The last six miles were tough. The wall came.
"She's the girl of my dreams. I've never met somebody so perfect. We do everything together. We've talked about getting married for quite a while, and I couldn't think of a better way to (propose) than crossing the finish line."
Other than a few minor injuries, the race went smoothly, said Medic West paramedics John Wilson and Brian Rogers.
Earlier in the morning, however, a Metropolitan Police Department officer crashed his motorcycle at Spring Mountain Road and Interstate 15, injuring his hand.
Rogers and Wilson sat in their ambulance watching for signs of distress among runners. One of 13 ambulance crews on the job, they had started at Fremont Street and were following the pack as it made its way to the finish line.
Traffic seemed to flow more smoothly than last year, Las Vegas police officer Bill Stockdale said. He was stationed behind Mandalay Bay, keeping an eye out for stray motorists who were unaware of the road closures related to the marathon.
"I've got to get to the freeway, how do I get out of here?" Sommer Comacho, a Californian, asked a bystander after speeding out of the Excalibur parking lot. "I've got to get my son to a baseball tournament in 15 minutes."
Review-Journal writers Lynnette Curtis and Patrick Everson contributed to this report.
