First off I'm not a runner. I'm a fast jogger at best and while I did XC and track (mostly field events) in high school I stopped running after that. Now, a decade later I've finished a half marathon and I'm looking forward to training for a full marathon!
This was my first major race and I hadn't seen the corral system used before. It was crazy being packed in there and I had to really pay attention in the first 5 miles because I was passing people like crazy. I think there were a lot of walkers who didn't accurately gauge how fast they were. It was hard not to go tripping over them!
About 5 miles in I was still on a solid pace and 4 minutes AHEAD of my pace time so I felt great but was dismayed by the water stations. Being a slower running I was getting there after the majority and a lot of tables were closed down.
By mile 7 we were into the really shady parts of Vegas but there were cops everywhere so I wasn't too worried. At mile 8 a drunk and/or homeless guy wandered onto the course and was asking people what they were doing! After that we were back within the confines of the Strip and there were tons of people cheering for us. By this point I was running 4 minutes and walking 1 but managed to run the last half mile into the finish line.

I would have done my long runs prior to the race. I had only done 2 8.5 milers and the rest were all only 6.5 max. I think this hindered my confidence as well as my ability to keep going while tired.

Got my medal and space blanket and wandered around the race festivities. I made myself walk back to my hotel then stretched for a few minutes.