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Las Vegas Marathon - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and the About to be Married by Ron Hartwig

Sometimes it is best not to be the first one to the finish line. But then we get ahead of ourselves.

Las Vegas is a surreal place. Millions have been spent to pretend you are in some other place and or time. You enter a casino and your senses are overpowered by sight and sound. In Oregon we have reduced lighting in buildings and kept our employees slight warm in summer and cool in winter to save on energy. Twenty-four hours a day, energy is greatly wasted in sin city.

Five runners from Salem mingled at the marathon. We had various degrees of success if it is measured by fast times. No matter what, we did have a good time together.

The day was cool at the start. It was 30 degrees in Las Vegas with the higher elevation start several degrees colder than that. While a few runners discarded clothing at the start, there was a string of discarded items from the start almost to the finish line. One runner who was wearing a singlet was seen to pick up a discarded shirt at the start. He wore it for several miles before throwing it away again.

Race Results: The Good - Gabriel Ceja 3:07:40. He said he was in good but not great shape. He placed 16th of 256 in his age group. It is rumored he could have been faster but was seen running with some young women to "help them get to the finish line." Dave Warren 3:27:10. After a couple of very bad marathons last year Dave ran a very good steady race just missing out on Boston Marathon qualifying time. He's back. Charlotte Hartwig 3:38:26. She found a course she liked - a good asphalt surface with few turns and used it well. She was the only one of the group to place, as she finished second in her age group.

The Bad - Ron Hartwig 3:54:50. He didn't feel particularly well at the start but this isn't unusual and things usually settle in. They didn't and he ran the downhill portion at the same pace as he ran the uphill. When he finished he apologized to the group for keeping them waiting and said "At least it's another state."

The Ugly - Jesus Ceja has run this race before and was in good shape to have a fast race. It was not to be. He didn't feel well at the start. He felt worse as he went and stopped at the first aid tent at mile six. He rode to the finish line and got there before the rest of the group.

The about to be married - getting married in Las Vegas is not particularly appealing to many of us. We saw some couples, still in their wedding attire, sitting at the slot machines. They usually didn't appear to be interacting with each other. Not very romantic. However, while waiting to get on a bus to take us to the start line we met a young couple from Chicago. He had a tuxedo top and running shorts and she had a short white dress and a wedding veil. They looked great. The plan was to run the marathon together then at 4:00 pm get married on a gondola at the Venetian Hotel with several friends present. They were so excited and happy we all felt good. The idea of starting your honeymoon the same day you run a marathon is somewhat daunting.

This is a good race with a fast but very boring course. It is almost a non-event in the city. The five runners and Dave's wife enjoyed being together and sharing this event. Ron and Charlotte really appreciated being at a marathon with friends. It is always fun to be part of a group as we all find different things to share. For example, Gabriel has an appreciation for art and found an art gallery displaying various parts of the body. One could bring home a reminder of the trip for only $25,000.