2013: Zappos 1/2 of the Half (inaugural race)\n\nMy third Rock n Roll event ever.\n\nMy friend and I opted for the new Zappos 1/2 of the Half, and this is the first year it was offered. I think the shorter distance encouraged some new folks to try a race. My friend had never done a race and she was willing to try, and we even met a few folks who were parents accompanying their adult children who were doing the half or the full, and they did this shorter race. Definitely a nice option. That said, for the first time, there were some kinks that need to be worked out:\n\n1) The mile markers were confusing... the courses partially paralleled the half and full courses, so there were two sets of mile markers and if i you didn't know what you were looking for, it was confusing. My friend got frustrated by thinking she was further along than she was.\n2) No tech tee. The half and full racers got a nice black tech t, but we got a regular tee. It's cute, but I kinda felt like a second class citizen with a different shirt.\n3) Staff was uninformed at the finish line. There were shuttles available, but some people didn't know about them, and others gave us the wrong location (about 2 blocks from where we should have been)\n4) Some miscommunication between event organizers and shuttle company. The race started at 3:35 and was 6.5 miles. Even a speedy runner at a 5 or 6 minute mile wouldn't finish finish before 4:10 PM. Plus, there was the finisher area with refreshments and medals. After finally finding the shuttle pickup (not marked) on a very dark residential street, we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally a bus came, but couldn't get all the people waiting. There was a near riot. Finally some event organizer staff came by and said another bus was on the way. Another came and we boarded. The bus driver told us we were \"late\" and \"should have been done by 4.\" He got yelled at. I don't know where the miscommunication occurred (between RNR and his company? between his company and him? who knows), but chiding a bunch of people who have just completed a race and were standing out in the cold is not a good way to go.\n5) There also seemed to be confusion over same-day packet pickup. We met some guys at our hotel who didn't know where to go and didn't have a way to contact anyone :(\n\nOn the upside:\n1) GREAT expo. Since this is a large race, vendors were out in full force. Lots of fun photo ops.\n2) Huge start line festival, complete with a band! Water, plentiful portapotties, and snacks all available.\n3) Good course support: friendly volunteers with beverages, drinks and cheerful disposition\n4) People on the sidelines. It's Vegas, so it was missing some of the local flair of the other races, but people were going crazy on the sidelines throughout the strip. One of the wedding chapels in downtown Vegas even had their Elvis out front serenading us! LOVED it!\n5) Shows off Vegas landmarks... strip hotels, wedding chapels, Fremont Street.\n6) Thank you to Zappos for sponsoring a coffee/hot chocolate truck for us. I was sad we didn't get chocolate milk at the finish and this was a nice treat.\n7) The awesome Rock n Roll participants... seriously, everyone is so friendly! You can talk to complete strangers and everyone is in a great mood. They are there to have fun and it's a great community.\n\nTip for racing newbies: since it's the desert and temps can vary greatly, my friend and I wore arm warmer sleeves... very handy as we heated up and could slide them down, and then slide them back up as the desert temps dropped quickly. Plan your layers accordingly.\n\nI'll definitely come back, but would do the half... this event was a little disorganized and I felt like a second class citizen in the shorter event.
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