I Moved to Las Vegas

The house under construction in Oct 2025

Introduction

Well, some of you may have noticed that there was a big lull in my normal running reports from about mid September until November.  

A safe presumption would've been that I was injured or lost interest in maintaining the blog.  Perhaps I had "retired" from running.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I was still running -- and putting some miles and solid sessions but I really didn't have time to race.  My weekends were busy "moving".

So much junk....

September 2025

So first off, I had to take a break from racing.  I was burned out from racing and an overuse of miles.  I was running two - three times a day sometimes.  Most of the miles were easy but at 55 years old and a body that just isn't tolerating high mileage these days, it wasn't working.  I remember coming home one day and just sitting on a bench in the bedroom wanting to cry. I was thoroughly exhausted.

So the first order of business was to dial it back a bit and stop racing.

Fall Running along the Jordan River Trail

It was also at this time that my wife and I committed to moving.  My wife had never really been happy in Salt Lake, considering it fairly boring, and she found it difficult to make friends.  As we like to say here in the United States, she gave it the college try for 13 years.

Initially we looked at Reno Nevada and that looked like the spot we were going to land.  We were looking for a place with no income tax, decent weather, at least a hint of a job landing if I should ever need one as a tech worker.  Reno really didn't fit this and ultimately we, or primarily my wife, decided that we'd go to Las Vegas.

I always figured that someday I'd wind up in Las Vegas - I was always fascinated by the city -- but I didn't really expect to actually move there.  (In 2012 Las Vegas was my first choice to move to).

In the spring, we wound up picking out a new construction that would be ready somewhere between Oct and December.

In late September we started packing and getting the house ready for sale -- which meant that a lot of my weekends were spent packing, fixing the house, and just doing things I'd rather not be doing.  There was also a large such of reluctance about the whole process. I loved Salt Lake, but I could use a change.  The timing just felt off.

October / November 2025

We listed the house for sale and on our "Open House" we had exactly 0 prospects come.  Rumors of a struggling real estate market had me scared.  We had put down money on the house in Las Vegas and the last thing I wanted is to be the proud owner of 2 houses.

Over the course of a few days we had 3 more people come check out the house.  One of them took the bite and put down a full price, cash offer.  Our house was sold.

The new owners were super gracious to us and allowed us to live rent free in the house after closing for a few weeks.  Suddenly my running weekends were spent with boxing things up and loading them into the garage.  I am not much of a muscle man, but my endurance paid off.

Even the cat was ready to move.

We also have a number of cats, and with the Las Vegas house now scheduled for mid December, we had to find a place to live -- for 2 months.  Finding any sort of rental that'll take a cat, let alone 4 cats, was a challenge.

For a period of about 2 weeks we lived at a hotel. With another family member and 2 cats, and therefore 2 rooms, it was going to be incredibly expensive to house us.  So we had to find another living situation.

Fortunately, we did find one in the same city that we lived in, which allowed me to continue training on the Jordan River Parkway and feeding the feral cats that I took care of.   It wasn't my favorite place to live and it was definitely a downgrade from what we had but it was a place to live.

The house we lived in for about 10 weeks

All the crap fit into one storage locker

It was also at this time that I was running stuff to storage in our local city as well as loading up a 26 foot truck and driving it to Las Vegas and putting stuff in a storage locker there. More or less, I had about a suitcase's worth of things to live off of.  Gone were my 100s of running shirts to just a mere dozen.  Even I got sick of the same dozen.

Going on a run in Mesquite

By November, I was able to race again, as all the stuff had been settled and my moving duties were basically on pause.  It was just a matter of paying my "last respects" to Salt Lake City.

Out for a run on a trip to Vegas

December 2025

At this point, things got fun.  The house was slated to be ours on the 15th of December.  So we finally had a date.  Our time in the smallish Airbnb we rented was coming to a close and fortunately we had a friend connection who had an AirBnb in Mesquite, NV who let us rent it for the remainder of our homeless period.

If you've read my blog for any period, you know Mesquite, NV is one of my happy places. I really like it there.  And the new condo we were going into was about a 15 minute walk to the casino.  Let's also say I was frequently flyer at the buffet.

I also had the opportunity really explore a new running route.  Usually when I am in Mesquite, I do the bike trail, but this time I got to explore some neighborhoods.  Also, there were some epic sunsets and moonrises that caught my attention.  With no races to distract me, I could also focus on some serious workouts.  My times improved ever so slightly.

View from the AirBnb in Mesquite

I really enjoyed my stay here and in all honesty, I would've liked to have spent more of my "between homes" time in cities I hadn't ever really experienced.  But with pet obligations and needing to close out my affairs in Salt Lake, we had to do what we had to do.

Amazing Sun Reflections

On December 15th, we took possession of the new house.  It is in an over the age of 55 community.  It has a ton of resort-like amenities, including a gym, trainers, pool, pickleball courts, frisbee golf, etc.  It is about as far as you can get away from the "Strip" but still close enough to the casinos.

Moon Rise over Arizona

I am starting to work into getting known in the running / racing scene here, and it'll be a work in progress.  I'll be sure to give more reports as time progresses.

On paper, I am still hoping to get back to Salt Lake City for races or just changes of scenery.  I suspect I'll be seen at the Southern Utah races a bit more often now, since it is only about a 2 hour drive.

The Gym at the community I live at

The pool

Stay tuned for more running adventures.

Upcoming Races

01/24: 2026 Sun Half Marathon - Santa Clara, UT (Confirmed)

02/22: 2026 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

03/26: 2026 Mount Charleston Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

2026 Chilly Willy 5K Race Recap - Las Vegas, Nevada

Entrance to the Park Bill Briare Park

Official Time: 26:40
Placement: 14th overall, 2nd in the 55 - 59
Results:  Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Low 50s. Slight breeze from the west
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: First Year for Me

Mile	Time	Comments
1	8:24	Decent but quick start.  After the loop around the park, though it was a grind
2	8:43	First half was more uphill than I'd like. 2nd half of the mile was great!
3	8:10	Tough mile.  First .75 is progressively uphill.
3.16	1:22	Slight uphill
	Total Miles: 3.16- 26:40

The rubber-like track

Introduction

Well, one way to make friends when you've moved to a new location is to jump into a race.  So that is precisely what I did -- do the Chilly Willy 5K -- a race that celebrates what Las Vegans deem as chilly weather (this former Salt Laker begs to differ).

The race offered 3 distances: a 5K, 10K and half marathon.  Given that I am racing a half marathon in about 3 weeks, I opted in for the 5K.  I primarily was running it as a time trial and to see if I had many any improvements since my last race in November.

The Race

The race's headquarters were at Bill Briare Park.  It was easy to find, but with very limited parking.  Smart cookies got there early or had to scramble for some sort of street parking.  I got there about an hour early and found suitable parking.

Packet pickup was a snap.  I spent a little bit of time touring the park before beginning about a mile warm-up.  There was only one bathroom (the park's facilities).  Fortunately, I found a WinCo grocery store around the corner, which I slipped into prior to the race during my warm-up (the park's sit down toilet wound up being clogged).  My legs had a bit of fatigue in them but I was ready to race.  

The air temperature was cool -- about 50 F.  I was dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt.  I was going to wear gloves, but I ultimately decided I didn't need them.  I also pulled out the Saucony Elites, so I was set for business.

I could tell the race was fairly small. In looking at the results, they had about 200 runners, most of whom were running the 5K or 10K.  

After a few strides and drills and about 1 mile of running, I was set to go.

Typical stretch of bike trail

The race started promptly at 9 AM.  Oddly enough, we didn't jump onto the Bonanza Bike Trail immediately.  We first had to do about a half mile loop around Briare Park.

It felt like a rubberized track and my shoes and stride were super happy on it.  With a mild downhill start I was quickly hitting a nice sub 8 minute mile.  Fast -- too fast though.  I reeled it back just a little. The last thing I wanted to do was crash and burn.

I had a vague understanding the course was "mostly" flat but knowing the topography of Vegas, going west usually involved some hills -- and the first mile or so we'd be running in that direction.

After about a quarter mile, we hit the end of the park and began the next quarter mile back to the starting line.  There was a slight incline here and my pace slowed down a bit.

At about the half mile mark we sped by the starting line.  I was feeling good and trying to gauge where my competition was and who was running what race. For a while, I was neck with another masters runner -- and we were definitely working off each other.

At this point, we were on the Bonanza bike trail and pushing westward.  There was a gentle incline and I could feel myself working hard.  We cruised under a pedestrian bridge and past the my WinCo.  Mile 1 rang up not long after at about 8:30.  Fair enough I felt.

On my left was the Summerlin Parkway and to my right, Trader Joe's, doctor's offices, and a shopping mall.  It felt like the race had just started and I was already a mile into the race.  Thanks to the initial loop, the bike trail section was going to feel really short.

The uphill section got progressively more intense.  The business complex eventually gave way to the Kellogg Zaher soccer complex.  Faithful readers may recall that I ran the 2023 Las Vegas 4th of July 5K here. I recognized it almost immediately.

The front runners were already making their way back towards the finish line.  There was a time in my running journey when that would've been me.  The paved running path continued upwards and my pace ground to a halt.  The first (and only aid station for the 5K) was positioned at the top of it.  The master's runner who had passed me continued on  -- thank goodness.  

I reached the summit, touched the first aid sign and I knew the next mile and a quarter were going to be a glorious downhill.  I forgot to look at my watch to determine (roughly) how long the race was going to be; I was so eager to launch myself downhill.

I couldn't believe the pace I was running. I felt strong and my stride lengthened.  All the hill repeats and work I had done in December -- perhaps it was paying off.

Somewhere near the start of the race.

Mile 2 came in at 8:40.  Considering that the first half was uphill, I was pleasantly surprised.  It definitely wasn't going to be a PR day but I could probably salvage the race with a strong finish.

I dug deep and gave it everything I had.  I set my sights on 3 runners ahead of me, but I think they were taking advantage of the downhill section.  They were a hundred or so yards in front of me and slowly, painstakingly slowly, I inched my way closer.

This was the most fun I've had racing in a very long time. I felt empowered and my turnover was great.  I felt there was a good shot I was going to crack 26 minutes.  I also knew the return course, as I had just run it heading out.

I had made mental notes of how much longer I had to run at various sections.

Finally the finish line came by. I still had to run by it and do about a half mile segment on the lovely rubber track (.53 miles on my watch).  I clearly wasn't going to catch the front runners but I was going to make a strong showing.

Finish line photo.

My gusto lasted until about the last quarter mile.  At this point, I had reached the lowest portion of the race and I had a bit of an uphill section to push it to the top.  I knew this is where the wheels would come off.  My sub 8-minute per mile pace was now a crawl: 9:09 and I was struggling.

Mile 3 rang up at 8:10, which I was elated with.  However, that final .1 of a mile was the longest of my life (or so it seemed).  No one was chasing me down and the front runners had (probably) already finished.  I still gave it whatever I had left.  I made the final turn and blasted through the finish line (I can't wait to see my photos).

Smiles at the finish line

Conclusion

My "unofficial" 5K time was approximately 26:12. My official finish time was 26:40.  My watch read 3.16 miles, another person's read 3.18.  I was running 26:51 at the end of November on courses that were a little shorter than 3.10.  So I was thrilled with the improvement.

They had super simple age group system for awards. They had a traditional 5-year groupings, but they also had Masters and Grand Masters overall divisions.  If it was just straight up age groups, I'd have placed 2nd.  But given the over 40 situation, I was the first grand master.  Something to brag about I suppose.  Awards were done without fanfare -- just check your time in with the marshals and they were pretty quick to dispense an award.

Post race refreshments were bottled water and granola bars.  Pretty basic.  I paid $37 for the race (plus service fees).  About what I'd expect to pay for a race.

The race was chip timed and the t-shirt was optional.  I decided to get one for $5 dollars.  It is a cute decision and very wintery, but a cotton one.  It has a nice design and clearly is a runner's shirt.  I just wish it was a blend or polyester one.

The course was easy to follow.  There were only a few spots where one could possibly get lost but in those spots it was clearly marked.  It was pretty much a loop and a straight out-and-back.

The medal was super cool and the age group award can pin onto the lanyard.  

Overall, I was happy with my experience. There was a good friendly crowd there and I felt like my training is going in the right direction.  It probably helped that I was running in almost 1500 less elevation, though.

I'd happily do this race again next year.  It is a low-key, fun locals race (although there were some out of towners there).

Upcoming Races

01/24: 2026 Sun Half Marathon - Santa Clara, UT (Confirmed)

02/22: 2026 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

03/26: 2026 Mount Charleston Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

2025 Running Year in Review

Wrapping up the year in Mesquite, NV

The Numbers

Total Miles Run: 1677

Races:

5K: 14
10K: 9

Half Marathons: 5 (1 was a DNF) 

Introduction

Wow, 2025 was a challenging year to say the least.

The year started off promising with a wildly successful Sun Half Marathon.  It wasn't as fast as 2024, but I ran it well and finished strong.

From there, though, it went downhill.  

I usually judge my year by my race times, but this year I have to take a step back and acknowledge some of the errors I made and some of the successes.  Sometimes it isn't about the races, even though this year stung -- a lot.  I had set up some goals in 2025 in hopes of building off the end of the end of the year's successes.

Goals From 2024

I set the following time goals [FAIL]:

5K: 24:30

10K: 51:00

Half Marathon: 1:55

I came close to the half marathon but the rest, not even close.  As the year went on my times got slower or were stagnant.  Every time I felt like I was due for a breakout, I seemed to slip back a bit.  Pretty much every race I did was destined to failure.

Core Work [SUCCESS]

Another goal of mine was to continue to do my physical therapy work and core exercises.  I was successful at this until life got busy.  Now that things have calmed down, I am back at it.  It wasn't 100% successful, but I was committed to it for most of the year.

Destination Race [SUCCESS]

I traveled to Illinois to do the Bob Blazer Run for the Arts 5K.  The purpose of the trip wasn't to do the race, but since I was there I might as well do one.  It was one of the highlights of 2025 and I'll be honest, I ran pretty well.  Although, I think the sense of the goal was to do a new race in a new place.

Training on the bike trail in Mesquite, NV

Training

I did log nearly 1700 miles.  For not really training for anything further than a half marathon, let alone, a full marathon, that is a healthy amount.  I generally ran 6 or more times a week and, knock on wood, I wasn't hindered by any "do not run" orders from doctors or any major injuries.

I was also very consistent with prioritizing workouts / speed sessions.  I generally did them at least once a week if I was racing, twice (or more) if I wasn't.  There was a time in my life that I disliked hard workouts; now I embrace them.  I've also found I generally dislike the long run now.

I also felt I was successful at keeping my easy runs, easy.  My harder days were definitely focused on the task at hand: getting the workout done.

The year wasn't without some failures though.  As mentioned before, I think I failed at my (time) goal because of the following:

1. I ran too much.  During the summer I was running two, even three times a day. Yes, most of the secondary runs were beyond easy-paced, but they just added additional strain on my already worn down system.  It was nice to achieve (or overachieve) my mileage goals but it came at a cost.  Now that I am 56 and well in my masters years, recovery / cross-training should become more of a priority.
2. I raced too much.  I couldn't say no to a race.  And even during some weeks where I meant to take a break, someone would invariably want to go to a race or I'd get a free entry.  Going all out in races was just taking a toll.
3. I moved.  Starting in September, we decided we were going to leave the Salt Lake Area. Ultimately, we decided on Las Vegas.  When I moved to Utah in 2012, it was a lot of work, but this one took a toll.  The Salt Lake house sold in 4 days and the new owners took possession before our new one was built.  So we had about 2.5 months of doing the Airbnb thing.  Living out of a suitcase was challenging.  Also, I was busy packing, moving boxes from Point A to Point B on a weekly basis.  It just beat me up pretty badly physically.  My resting heart rate averaged 10 beats per minute faster than normal.
4. I am getting older. There isn't much I can do about this. It is natural. Some people seem to grow older and never seem to be bothered by it.  Me: I am sore, my muscles ache, I don't move as quickly as I used to, and avoiding creeping weight continues to be a challenge.  I used to think I'd dodge this fact of life -- I eat pretty well, I exercise and I take care of myself.  But I don't think I have the genetics for it.

Best Races

Sun Half Marathon  Unarguably my best race of the year in terms of performance (1:55:38). I just love this event. It is a solid course and it was an out of town event -- so lots of new scenery.  I trained fairly hard for this one and I was happy with my time.  This race has made my list two years in a row and I am planning on being there in 2026.

Bob Blazier Run for the Arts 5K: This race wasn't my fastest time (25:33) but it was perhaps the best time at a race I had all year.  I didn't really tell anyone I was showing up.  I hadn't race it in well over a decade and a half.  It was amazing how many people I knew there and how familiar the course. was.  My PR at the 5K was on this course.  It made me homesick, but I really enjoyed this one and the subsequent training runs I did out on my old stomping grounds.

Lamoille Canyon Half Marathon: Another one of my favorites and I want to say I ran pretty well here.  How could one not run well?  With over 3000 feet of drop, this small boutique races is always one of my favorites. I am to make it in 2026

Upcoming Races

01/04: 2026 Chilly Willy 5K - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

01/24: 2026 Sun Half Marathon - Santa Clara, UT (Confirmed)

02/22: 2026 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

03/26: 2026 Mount Charleston Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)