Las Vegas Weekly

December 4, 2009 · 5:33 PM

Two options for weekend running: Great Santa Run and L.V. Marathon

By Robin Leach

Mayor Oscar Goodman, Siegfried & Roy and Hans Klok at the 2008 Great Santa Run.

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

After the speedsters of NASCAR roaring up and down the Strip, Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed again, but this time for a more genteel pace. Some 25,000-plus runners will be competing in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon broken into a half marathon and the full-length foot race.

First, though, is tomorrow’s attempt by Opportunity Village to break the world record for the largest Santa gathering with the Great Santa Run at Town Square. NASCAR champion Kurt Busch and his Golden Gaming partners, who own and operate PT’s and Sierra Gold taverns, has joined forces with Opportunity Village as a title sponsor of the event.

I’ll be there to help host, along with our Merry Mayor of Mirth Oscar Goodman and our Sen. John Ensign. There will be performances by Zowie Bowie, Yellow Brick Road, Jeff Civillico (V Theater’s Amazed) and Dr. Zhivegas. The 5K Great Santa Run begins with Oscar and Kurt starting the race. It serves as a fundraising effort to benefit Opportunity Village and is an attempt to break the world record for the largest Santa gathering set in 2007 with 12,965 participants at the Santa Dash in Derry, Northern Ireland. In 2007, we had nearly 8,000 participants, our best effort to date, and we’re really hopeful this year to claim the record. I’ll host tomorrow afternoon’s pasta bulk-up dinner party for the runners and their karaoke contest.

On Sunday morning, well before dawn, runners, including some of the world’s best and most elite, will gather at Mandalay Bay’s parking lots for our Zappos.com-sponsored Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon, our city’s first. Road closures might start as early as 3 a.m. for the 6 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. starts, but monorail service will begin at 4 a.m.

We expect the first elite finishers of the half marathon to be back at 7:20 a.m. and the first elite finishers of the full marathon about 8:25 a.m. As usual, there will be Elvis Presley runners and couples running together to get married or renew their vows in the run-through ceremony at the Eiffel Tower fountains outside the Paris. My friend Lawrence Cohen, who organizes this segment of the marathon, says this year, expect 16 couples to marry and another 60-plus to renew their vows. With the Elvis contingent, that should tally up to 750 folks!

We’ll be there for the start of the race and tweet the real-time happenings and have our full photo coverage on Monday.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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