The Original Las Vegas Marathon

The Original Las Vegas Marathon traces its roots to 1967, when Las Vegas Sun editor Hank Greenspun launched the race as the World Masters Championship. Race director Al Boka grew the event from roughly 300 runners in 1980 to about 10,000 by 2005, when he sold it; the race was absorbed into the Rock 'n' Roll Running Series and eventually discontinued in 2020. Steffen Schneider, past president of the Las Vegas Track Club, and Bill Escobar, a five-time Ironman finisher, revived the event in 2024, restoring its independent identity apart from the commercial Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon. The current course starts and finishes at the M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson, Nevada, running mostly along a flat bike path with a few gentle rolling hills and distant views of the Las Vegas Strip. It is a USATF-certified Boston Qualifier with a generous 7-hour time limit, cup-free water stations every 1.5 miles, and a companion Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K on the same morning. Finishers 21 and over are welcomed at the finish line with free beer and street tacos.