REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon: Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
An aggressive net-downhill plunge off the Spring Mountains into the Las Vegas valley — fast times, brutal quads.
- Where:
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- When:
- April
- 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
Key moments
- Mile 1–20Sustained ~4% descent down Kyle Canyon — float, don’t brake or pound.
- 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 — 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.
Plan your mile splits
Enter your goal time to get a mile-by-mile pacing band for REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon. The even pace option is pre-selected to suit this course.
| Mile | Pace | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:09/mi | 9:09 |
| 2 | 9:09/mi | 18:18 |
| 3 | 9:09/mi | 27:28 |
| 4 | 9:09/mi | 36:37 |
| 5 | 9:09/mi | 45:46 |
| 6 | 9:09/mi | 54:55 |
| 7 | 9:09/mi | 1:04:05 |
| 8 | 9:09/mi | 1:13:14 |
| 9 | 9:09/mi | 1:22:23 |
| 10 | 9:09/mi | 1:31:32 |
| 11 | 9:09/mi | 1:40:41 |
| 12 | 9:09/mi | 1:49:51 |
| 13 | 9:09/mi | 1:59:00 |
| 14 | 9:09/mi | 2:08:09 |
| 15 | 9:09/mi | 2:17:18 |
| 16 | 9:09/mi | 2:26:28 |
| 17 | 9:09/mi | 2:35:37 |
| 18 | 9:09/mi | 2:44:46 |
| 19 | 9:09/mi | 2:53:55 |
| 20 | 9:09/mi | 3:03:05 |
| 21 | 9:09/mi | 3:12:14 |
| 22 | 9:09/mi | 3:21:23 |
| 23 | 9:09/mi | 3:30:32 |
| 24 | 9:09/mi | 3:39:41 |
| 25 | 9:09/mi | 3:48:51 |
| 26 | 9:09/mi | 3:58:00 |
| 26.22 | 9:09/mi | 4:00:00 |
Fueling & 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 — 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.
Train for REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon
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