Organizers of the Colorado Colfax Marathon, Half-Marathon and Relay created the race in 2006 to highlight redevelopment on Colfax Avenue and promote physical fitness, especially among children.
Last year their attempts at good deeds were punished with embarrassment. Runners complained about a shortage of portable toilets at the half-marathon start in City Park, and the marathon turned out to be 26.7 miles, a half-mile too long.
So last summer race organizers quietly created an advisory committee of dedicated runners to examine every aspect of the race in hopes of improving it. They considered several alternatives to last year’s course — which rose 600 feet from mile 15 to the finish — including reversing its direction. They paid close attention to surveys of runners in last year’s race.
The results of their efforts will be seen Sunday. The starting line now is in City Park instead of Aurora, and the finish line is in City Park instead of Lakewood. The marathon and relay travel west to Lakewood and back. The half-marathon goes east to Aurora and back.
And, organizers promise, there will be plenty of portable toilets.
“We listened to the runners,” said Jean Townsend, co-manager of the race. “We took detailed notes of what they had to say, and we believe we’ve made specific improvements in each of those major areas. We even have men’s shirts and women’s shirts.”
Nearly 600 have signed up for the marathon. More than 2,200 have registered for the half-marathon, another 2,000 for the relay.
The course last year was designed properly, but in the wee hours on race day, volunteers misplaced some traffic cones in City Park.
“On race day there are a thousand different details and you have thousands of volunteers,” Townsend said. “The mishaps were innocent slip-ups by well-meaning volunteers. All we could do was respond the best we could.”
Organizers immediately contacted officials of the Boston Marathon, who agreed to accept adjusted times for runners attempting to qualify for Boston. They ordered the survey and made the results available to the public through the race website.
“It is amazing how kind and forgiving the runners were,” Townsend said. “We were relieved at the results. I think they are impressed that we listened.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
Race information
Colorado Colfax Marathon, Half-Marathon and Marathon Relay
When: Sunday, 6 a.m.
Where: All races start and finish in City Park. The marathon and marathon relay follow Colfax Avenue to Lakewood, with a detour into Sloan’s Lake Park and 17th Avenue on the way back to City Park. The half-marathon follows Colfax to Aurora, returning to City Park on 17th.
Health and fitness expo: Today, noon to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., City Park.
Information: John Meyer, The Denver Post
