Despite record heat that saw afternoon temperatures soar into the 90s and a challenging climb the final third of its 26.2-mile route, the inaugural Colorado Colfax Marathon sparked mostly positive reactions last year. Many said they were surprised how well-organized it was for a first-year event.
The course for Sunday’s second installment, which begins at the Aurora Sports Park and ends at the Colorado Mills mall in Lakewood, has been tweaked to make it a little more runner-friendly. Nearly 2 miles will divert off Colfax for a loop around Sloan’s Lake, providing a welcome respite in a marathon that gains nearly 600 feet from Mile 15 to the finish. More than 30 bands will provide musical entertainment, considerably more than last year.
“We’ve made it more athlete-friendly,” race director Mike Collins said. “Is it still challenging? Absolutely. Is it still a mile high?”
It is.
Registration for the full marathon is down from last year, but it’s up significantly for the half marathon and the marathon relay.
“The second year is always the hardest,” Collins said. “The sizzle of the first year, particularly on Colfax, is fine but a lot of people did it, so what’s next?”
From the inception of the race, organizers wanted it to be more than just another event on the Colorado road-running scene. This year they created the Colorado Running Hall of Fame, which inducts its first class tonight. They lured Joan Benoit Samuelson, winner of the first women’s Olympic marathon in 1984, to run on a relay team and help raise money for children’s fitness programs.
They created a pilot program with the Denver Rescue Mission, which is entering 15 men led by former methamphetamine user Nick Sterner, who ran last year’s marathon in 3 hours, 41 minutes, 8 seconds. This year he will be joined by his son, Nick Jr., also a former methamphetamine user.
The Colorado Kids Marathon Milers program (elementary school children run 25.2 miles over several weeks of training to run a mile to the marathon finish line on Saturday) had 2,400 kids sign up from 27 schools last year. This year 4,100 from 51 schools signed up.
“This is a community event that uses the marathon and running as a platform to address two major issues, the revitalization of Colfax and the fitness/wellness question,” Collins said. “It is not (just) a running event that plugs in components of the community. It’s the most unique event I’ve been around.”
Colorado Colfax Marathon
When: 6 a.m. Sunday
Where: The marathon and marathon relay start at Aurora Sports Park; the half marathon starts in City Park; races finish at Colorado Mills mall in Lakewood.
Late registration: Available at the expo at the Colorado Convention Center, today and Saturday. There is no race-day registration.
