Running in Las Vegas, the City That Never Sleeps
The City That Never Sleeps lived up to its name, as Striders Team member Enos Benbow and I spent a quick 48 hours in the city to plan out the Sept. 20 PICS 5K. We basically went out this past Tuesday for a full day of meetings with different personnel regarding the upcoming race. The race is a low-key event offered to the attendees of the Sept. 18-21 Pediatric and Adult Intervention Cardiac Symposium, with a 6 a.m. start to begin Sunday, Sept. 20. The convention is an annual gathering of pediatric doctors from around the world that has taken the Striders Team from Washington D.C., to Miami Beach, to Chicago, and now to Las Vegas. With the three-hour time change, we were waking between 3 and 4 a.m. and headed out Tuesday morning to design the course. As we came out to the street, weather still at 95 degrees, down from the daytime temperature of 106 degrees, the street performers and the hundreds of promoters of females and shows were still in full swing.
The design of the established course that Aria Hotel had in place was mainly for a walking group where one would have to loop four times to reach a 5K. For a race director, small loop courses are a nightmare when trying to produce accurate finish times. We were given the green light to produce a new course, and we did so by designing an out-and-back course with no overlap and the only two-way direction would not happen until the 2.6-mile mark.
The course is one of the most unique ones I have ever designed with a few obstacles for the runners along the way. The City Complex, which Aria is a part of, is an upscale two-story mall that connects the sidewalks in the Aria complex. This means that in order to get the full 5K distance we had to go through the mall where runners will get a 30-degree drop in temperature in the first half-mile and the last half-mile, which should cool down their body temperature. Glass doors will need to be propped open at two ends of the mall to get runners safely in and out. The other issue we ran into was stairs, which we could not eliminate, so the course will take runners up three flights of stairs at .3, 2.3. and 2.6 miles and down the same three flights of stairs at .5, .8 and 2.8 miles. Not the best situation, but given the cards we were dealt and having to remain on the Aria campus, it was the best situation we could come up with.
I can honestly say if runners are looking for a personal best, well, this race may not be the one to focus on.
About the PICS Foundation
The PICS Foundation has been organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. The focus of the foundation is to educate physicians and healthcare professionals involved in the care of children and adults with congenital and structural heart diseases in the latest advances in the field of intervention therapies for dealing with defects that cause such diseases. The PICS Foundation will provide educational meetings and materials to pediatric and adult cardiologists from all over the world. The PICS Foundation will also sponsor research in the area of congenital and structural heart disease.
The PICS Foundation may receive funding via individual contributions and grants from hospitals and other members of the medical community, registration fees from attendees of the annual symposium, exhibit fees from vendors attending the annual symposium and funds from individual contributors.
The primary activity of the PICS Foundation will be conducting an annual meeting for healthcare professionals. The Pediatric & Adult Intervention Cardiac Symposium is an annual meeting that is attended by approximately 1,000 healthcare professionals from all around the world. The symposium consists of four days of lectures and live case operations.
The Vegas race scene
Las Vegas does have its share of road races, and the Rock & Roll Half and Full Marathon leads the way with over 25,000 finishers in the half in 2014 and over 7,000 in the marathon and 5K events. There are a handful of 5K races and a few 10K races; however, when I asked about the number of races, the answer was simple. Closing down the strip is a traffic nightmare, so the races are taken out of the city and kept to a minimum near the action on the strip.
An interesting concept has taken place in Las Vegas, though, that takes the headache out of course design, race-day procedures, safety and medical personnel, post-race awards and post-race celebrations. It is called a virtual race, where runners register the same as they would normally; however, they complete the distance (like a 5K) on their own and however they want to complete it. They time themselves and send their results to the race director by way of email or text message. Some races require a picture of their GPS results and some directors give competitors a window of time to complete the run. One director even met with the participants at a park and had an award ceremony following the event. More money with this method can go to the charity of choice due to the fact that expenses are much less.
It's an interesting concept with no one in the race other than the individual runners themselves. I think of it as a run against the clock. I wouldn't mind trying one with the Seashore Striders to see what the response would be. It may be a good thing to do in the winter months.
Upcoming races
Saturday, Aug. 8 - 7th Race for the Paws 5K, 8 a.m., Starboard Restaurant, Dewey Beach, www.seashorestriders.com.
Sunday, Aug. 9 - 4th Dewey Beach Buddy Run 5K Run/Walk and pancake breakfast, 8:10 a.m., Dewey Beach, www.races2run.com.
Saturday, Aug. 15 - Stephanie Callaway Giggle Medic 5K, 8:30 a.m., Irish Eyes, Lewes, www.races2run.com.
Sunday, Aug. 16 - 7th Greene Turtle Run 10K/5K for MS, 8:15 a.m., Greene Turtle, Lewes, www.races2run.com.
