LAS VEGAS — The new owner of the Las Vegas Marathon is changing the name, the sound and the feel of the race by letting runners log more miles on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Competitor Group and local officials posed today at the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign to announce they're rerouting the race for its Dec. 6 debut as the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon.

Officials say Las Vegas Boulevard will be shut down completely — a rarity in a city where casinos never close and traffic jams are common.

The previous race owner, Devine Racing of Chicago, bought the rights to an underfunded and under-promoted race and gained access to the boulevard in 2005 with one direction of the Strip shut down.