LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas native training for his hometown marathon received an unwelcome surprise just three weeks before race day when organizers announced a major course change without offering refunds.
Brandon Lusk reached out to Channel 13 when he felt his concerns weren't being addressed. Here's what he had to say:
Lusk, now a Reno resident, registered for the second annual Las Vegas Marathon back in May, excited to return to his hometown for the October 26 event. The original course was set to start at Red Rock and finish on Fremont Street — but on October 3, runners received an email announcing the route would now begin at Mt. Charleston and end at Arbor View High School.
"The course being nice and flat, nice weather, all of those things. When we traveled down there, there was going to be family to help celebrate — 'cause that's part of why you do it," Lusk said.
The sudden change left Lusk and many other runners frustrated, particularly because race directors are not offering refunds. Instead, they're providing deferrals to participate in other races organized by the same company.
"Right away, I was super frustrated. I went to high school in Las Vegas; I know where Kyle Canyon Road is, and it's isolated. It's in the middle of nowhere," Lusk said. "With the course the way it is, you can't watch the race...there's not safe places to stop for anybody. Nothing against the high school, but when it was set to finish at Fremont Street — it's definitely not as exciting as you've been planning for months and months."
With registration costing hundreds of dollars, Lusk took to social media and quickly discovered he wasn't alone in his frustration. He received hundreds of comments on his social media posts and noticed similar complaints on the marathon's pages.
"I remember one guy was coming from the U.K. and he was bringing his whole family," Lusk said. "It's interesting, though, a lot of these negative comments were deleted, and they turned off comments on those posts."
The City of Las Vegas confirmed the original route was not approved, while race organizers cited "course issues" as the reason for the last-minute decision.
The Las Vegas Marathon is now working with the city and runners to bring the original route back next year and has started a petition on their platforms that has received more than 500 signatures.
"Every major city in the world has a major marathon. I just can't imagine New York City can shut down all of the streets around Central Park, and Las Vegas can't shut down Charleston and some of the downtown roads for half a day?" Lusk said. "I think bringing marathon runners and their families is a different demographic, a different crowd than would normally visit Las Vegas. If we can all put it out there that the runners are ready to be in the city and celebrate the city, I think it's only a positive for everybody involved."
With just days remaining before the race, Lusk tells Channel 13 he is still deciding whether he'll participate.
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