Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 | 10:24 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
It's Las Vegas Marathon weekend, which means it's time for some well-meaning sports columnist to feign interest in long-distance running and call for the Strip to be shut down, so as to provide an interesting backdrop for the runners that would attract network television and turn the event into the boffo attraction we all know it can be.
Hold on, Frank Shorter. Ain't gonna happen.
Not that closing down the Strip for the marathon men and women is a bad idea. It's just not realistic.
I mean, outside of a tee time, has anybody ever gotten a bunch of CEOs to agree on anything? So do you honestly think the guys with the tasseled loafers who preside over the board meetings at our hotel-casinos would limit access to them for the better part of an entire Sunday?
When President Bush and John Kerry were here campaigning, I-15 was closed for a short time so their motorcades could get them to those $1,000 a plate dinners on time. But the Strip stayed open. If the guys running for our country's highest office couldn't shut down Las Vegas Boulevard, what chance do a bunch of guys running just for the fun of it have?
Yeah, I know a world-class marathon would bring a lot of world-class runners to town. But when was the last time you saw a bunch of Kenyans sitting around a blackjack table or standing in line for Rita Rudner tickets?
Al Boka and his marathon staff seem to have accepted that this is one cramp that won't go away. So they are moving forward without the Neon Light Brigade, trying to do what they can to make our marathon session bigger and better. And they seem to be succeeding, judging by the size of this year's purse and field.
With a lineup of 16 corporate sponsors -- sister properties Luxor and Excalibur are the only two gaming-affiliated entities on the donor list while big brother Mandalay Bay will serve as race headquarters -- the marathon will offer a purse in excess of $100,000 for the first time in its 39-year history.
More than 9,000 runners representing all 50 states and more than 30 countries are expected to answer the starter's pistol for either the 5K, half-marathon or 26.2-mile marathon that begins in Jean, just north of the Gold Strike Hotel, and finishes in Sunset Park.
While most of the top runners entered here are about as anonymous as their birth places, the cool thing about the Las Vegas Marathon is you never know who is going to show up. A couple of years ago, actor Matt Damon left his buddy Ben Affleck at the Hard Rock bar and appeared unannounced to run. Last year, NASCAR stars Michael Waltrip and Kyle Petty reported early for the annual test sessions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to stretch their legs in the marathon.
Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, will be back this year in an official capacity. He has committed to raising $1 million to benefit NASCAR's Victory Junction Gang camp for sick children through his Operation Marathon charity.
The presence of Bill Rodgers, the four-time Boston and New York Marathon winner who will preside over a runner's exposition and speak at the annual Pasta Dinner, will add to the event's legitimacy, but it will be interesting to see who signs more autographs over the weekend, he or Waltrip.
That's what got me to thinking. There is so much NASCAR stuff in my official Las Vegas Marathon media kit that perhaps the race organizers should just forget about the Strip and focus on the second most famous piece of asphalt in Las Vegas, the 1.5 oval at the motor speedway.
With LVMS serving as host and stalwarts such as Waltrip and Petty directly involved, the marathon would quickly become a special event. And what better way for LVMS to create a buzz for its NASCAR test, which begins Monday?
While the test is open to the public, crowds have been modest at best, as even many NASCAR fans work during the week. But let's assume that each of those 9,000 marathon runners brings somebody along for the ride, er, run. Conservatively, you're looking at a built-in crowd of 18,000. Roll out a few race cars at the 26.3-mile marker and I'd bet you'd sell a bunch of T-shirts with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s picture on the front.
The souvenir trailers may already be rolling.
A source told me the track already has had informal meetings with a marathon rep about pooling their resources. Apparently, the biggest snag is that the marathon doesn't want to run down I-15 or Las Vegas Boulevard north of town, and those are about the only two 26.2-mile paved roads that exist out there.
Heck, why not just do 17.46 laps of the track and be done with it?
While I'm sure there are some major wrinkles to be ironed out before you could stage a marathon at LVMS, at least there seems to be some mutual interest in making it happen. A marathon official I spoke to Thursday also seemed intrigued by the possibility.
Twenty-six grueling miles on foot on Sunday. Hundreds of miles behind the wheel in race trim on Monday.
Now that sounds like the true ultimate test of man and machine.
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