Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run around the Las Vegas Strip in parts of the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The 26.219-mile (42.195 km) race is one of the oldest marathons in the United States, having been run since 1967.

As the only private event to shut down the famed Las Vegas Strip, this truly is a unique opportunity for marathoners of all backgrounds. With the race starting just as the sun is setting, the city comes to life with lights shining like you’ve never seen before. Even when the course moves off of the Strip, music and lights will keep you moving one foot in front of the other, all the way back to the finish line.

The course from 1967-2004 was completely in Clark County, with its start point in Jean and its finish point at Sunset Park. Al Boka ran the marathon since 1983, until he sold the marathon in 2005 to Devine Racing, a Chicago-based race organization company that is responsible for several other races, including the Los Angeles Marathon. Additionally in 2005, the date of the marathon was changed from January to December which offered better weather and the race was moved from Clark County to the city of Las Vegas.

The course between 2005 and 2008 began at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino – North on Las Vegas Boulevard. It headed west on the Fremont Street Experience, north on Main Street, then south on Grand Central Parkway. After going west on Alta Drive it turned north on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Looping back in a south-westerly direction it passed Carey Avenue/Smoke Ranch Road, Torey Pines Drive, Twain Avenue, then Redwood Street. Completing the circuit, it went east on Viking Road, north on El Camino Road, east again on Twain Avenue then south onto Frank Sinatra Drive. The final section went past Russell Road before reaching at Mandalay Bay parking lot for the finish.

In 2009, the race was acquired from Devine Racing by the Competitor Group, Inc. and incorporated into its Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and the course was changed for a second time. The full marathon parallels Las Vegas Boulevard before heading west on Spring Mountain Road. A half marathon, most of which is run on Las Vegas Boulevard, was also introduced at this point.