So let’s say your “four-star” tourist-trap hotel decides to close its spa and gym… where to go on the Vegas Strip (the new one) when you don’t want to fork out $10 for the “discount rate” at the hotel’s “sister establishment”? You go out the door and into the desert air for a brisk run.

(The reviews of NYNY are correct, btw: they will try to bait-and-switch you on your room type).

There’s a few tricks to surviving the Strip:

1. Head out early. At 6am, it was a cool 75 degrees. I took off late (confident that there was a gym), so it was a good 90 degrees. Still, there were quite a few other gonzo runners — I passed maybe 10.
2. Take the east side — after an abortive attempt to cross Interstate 15 (what was I thinking?), I went from MGM to Wynn and back. The shade of these megaliths will keep you relatively cool. (The lack of humidity helps)
3. Fit in every nook and cranny you can. There are plenty of little plazas where you stick to the shade, and some of them offer fans and, of course, blasts of air conditioning. (What an environmental disaster this place is!)
4. Stay hydrated. I neglected to bring a water bottle, but the dry air will parch you quickly. Worst case scenario, though, ducking into a casino’s rest room would be a viable refresher.
5. Don’t come to Vegas to run!

My total mileage for today was ~5, in about 45 minutes. Not bad 🙂

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•