Summerlin to hold cycling event, half marathon

Both Tour de Summerlin and the Summerlin Half Marathon kick off the Wellness Festival on The Lawn at Downtown Summerlin on April 13. The Wellness Festival is a daylong, family-friendly celebration that focuses on health, wellness and fitness. It incorporates children’s activities, food, wellness classes and more, while showcasing hallmarks of living in Summerlin that create an active outdoor lifestyle.

In 2002, the Las Vegas real estate scene was bustling. It was pre-recession, and home sales valleywide were through the roof, recalls Tour de Summerlin organizer Mike Almeido, who launched the popular cycling event that same year.

“The objective of the event’s founding sponsor and Summerlin developer, The Howard Hughes Corp., was to showcase the beautiful master-planned community and its outdoor lifestyle, which dovetailed nicely with our own goal, to create the most rider-friendly bicycling event in the Southwest,” he said.

“And today, 18 years later, our mission remains the same,” Almeido said. “One of the most unique aspects of the Tour de Summerlin is the abundance of the community’s biking lanes that are used throughout the event’s different routes. Our top priority has always been rider safety, and the opportunity to stage Tour de Summerlin on the community’s miles of biking lanes enhances the event’s overall safety.

“Plus, the event shows off the active lifestyle for which the area is known. Red Rock Canyon’s scenic backdrops, coupled with the man-made beauty of Summerlin’s parks, trails and streetscapes, make Tour de Summerlin one of the most beautiful cycling events in our region. The event that began in 2002 with fewer than 60 riders, today boasts more than 700. There isn’t another community that accommodates outdoor recreational enthusiasts better than Summerlin.”

Tour de Summerlin is Southern Nevada’s longest-running cycling event. The 20-mile course kicks off at 9 a.m.; the 40-mile course at 8 a.m. and the 80-mile course at 7 a.m. Registration is $90. To register, visit Summerlin.com.

The 10th annual Summerlin Half Marathon, which started in 2009, was launched for similar reasons, to showcase the community’s unparalleled trail system, which spans more than 150 miles.

According to Danielle Bisterfeldt, vice president of marketing for Summerlin, the Summerlin Half Marathon was the perfect way to illuminate the overall value held by master-planned communities such as Summerlin, even in 2009 when the economy was down.

“The Summerlin Half Marathon is really a celebration of the community’s most popular amenity — its trail system, for which The Howard Hughes Corp. received a national award from the American Trail Association in 2009, the same year the Half Marathon started.

“There are very few communities in the country, and none in Southern Nevada, that can compare with Summerlin when it comes to trails. So the Summerlin Half Marathon was the perfect way to show off one of the community’s best assets.”

Today, the Summerlin Half Marathon is lauded by runners as one of the most scenic in Southern Nevada.

The 10th annual Summerlin Half Marathon kicks off at 7:15 a.m. The 13.1-mile course includes a scenic tour of several Summerlin villages on the community’s nationally recognized trail system. A chip-timed walk/run, the Summerlin Half Marathon recognizes male and female top finishers, and all participants receive a tech shirt and medal. Registration ranges from $85 to $105 depending on date of registration. To register, visit Summerlin.com.

Summerlin offers nearly 180 floor plans in 40 neighborhoods in nine distinct villages and two custom home enclaves. More than 106 floor plans are showcased in 106 models throughout the community. Homes are available in a variety of styles — from single-family homes to town homes, priced from the $250,000s to more than $1 million. Visit Summerlin.com for information.