As you entered the official expo area, Rock 'n' Roll made sure to remind you that "You're Kind of a Big Deal." Yea, we are. Did you know that the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is one of only two times during the year that the Las Vegas Strip gets shut down!?! The other time is on New Year's Eve. So, yea, we are a big deal!
I feel like I waited so long for this weekend! For a few years now, I have been eyeing the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas weekend. Going into my first Rock 'n' Roll race weekend, I was beyond pumped about so many different things. A lot of my blogger and social media pals have ran a lot of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series this year and I have been following along in their fun - all while being totally jealous! Our epic race weekend started bright and early on Friday morning! With a quick layover in Dallas, TX we were finally on our was to Las Vegas! I was totally thankful on the flight that we had bulkhead seats that allowed me extra leg room as well as prime viewing of the Hoover Dam as we were descending into Las Vegas. We finally arrived in Las Vegas! Wooooot! Seriously, our luggage seemed like it was going to take FOREVER to get off of the plane, but doesn't that always seem to happen when you have somewhere that you really want to be!?! After getting our luggage and rental car, we headed to our hotel to check-in and grab a quick bite to eat. Remember, one of my cardinal rules of "expo-ing" is never go hungry - you don't need to have a melt down! The Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas expo was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center which is conveniently located right off of the monorail system. A quick little ride and we were there! From the moment that you approached the expo, you could feel awesome energy all around you! We went to the expo on Friday which was day 2 (of 3) of the expo. It was a lighter crowd, but the atmosphere was still pumpin'! As you entered the official expo area, Rock 'n' Roll made sure to remind you that "You're Kind of a Big Deal." Yea, we are. Did you know that the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is one of only two times during the year that the Las Vegas Strip gets shut down!?! The other time is on New Year's Eve. So, yea, we are a big deal! The first area that you are funneled into is the bib pickup area. The area was very well organized with areas for marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K packet pickup all sorted by bib number (which was in your final instruction email). As I mentioned earlier, it was a very light crowd, so we got our bibs quite quickly. It didn't take too long for me to find someone I knew at the expo. I ran into my friends Jarian and Troy from back home. After receiving your race bib(s), your next stop was a section to pick up your race shirt. This was also super organized in my opinion and moved pretty quickly. They were only allowing for size exchanges on the marathon/half marathon shirts at the expo - all 10K and 5K shirt exchanges had to be done at the race. Your next stop was entering into the shopping/vendor portion of the expo. The first part was dedicated to official race merchandise. With Brooks being a sponsor, there was some pretty awesome gear to choose from! Whether you were wanting a tank, short sleeve, long sleeve, jacket, hat, pint glass, they had you covered! A lot of time race merchandise areas end up looking like a bargain basement sale, with stuff just thrown everywhere. The official merchandise area was very spacious and organized (by style, gender, race distance, etc) - I am sure this changed later on in the expo though. Ok, total running nerd alert! While reading other blogger recaps of Rock 'n' Roll races this year, I have always been envious of the port-o-potty fitting rooms that are set up. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to get to check this out myself! It was definitely the cleanest "port-o" that I have ever been in. Haha! Next, runners flocked to #RunHappyIsland which was an area of pure running happiness! Gait analysis to games to giveaways, there was so much awesome going on! I finally scored a #RunHappyIsland shirt that I have been envying on others! Score! My dear friend Jarian is quite the fun one. When he saw there was a chance to ride the mechanical Brooks shoe, he was all over it! A lot of people were getting knocked off the shoe withing 30 seconds...here is how Jarian did! After having some laughs at #RunHappyIsland we proceeded to the rest of the expo area which featured about 80+ vendors of various products, services, and races. I think one of Momma K's favorite booths was the Geico booth where she won the slot machine game that won her a water bottle, shirt, and a complimentary massage after Sunday's race! Boom! We made our way around the expo checking out what was all there. Expos are an awesome way to pickup items that you already use at great expo prices, sign up for future races, and even check out new products. Of course we had to stop by and visit our favorite ladies at Sparkle Athletic and Sparkly Soul - they are always a joy to chat with. We also picked up some goodies from PRO Compression and a few other vendors along the way. Bibs acquired. Shopping done. Hanging out with friends. I call this a successful expo! After spending 2 hours at the expo already, you would think that we were done. Nope. We had to go back for more on Saturday! We knew that today was going to be a lot more crowded since a lot of participants came into town after work on Friday or early Saturday morning. So what possibly could have taken us to the expo for a 2nd day? Well, remember this guy?!?! That's right, 2014 Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi was at the expo. Meb was going to be at the expo for a meet & greet as well as pacing the 5K on Saturday and leading the 1:45 half marathon pace group on Sunday. I couldn't miss the opportunity to meet Meb, so back to the expo we went! We waited about 40 minutes to get to meet Meb, but the line went by so fast as you chatted with other runners around you. Meb was such a pleasure to meet. He is very soft spoken, yet his words are so powerful. It was such a wonderful honor to meet him, hug him, and of course selfie with him. I made another quick stop by the Sparkly Soul booth where I had the opportunity to meet one of my fellow Sparkly Soul Ambassadors, Lisa, who was working the booth. Let me tell you, Lisa is AMAZING! It was such a pleasure to get to meet her in person - I just wish I head more time to speak with her. We made one final stop which was the KT Tape booth. The line to get taped is always long (but worth it), however I was lucky enough to have won a Fast Pass to skip the line. Hint: if you are heading to a race expo, be sure to watch the KT Tape social media pages for opportunities to win a Fast Pass a few days before the expo. I must say, the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas expo exceeded my expectations. It was a great experience all around from the atmosphere, to the organization, to the selection of vendors, everything was great! After leaving the expo, I was more excited than ever to run the 5K and Half Marathon this weekend!
2 Comments
11/19/2015 09:22:15 am
The expo was a good one for sure. Meb was at the expo on Friday too! I didn't wait in the line to see him but I snuck a photo of him. Turns out I got to meet him Saturday night at the 5km anyways so I was psyched about that.
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Brandi
11/19/2015 10:23:29 am
He was already gone for the day when we got there on Friday. I am glad that we went back on Saturday for sure!
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BrandiI love to run and most importantly I love to have FUN while I run....I am the "Funner Runner" Feedspot's Top 100 Running Blogs
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