There was a point when Cliff Bosley wondered if the COVID pandemic would permanently scuttle his life’s work.
Among the trials, setbacks and losses of the shutdown of 2020-21, a debilitating blow to an annual 10K doesn’t register quite so profoundly.
Still, the loss of momentum suffered by Boulder’s annual Memorial Day running extravaganza was a telling blow. After a two-year hiatus, with no races in 2020 and 2021, the Bolder Boulder didn’t exactly hit the ground running in its return.
It was a more of a slow, steady pace for the Bolder Boulder as it regained its legs. Now itap once again racing ahead at full throttle.
When the 46th annual Bolder Boulder takes off Monday morning, it will do so with the largest number of registrants since the post-pandemic return of 2022. Nearly 53,000 entrants are expected for the start in a Bolder Boulder on track to welcome a top-five mark in total registrations in the race’s history.
“Broadly, running still just continues to increase in popularity,” said Bosley, the Bolder Boulder’s longtime race director. “I do know that during the pandemic there were a lot of people who started running. Because it was something you could do and stay fit and kind of keep yourself preoccupied when the world was seemingly closed. People were gravitating toward being outdoors. Hiking, walking and running. I’m not sure if thatap part of the trend, but the sport continues to grow.”
In the 13 races from 2007 to 2019, the Bolder Boulder welcomed at least 50,000 entrants 10 times. That era peaked in 2011 with 54,554 entrants — still a Bolder Boulder high — and a run of nine Bolder Boulders in 10 years with at least 50,000 entrants between 2007 and 2016 was interrupted only in 2013, when the bombing at the Boston Marathon helped contribute to a registrant total of “only” 48,300. That total still would’ve counted as the Bolder Boulder’s best prior to 2007.
When the Bolder Boulder emerged from the pandemic hiatus, the 2022 race drew 33,991 entrants, the lowest mark since 1991. It has been a gradual rebuild from there, with a jump to 40,044 entrants in 2023 to 43,971 in 2024.
After increasing to 52,054 last year, the Bolder Boulder once again has experienced significant gains. For the first time since the race’s inception in 1979, the Bolder Boulder closed registrations before the final pre-race weekend, citing the need to stay within operational capacity. As of Friday at 3 p.m., still nine hours before the close of registrations, the Bolder Boulder had about 700 more entrants than 2025 (registrations closed Friday at midnight).
Typically, the race welcomes at least 1,000 registrations on race morning. That won’t be the case this year, and while Bosley couldn’t pinpoint one specific reason to explain the registration surge, the numbers are in line with local trends. The Denver Colfax Marathon last week sold out its half-marathon.
“Thatap another race in our area thatap also seeing a good amount of interest,” Bosley said. “That could be another indicator of the interest in running road races seems to be increasing.”
While the citizen’s race will feature the largest field in more than a decade, the 46th Bolder Boulder once again will be capped by the International Team Challenge, followed by the annual Memorial Day tribute. The Bolder Boulder will crown new champions — three-time defending Conner Mantz continues to recover from an injury, while two-time defending women’s champ Grace Loibach Nawowuna from Kenya also won’t compete — but the team fields will feature eight squads on the men’s side and seven for the women.
The extra squad on the men’s side once again will be an “All-Colorado” trio of former CU Buffs comprised of Stephen Jones, Andy Wacker and Connor Winter.
Once the first wave sets out Monday morning, all the familiar perks will be there. Entertainment and enthusiastic cheering sections will line the route. CU president Todd Saliman will serve as the official starter. And all runners, the pros and weekend warriors alike, will experience the thrill of a Folsom Field finish that makes the Bolder Boulder one of the most unique road races in the nation.
“I remember before I moved here watching the previous years, and that finish looks pretty amazing,” said Ryan Ford, part of the U.S. pro squad who is coming off a 12th-place finish at the Boston Marathon. “It’ll be special to participate in that this year. Looking forward to this a lot. I kept asking, seeing if it was possible.
“My coaches were kind of waiting to see how I came off of Boston, and make sure nothing was injured or bothering me before we committed to it. I’m glad that I was able to come off Boston with no real issues. I’m ready and pumped to participate in this, for sure.”
