Diamond Inn: Room with a view of marathon starting line

You see the strangest sights at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon, and I’m not just referring to grown men who run the half-marathon in tutus.

For instance, not more than 25 yards from the starting corrals, I noticed runners stretching out by bracing themselves against a giant pink ceramic elephant on Sunday afternoon.

The pink ceramic elephant is like a hood ornament on the empty swimming pool at the Diamond Inn motor lodge. The Diamond Inn is situated about 25 yards from the marathon starting bridge. It’s old and looks old, and on race day it’s like the Hotel California:

You can check out, but you can never leave.

At least not until the cops remove the road cones closing Las Vegas Boulevard and other arteries near the old motor lodge to traffic.

I asked Yvette at the front desk if any of the weekend guests were marathon runners.

“Not that I know of,” she said.

In the lobby sat a solitary half-marathon runner who was very friendly. Rebecca Meyer of Yuma, Ariz., was charging her cellphone. Yvette said that would be OK, even if Rebecca wasn’t a guest at the Diamond Inn.

They might not be so accommodating at the Four Seasons across the street.

Rebecca said she was running the half partly because she wanted to be in tip-top shape for when her husband returns to Arizona on Jan. 2. Her husband is a pilot in the Marines, patrolling the Korean borders.

There was Yvette, Rebecca and me. And a lifesize cardboard cutout of Kandi Hart, appearing live at the world famous Can Can Room on South Industrial Road. Somebody had Photoshopped pink stars onto Kandi Hart’s can cans. Rebecca Meyer didn’t seem to mind. You could get a room at the Diamond Inn for $49 on Sunday, and the phone charger was free.

Next year, she said maybe she’ll even stay there.