REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon: Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
An aggressive net-downhill plunge off the Spring Mountains into the Las Vegas valley. Fast times come at the cost of brutal quads.
Last updated
- Where:
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- When:
- Saturday, April 3, 2027
- Course:
- Steep net downhill · point-to-point
- Best run as:
- Even pace
Course & elevation
REVEL Mt Charleston drops roughly 5,200 feet net from a start near 7,600 feet in Kyle Canyon down to about 2,500 feet on the valley floor. The descent is steady, close to a 4% grade for the first 20 miles, before the course flattens through the Centennial Hills neighborhoods to the finish. The relentless downhill produces fast times but demands trained quads.
- Start → Finish
- 7,600 → 2,502 ft
- Net
- −5,098 ft
- Total gain
- ≈ 186 ft
The certified route
Point to point from Mt Charleston Lodge down Kyle Canyon Road, with a loop at the Spring Mountain Visitor Center around mile 5, then through the northwest Las Vegas valley on Oso Blanca, Grand Teton, Fort Apache and Centennial to a finish at the Thunderbird Sports Complex.
- Start
- Kyle Canyon Road at the Mt Charleston Lodge, 541 ft west of the 'No Parking Anytime' sign.
- Finish
- At the Thunderbird Sports Complex by the Bright Angel Church of Christ: the southern lip of the gutter separating the parking stalls west of the dumpster paddock, 68.3 ft from the west edge of the dumpster paddock along the north edge of the church.
Underfoot
Fully paved.
Through, in order
Las Vegas
What you pass
- Mile 5: loop through the Spring Mountain Visitor Center
- Miles 1 to 21: the descent down Kyle Canyon Road from Mt Charleston Lodge
Worth knowing
- Replaces the original NV16012MWC course.
- Runners must stay on the sidewalk through the Thunderbird Sports Complex to the finish.
- The mile-marker table is carried over from the earlier NV16005LAB certification, adjusted 609.56 feet down-route.
Transcribed from the USATF certificate for REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon (NV18301MWC), measured 10 October 2020. Where the certificate is silent, so are we.
Key moments
- Mile 1–20Sustained ~4% descent down Kyle Canyon. Float along instead of braking or pounding.
- Mile 20The grade eases as you reach the valley floor; legs are already heavily loaded.
- Mile 21–26.2Flatter run-in through Centennial Hills to the finish, where untrained quads quit.
Pacing strategy
This is a downhill specialist’s course, so do weeks of downhill-specific training first. Run a light, quick cadence and let gravity do the work without overstriding or braking. The flatter final 5 miles punish anyone who trashed their legs on the descent.
Pacing by goal time
Checkpoint splits for four common goals at REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon. These are effort-even rather than pace-even: the paces shift with the course profile, so climbs are slower and descents faster by the amount the grade actually costs. For any other goal time, use the planner below.
| Checkpoint | Sub-3:00 | Sub-3:30 | Sub-4:00 | Sub-4:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 3.1 | 19:326:31/mi | 22:477:36/mi | 26:028:41/mi | 29:189:46/mi |
| Mile 6.2 | 39:036:31/mi | 45:347:36/mi | 52:058:41/mi | 58:359:46/mi |
| Mile 9.3 | 58:356:31/mi | 1:08:217:36/mi | 1:18:078:41/mi | 1:27:539:46/mi |
| Mile 12.4 | 1:18:076:31/mi | 1:31:087:36/mi | 1:44:098:41/mi | 1:57:109:46/mi |
| Mile 15.5 | 1:37:566:48/mi | 1:54:167:56/mi | 2:10:359:04/mi | 2:26:5510:12/mi |
| Mile 18.6 | 1:58:296:51/mi | 2:18:137:59/mi | 2:37:589:08/mi | 2:57:4310:16/mi |
| Mile 21.7 | 2:19:407:10/mi | 2:42:578:22/mi | 3:06:139:34/mi | 3:29:3010:46/mi |
| Mile 24.9 | 2:41:587:35/mi | 3:08:578:51/mi | 3:35:5710:07/mi | 4:02:5711:22/mi |
| Finish | 2:58:138:11/mi | 3:27:559:33/mi | 3:57:3710:55/mi | 4:27:1912:17/mi |
Splits assume even effort and are adjusted for this course's climbs and descents, which cost more than they give back. A model, not a promise: wind and heat move real splits around. See how the pacing model works.
Plan your mile splits
Turn your goal time into a mile-by-mile plan for REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon, built from this course's elevation. The even pace approach comes pre-selected, and grade-adjusted pacing evens out your effort across the climbs and descents.
Plan REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon splitsFueling & hydration
Aid stations roughly every 1.5–2 miles with water and sports drink. The cool, dry mountain start hides early fluid loss, and the descent makes it easy to forget to eat, so keep a fixed gel schedule from the first few miles.
Weather
Late-March/early-April brings a big temperature swing: a cold, sometimes freezing high-elevation start (occasionally snow) warming sharply toward a mild-to-warm valley finish. Pack throwaway layers for the start line.
What race morning has actually been like
The last 5 editions of REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon, measured at the start line rather than averaged across the month. Starts have run 12–54°F, averaging 31°F.
| Year | Date | Start | Dew pt | Wind | By late morning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Apr 27 | 54°F | 36°F | 3 mph | 61°F |
| 2022 | Apr 2 | 40°F | 30°F | 4 mph | 53°F |
| 2023 | Apr 1 | 21°F | 14°F | 5 mph | 36°F |
| 2024 | Apr 6 | 12°F | 6°F | 7 mph | 29°F |
| 2025 | Apr 5 | 27°F | 12°F | 12 mph | 40°F |
The gap between the gun and late morning matters here. In 2024 it went from 12°F at the start to 29°F by late morning. A four-hour finisher ran a materially different race from a three-hour one.
Dates derived from the race's published pattern (usually 1st Saturday in April; 2019 was April 27; 2020 cancelled; 2021 limited-edition date unverified), observations at Mount Charleston, NV (start area). Source: Open-Meteo historical reanalysis (ERA5), 7-11am local at the start line. Reanalysis is modelled from station observations, so treat it as a close record rather than an official one. See how race-morning weather is built.
Is REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
It can be, but with an asterisk. The course drops 5,098 ft net, which puts it in the band where the B.A.A. adds 10:00 to your submitted time for 2027. That does not disqualify the race. It means you need to run 10 minutes faster here than the standard alone suggests.
A drop this size is fast and punishing at once. Sustained descent loads the quads eccentrically, and runners who have not trained for it tend to lose more in the last 10K than the profile gave them in the first. If you target this race, train downhill specifically.
This drop is our estimate rather than a figure from the course's certificate. If it sits near a threshold, confirm with the organizer.
Compare every course, how the downhill bands work, or work out your own target.
Dial in your pacing & fueling
New to how training builds toward a race like this? Start with Anatomy of a Running Plan, find your zones with the pace calculator, and plan race-day nutrition with the fueling calculator.
Related marathon guides
- Mesa MarathonMesa, Arizona · Feb 13, 2027In neighboring Arizona
- Surf City MarathonHuntington Beach, California · Feb 7, 2027In neighboring California
- Colorado MarathonFort Collins, Colorado · May 2, 2027Another steep downhill course
- REVEL Big Bear MarathonBig Bear, California · Nov 7, 2026In neighboring California
Train for REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon
Build a free, personalized marathon plan that progresses you safely to race day, with paces tuned to your goal.
Create your free plan