Running News Daily

Bolder Boulder: Conner Mantz surges to second consecutive victory in pro race

Conner Mantz sure knows how to put on a show at Folsom Field.

A year after a dramatic finish to win the Bolder Boulder, he did it again on Monday. Mantz surged past Yemane Haileselassie of Eritrea in the final 250 meters to claim the title in the International Pro Team Challenge for the second year in a row.

Mantz, running for the USA Red team, finished the 10K race in 29 minutes, 12.51 seconds to outlast Haileselassie by just 1.8 seconds.

“I think it’s a big deal for me just because this is such a prestigious race and getting the body to dig that deep is something I’m really trying to work on,” said Mantz, who had a strong final kick to win by only four seconds in 2023. “So this is a race that was good to get the best out of myself.”

Mantz’s USA Red squad finished second in the team standings, behind the USA White team, which was led by third-place finisher Sam Chelanga (29:21.16). This is the first time since 2017 that a USA squad finished atop the team standings.

Biya Simbassa (fifth, 29:37.39) and Reed Fischer of Boulder (eighth, 29:41.97) teamed with Chelanga on the USA White team. Mantz ran with fellow BYU alums Clayton Young (seventh, 29:38.47) and Jared Ward (14th, 32:05.50).

Mantz was at or near the lead throughout the race but had a tough time pulling away.

“I just started out really quick and it felt pretty easy, and I was, like, running fast,” he said. “But then as the race went on I started slowing down and I couldn’t speed up, which was getting a little frustrating because I kept trying to take the lead and kind of break that pack open. Every time I took the lead to push I couldn’t get anybody to break out that pack.”

Heading up the final hill on Folsom Street, Haileselassie took the lead

“I trailed all the way behind the group,” he said. “I tried pushing the uphill.”

As the race went into the downhill into Folsom Field, however, Mantz found a new gear.

“I could hear (Haileselassie) struggling breathing, really hard,” Mantz said. “So I was like, ‘I’m gonna stay as close as I can and try and get him on the inside of the stadium, but by the time he crested going to the left, I made a hard move down that little hill and I could tell he was not landing right. So I was like, ‘OK, maybe I need to go now.’ His form was kind of dying. He didn’t slow down that much, though.”

It was enough of a slowdown, however, for Mantz to take advantage and become the first repeat champion since Allan Kiprono of Kenya in 2012-13. He’s only the fifth male to win back-to-back titles.

“It was good race for me,” Haileselassie said. “He led all the way and I tried to push him. He’s strong. He caught me. He’s good in downhill.”

The final kick wasn’t easy, though.

“I was surprised how hard it hurt,” Mantz said. “I had a good workout on Friday and a good one on Tuesday last week. So I was pretty confident I could kick really hard. When I tried to kick, it didn’t feel as good as I would have thought. I expected to feel a lot better at the end.”

The result felt pretty good, though. Mantz will complete at the Olympics in the marathon later this summer, but it meant a lot to him to win the Bolder Boulder again and to feel the electricity of the Folsom Field crowd.

“It’s a blast,” he said. “The crowd was so loud and it was just fun to be in such a special environment. It’s tough, though, like trying to kick and you’re out of breath. It’s tough to really enjoy the crowd 100% but I enjoyed it as much as I could.”

Although he came up short, Haileselassie was in awe of the environment, as well.

“Amazing,” he said. “I’m so excited to see these people. I was hearing about this yesterday. It’s really nice. I like it. It’s a lot of people. Really amazing.”

Bolder Boulder: Kenya’s Grace Loibach Nawowuna cruises to win in women’s pro race

Emily Durgin came to the 44th Bolder Boulder on Monday to try to defend her title. She had to tip her cap to Kenya’s Grace Loibach Nawowuna, however.

The 20-year-old Nawowuna got off to a fast start and never let up in winning the women’s title of the International Pro Team Challenge. She finished in 32 minutes, 45.3 seconds — the ninth-fastest time in race history and the best since Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia in 2018 (32:36).

“In this race, if you get to mile four and you’re separated, you’re pretty much home free,” said Durgin, who finished fourth, in 33:34.15. “Once she got to mile four, I kind of knew. I mean, that woman is a 29-minute 10K runner.”

Nawowuna posted a 10K time of 29:47.42 — the 11th-best in history — almost a year ago, on June 3, 2023, in The Netherlands. On Saturday, she was in Eugene, Ore., posting a 10K time of 30:34.86 at the Prefontaine Classic.

Nawowuna didn’t arrive in Boulder until Sunday night. She went to the medical tent immediately after her race and was not available for comment on Monday, but she sent a message with her legs.

She posted the fastest split of the day in the opening mile (4:51) and pulled away quickly. Ethiopia’s Siranesh Yirga was second, in 33:19.60.

“I knew (Nawowuna) was going to be able to go out in 4:40 and it not crush her, whereas all of us going under 5:00 at altitude, it does take a little bit more from us,” Durgin said. “She was honestly like an elite, high level athlete. So yeah, it was fun to at least go head to head with those women.”

Led by Nawowuna, Kenya won the team title for the first time since 2016. She teamed with Sarah Naibei (seventh, 33:53.62) and Daisy Kimeli (ninth, 34:30.96) to score 17 points.

Ethiopia, led by Yirga and fifth-place finisher Mulugojam Birhan (33:48.21), was second in the team standings, with 20 points. The United States team, led by Durgin, was third.

Durgin was only nine seconds off her pace from last year (33:25) but said this year’s race was a tough one, because of the pace set by Nawowuna, Yirga and Mexico’s Anahi Alvarez, who was third (33:25.52).

“It was hard this year,” Durgin said. “It was really windy and (the competitors) spread out really, really early. So, we were all running alone and all had a headwind.

“(Nawowuna) separated herself enough and then (Yirga), she was looking back. I knew she was dying, but we were all dying.

“Every year is a little different.”

Durgin was joined by Sarah Hall (10th, 34:35.19) and Nell Rojas (11th, 35:02.02) on the United States team.

In addition to the USA team, there was a team of University of Colorado alums that placed fourth in the team standings. That group was led by sixth-place finisher Makena Morley, who posted a time of 33:49.64.

Also running for the CU team was Carrie Verdon (eighth, 33:54.69) and Sara Vaughn (15th, 36:32.37).

U.S. Olympic Marathoners Will Race the Bolder Boulder 10K as a Pre-Paris Tune-Up

Conner Mantz, Clayton Young, and Leonard Korir will run in the International Pro Team Challenge on May 27.

Memorial Day is always an exceptional celebration for runners in Boulder, Colorado, but this year, it will have some extra special Olympic flair.

On Monday, May 27, more than 40,000 runners will run through the city that’s known for the iconic Flatirons rock formations, the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, and an exceptionally active population in the annual Bolder Boulder 10K. Now in its 44th year, it’s been one of the top road running races in the U.S. since its inception, and this year will serve as one of the final tune-ups for the men’s U.S. Olympic marathon squad before racing in the Paris Olympics later this summer.

Conner Mantz, Clayton Young, and Leonard Korir, the top three finishers in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials who will be racing the marathon in the Paris Olympics on August 10, will be competing as Team USA Red in the Bolder Boulder’s International Pro Team Challenge that follows the citizen’s races. (Korir is expected to officially be named to the U.S. team in early May based on final pre-Olympic international rankings.)

The pro race, which has a prize purse of $83,700 before potential bonuses, is one of the things that makes the Bolder Boulder so unique. After all the runners in 98 citizen waves have completed the race, professional men’s and women’s international teams from more than a dozen countries compete on the same course for team and individual titles. The races feature a staggered start, with women beginning 15 minutes before the men so the winners of each race will finish about 10 minutes apart inside the University of Colorado’s Folsom Field football stadium.

The finishing moments are among the thrilling spectacles in American running. By that point, the stadium is filled with a near-capacity crowd of roaring runners, family, and friends who have been watching the action play out on the massive video screens.

“The finish in the full stadium is like nothing else in the sport,” says Mantz, 27, who won the men’s race last year in 29:08 with a thrilling late-race surge to pass Kenya’s Alex Masai in the final 200 meters before the finish. “It was pretty electric. It took away all the pain you’re feeling mid-race. I was like, ‘Just race as hard as you can.’”

Team USA Red will have plenty of competition, from Team USA White, the secondary American team of Jared Ward, Futsum Zienasellassie, and Sam Chelanga, as well as teams from Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Rwanda. Teams are scored like a cross country race, with points awarded on the basis of finishing place, which means the team with the lowest combined score for all three runners is the winner. Ties are decided by the positions of the third-place finishers.

The women’s Team USA Red team will be led by defending champion Emily Durgin, along with Sara Hall and Boulder native Nell Rojas. Durgin finished ninth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in February and won the USATF 10 Mile Championships on April 7 in Washington D.C. At last year’s Bolder Boulder, she stormed to victory in 33:24, winning by 24 seconds over Kenya’s Daisy Kimeli.

Hall placed fifth in the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon on February 3 in a U.S. master’s record (2:26:06) and 15th in the Boston Marathon on April 15. The women’s Team USA White roster will be composed of an all-University of Colorado alumnae squad—Makena Morley, Sara Vaughn, and Carrie Verdon.

“I can’t wait to be back in Boulder for the best day of the year,” says Durgin, 29, who will compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000 meters on the track in late June with the hopes of making the U.S. Olympic team. “Competing with Nell and Sara will make the experience even better.”

The women’s U.S. Olympic marathon team of Fionna O’Keefe, Emily Sisson, and Dakotah Lindwurm were invited to race in the Bolder Boulder but each runner declined, citing scheduling timing conflicts or a disinterest in racing at Boulder’s lofty altitude (5,430 feet). All of the runners who are racing for the U.S. teams in Boulder live at 4,500 feet or higher.

An Olympic Legacy

Boulder is known as one of the top running  meccas in the U.S., in part because elite-level American and international runners have made it their training base since Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter arrived in the early 1970s. Emma Coburn, Jenny Simpson, Yared Nuguse, Joe Klecker, Jake Riley, Hellen Obiri, and Edna Kiplagat are among the many top-level runners who are currently training in Boulder.  Shorter, the 1972 marathon gold medalist, was a co-founder of Bolder Boulder 10K in 1979, and helped it grow into one of the country’s largest races. 

Since then, numerous U.S. Olympians have raced in the Bolder Boulder, including Deena Kastor (a three-time women’s champion), Aliphine Tuliamuk (the 2022 women’s winner), Alan Culpepper, Elva Dyer, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman, Jorge Torres, Shalane Flanagan, Amy Cragg, Magdalena Boulet, and Libby Hickman, as well as Korir (who won it in 2022), and Ward (who was fourth in 2022).

Thanks to Boulder’s robust running community and the prestige of the race, the Bolder Boulder has also always featured fast sub-elite runners competing in the early citizen waves. Yet, the race has also celebrated dedicated middle-of-the-pack runners, as well as the first-time runners and walkers in the later waves. It was one of the first races to have bands playing along the course (as well as belly dancers and other entertainers), runners dressed up in costumes, elite wheelchair races, and in recent years, it has been known for a mid-race slip-and-slide and unofficial bacon aid station.

For the past 25 years, the Bolder Boulder has organized a special Memorial Day tribute—one of the largest in the country—that honors military veterans and new cadets.

The U.S. men’s Olympic marathon team competing in this year’s Bolder Boulder will be a legacy moment for the race, says Bolder Boulder race director Cliff Bosley.

“Having the three men that will represent our country in the marathon at this summer’s Paris Olympic Games is something we are extremely proud of,” Bosley says. “All three ran here last year, and to have them back is just incredible for the race, the city of Boulder, and the sport of running.”

Ben Schneiderman wins men’s citizen race title at 43rd Bolder Boulder

Leading up to the 43rd running of the Bolder Boulder, Ben Schneiderman didn’t feel great about a lot of his workouts.

He felt great on race day, however.

On Monday, Schneiderman won the men’s citizen’s race at the Bolder Boulder, using a strong final push to finish in 31 minutes, 1.88 seconds.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Schneiderman said. “I qualified for the Olympic trials in the marathon in December at the California International Marathon, so I kind of decided to take a break from the full marathon and run a couple of shorter races after that before the fall. So I kind of picked out Bolder Boulder because it’s local and it’s a great race. It feels good.”

Josh Romine was second, in 31:06.98, while Max Sannes was third, in 31:17.50.

Schneiderman was in third for much of the race, but surged past Romine and Sannes on the final uphill stretch.

“I wanted to kind of go after those front two,” he said. “They were ahead of me for most of the race, but I thought I could maybe get them on the hill there at the end, which is how it played out.

“I’m strong on hills. The uphill final mile definitely helped me. Usually on those downhill stretches is where it seemed like they would pull away a little bit and then I would get back on the uphill a little bit.”

Schneiderman grew up in Colorado Springs and graduated from Liberty High School in 2014, lettering all four years in track and cross country. He then ran at Colorado School of Mines, where he earned several All-RMAC honors.

Schneiderman, who graduated from Mines with his PhD in December, had run in the Bolder Boulder a couple of times before, but this was his first time since 2015.

“It was fun,” he said. “I never finished that far up before. When I was in high school, I was (around 40th place) usually. It was a good race. Good day for it.”

Also running Monday was Schneiderman’s brother, Noah, who finished in 35:23, as well as former Mines teammate Jake Mitchem, who was fourth (31:20.16).

“He just told me he was going to do it like a couple weeks ago, so I was like it would be cool to work together, which we did for like the first half of the race or so,” Schneiderman said.

In the second half, his training paid off as he claimed his first win.

“This is encouraging,” said Schneiderman, who will compete in the Olympic trials in February. “I wasn’t really sure how fit I was coming into this because I just had a lot of sort of flat-feeling workouts during this training block, but it felt really nice to come out here and feel good and feel like I could put myself in it.”

Kiptoo, Masai seeking big performances at Bolder Boulder

It's time to be bold for NAZ Elite.

The running team is sending Wesley Kiptoo and Alex Masai to the BOLDERBoulder 10K road race in Colorado set for Monday with the hopes of making some noise on the men's side of the prestigious event after producing some solid outings on the women's side the last few years.

Last year's BOLDERBoulder champion, in fact, was NAZ Elite's Aliphine Tuliamuk, who finished in third place at the 2019 edition of the race and was runner-up in 2018.

“We would love to win on the men’s side, but it’s really, really hard," NAZ Elite Executive Director Ben Rosario said Wednesday.

Only former member Scott Fauble has produced a top-10 finish in the men's race for NAZ Elite, taking sixth in 29:54 in 2016. This will be the eighth year that NAZ Elite has sent at least one athlete to the event since the team started racing in 2014.

The nature of the team-focused event typically leads to a loaded pack running up front, according to Rosario.

“When you have got three athletes from Kenya, three from Ethiopia, three from the U.S., et cetera, et cetera -- and they are all distance-running powerhouses -- it’s going to be hard to win the race because all these teams have somebody who could win.”

Rosario thinks that altitude also has something to do with how athletes perform at the race, which starts at 5,275 feet of elevation, peaks at 5,377 and ends at around 5,360 feet.

Fauble was born at altitude in Colorado, as was Tuliamuk, who is a Kenyan-born American. Both Kiptoo and Masai were born and raised in Kenya at an elevation higher than Flagstaff.

“It’s not a guarantee that they will run well, but I think they have a better chance to run well and race well at altitude than an athlete who was born and raised at sea level," Rosario said.

And both Kiptoo and Masai are in shape and coming off good performances.

Kiptoo won his last time out, repeating as the champion at the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 7. Meanwhile, Masai placed second in a 10,000-meter track event earlier this month and was fourth at the BAA 5K road race in mid-April with a time of 13:27.

“He’s look quite good in training over the last month," Rosario said of Masai, "and I would just say that he’s ready to go.”

Kiptoo normally draws energy from races that feature such strong talent up front, as the second-year pro likes competing with athletes who can produce the sort of times and results he hopes as his career unfolds. 

“He’s certainly excited about the race. He’s shown so far in his young career that he enjoys these big road races, and when he is fresh and ready to go, he runs very, very well," Rosario said.

Before Monday's BOLDERBoulder, NAZ Elite will have two athletes in Krissy Gear and Katie Wasserman at Friday's USATF Distance Classic 1500m on the UCLA campus.

Rosario said there will be 17 athletes packed on the track for the "regular-season" race that will provided a chance for Wasserman to get some racing rust off her legs after a pause in racing due to illness and Gear to keep the momentum going and experience building.

Wasserman has not raced since mid-February at the USATF Indoor Championships, where she produced a 12th-place result in the 3000m.

Bolder Boulder names Ric Rojas, daughter Nell as official 2023 race starters

Nell Rojas has participated in just about every aspect of the Bolder Boulder throughout her life while evolving into one of the top women’s distance runners in the nation.

Her father, Ric Rojas, will forever be etched in the Bolder Boulder’s rich lore as the first winner of Boulder’s annual 10-kilometer running extravaganza.

This year, it will be one of the most recognizable families of the Boulder running scene that will spur the masses into their paces.

Nell Rojas, fresh off becoming the top American woman finisher at the Boston Marathon for the second consecutive time, and her father will serve as the official starters when the 43rd Bolder Boulder sets off on Memorial Day.

“It makes it just that more special that I get to do this with my dad,” Nell Rojas said. “I think it’s even more special for him more so because I think he’s very proud of me, but the Bolder Boulder also was a huge thing for him as an athlete, but also as a coach. He always pushed people in the Bolder Boulder since I was born. It’s a fun way to bring it around and have him have the opportunity to do this.”

Last month, Rojas completed the Boston Marathon with a personal-best mark of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 57 seconds, finishing 10th overall. Rojas also was the top American woman in the event last October.

A Boulder native and a graduate of Boulder High, Rojas ran the pro race at the Bolder Boulder for the first time last year, when the event returned from a two-year hiatus spurred by the COVID pandemic. The quick turnaround following the Boston Marathon made competing in this year’s race impossible, but Rojas was more than happy to jump at the chance to play another role as the official starter.

“I was pretty bummed not to run it,” Nell Rojas said. “I would love to come run it when I am in shape and when I can do well. I’d love to win the pro race some year. But any year I’m doing Boston, it’s just not feasible. I was bummed to say no. But when they asked me to start, that’s just so cool. And for my dad and my family, it’s such a family event and such a big part of our history, I’m super excited.”

Ric Rojas won the inaugural Bolder Boulder in 1979 and is the one-time world record holder in the 15K. He remains an elite running coach with his Boulder-based company, Ric Rojas Running. By tapping the father-daughter tandem as the official starters, the Bolder Boulder is bridging the generations between the race’s humble beginnings and a modern event that attracts elite runners from across the globe.

“Our first thought was, obviously she raced Boston and we watched her run closely,” Bolder Boulder race director Cliff Bosley said. “The first thought was to invite her for a spot on the pro team and represent the USA. But the Boston Marathon is an event that has kind of a long recovery. When she was talking to us we thought maybe not this year. So then we thought having Nell and her father as the official starters, that would really work.”

Richard Quigley sets course record at Bolder Boulder for 86 year olds

After two missed years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the famous Bolder Boulder 10K Memorial Day race made its triumphant return to town on Monday.

This year’s event was no doubt a welcome return to normalcy for many of the event’s 40,000 participants. But Monday’s race marked a particularly special occasion for Richard Quigley of Longmont (photo back middle with family)

Eight-six-year-old Quigley — a longtime runner and athlete known as “Grampa Dude” by his family — set a record course time for his age group while running this year’s 10K alongside his son, Todd, daughter-in-law, Jenn, and three grandkids, Tanner, Finn and Grace. He finished the race in one hour, 17 minutes and 41 seconds.

“It’s been a life dream of his” to break his age-group record, according to his older son, Brian Quigley. “He loves the Bolder Boulder. It’s been a big tradition in our family — he’s already thinking about the next one.”

Richard Quigley has lost count of the number of Bolder Boulder races he’s run over the years since the inaugural event in 1979, but he recalls running some of the early races with Brian and Todd. In 1982, he said he and his sons, who were 10 and 7 years old at the time, ran the race together as a team.

“Todd would start off and run half a mile, and then I would pick him up in full stride, put him up on my shoulders, and we would do the next half a mile,” said Quigley. “We would switch that way — half a mile of him running, half a mile on my shoulders, When we got to the stadium, he finished [the race] himself.”

The family relocated to Santa Barbara, Calif. for over two decades before moving back to Boulder in 2005. But after the Quigleys returned to Boulder, Richard Quigley started running the Bolder Boulder regularly again.

In addition to the Bolder Boulder, Quigley has run marathons — most recently, he ran the Malibu Marathon in 2012, at age 76 — as well as competing in triathlons and long bike rides throughout his life. He said the key to staying in good enough health to run races at his age is daily exercise.

“I keep a log of my daily exercising — I’ve probably got the last 20 years. I’m a weird old aerospace engineer,” he explained. “If you keep a record, you can see what you did, and you don’t miss a day. Missing one day a month is fine, but more than that and I kind of get after myself.”

This race proved a more daunting task for Quigley than others he had done in the past. Todd Quigley said that COVID-19 lockdowns and health challenges had made it difficult for his father to get out and run as frequently as he would have liked, but that he and his son, Tanner, were there to support Richard Quigley in his goals.

“This was a big challenge, and a big concern (was) whether he was gonna be able to keep upright and finish it,” Todd Quigley said. “Tanner and I both were there by his side to where if he needed a hand for stabilization, or his feet couldn’t keep him up, we’d be there to get him across.”

Richard Quigley was grateful to have the support of his family and to do the race with them this year.

“I really appreciated my son and grandson prodding me along,” Quigley said. “Just getting out there and doing that stuff is neat — better than sitting at home on your butt all the time.”

Laura Thweatt wins women’s citizens race at 2022 Bolder Boulder

Laura Thweatt didn’t sign up for the Bolder Boulder to battle for a win.

Once the race began, however, her competitiveness kicked in.

Thweatt, 33, from Superior, wound up being the winner of the women’s citizens race at the 42nd edition of the Bolder Boulder on Monday. She crossed the finish line at Folsom Field in 34 minutes, 59.40 seconds, unofficially. Neely Gracey of Lafayette was second in 35:04.28.

“I am (surprised), actually,” Thweatt said. “I had some ladies coming in hot on my heels and it’s Colorado, so you can’t come to a race and expect not to have to battle. I’m actually kind of shocked that I was able to hold off the win.”

Born and raised in Durango, Thweatt is a 2011 graduate of the University of Colorado, where she had a decorated career. She earned All-Big 12 honors five times and ran some of the best times in CU history in a variety of distances, from 800 meters to 10,000 meters.

Now running professionally for Saucony, Thweatt is coming off an injury and said she went into Monday after only three weeks of training.

“I just wanted to test out fitness and just have a good, hard effort,” she said. “So I came out and it was a blast. It was hard but it was great. This was a much more fun way to do a workout.”

Although she had a workout mindset, Thweatt said the competitive juices began to flow “immediately” after the race began.

“I didn’t want to go too fast, but I got into the second mile and I was like, ‘Ah, I’m in a race. I’m just gonna go for it and hope I can hang on,’” she said. “So, yeah, I got competitive and just ran hard. You can’t get rid of that.”

Throughout the race, Thweatt said she targeted the male runners ahead of her.

“Every guy, I was just trying to hang on and like chase people,” she said. “So, it was a fun way to get a hard effort as you’re just racing and people are cheering you on. It’s just a really fun environment.”

That’s not how she felt about the Bolder Boulder in her only previous time running this event. In 2013, she ran in the women’s international pro race. Her USA team was third and Thweatt finished 12th, in 35:37.7.

“It was so brutal that I swore I’d never do this race again, but here I am,” she said with a laugh.

Monday was a better experience for Thweatt, who continues to keep her eye on the goal of a marathon in the fall.

“I’m still trying to figure out which one but all of this is kind of building towards the big goal in the fall,” she said. “I’m a marathoner. This is like a sprint for me.”

It was a successful sprint, too, as she exceeded her expectations.

“I’m in a better place than I thought it would be,” she said. “Coming off of injury, it’s just nice to be back out here and to kind of just feel like yourself again. That’s what I wanted today. To do this off very little training, I feel really good about that.”

Like Thweatt, Gracey is a former competitor in the international pro race. She ran in that competition in 2015 and 2017. A three-time qualifier for the Olympic trials, Gracey had her second son last year and has continued coaching, in addition to running.

2022 BolderBoulder is on again after a two-year absence

One of Colorado’s traditions will return when the BolderBoulder 10K run resumes this Memorial Day after a two-year absence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The first BolderBoulder in three years and the 42nd running of the event is cause for celebration, says Race Director Cliff Bosley.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring back this great tradition that is embraced by so many in our community, the state and beyond,” Bosley said. “We’ve missed our participants and our spectators and we know they’ve missed us. It’s great to be back with this fantastic outdoor community event.”

Bosley said the race’s return is testament to the hard work, collaboration and coordination of the BolderBoulder, the City of Boulder, CU Boulder and many additional partners and entities.

“Having to cancel the race the past two years gave us important perspective on just how much the BolderBoulder means to our participants, our spectators and the community,” Bosley said. “It’s like reconnecting with a great friend you haven’t seen lately.”

In addition to the 10K event, the Bolder Boulder is a remembrance of the more than 1.3 million men and women in the Armed Forces who made the supreme sacrifice in defending America’s freedoms. It also celebrates veterans and those now serving in the Armed Forces. It provides one of the largest Memorial Day tributes in the country.

This year’s race will also honor the 50th anniversary of Frank Shorter’s Olympic gold medal-winning run in the marathon at the Olympics in Munich in 1972. Shorter has been named the Official Starter of the 2022 BolderBoulder. He will launch more than 80 waves of competitors.

In 1981, Shorter won the race, becoming the first of 1,381,060 participants (over 40 years) to cross the finish line at Folsom Field on the University of Colorado campus. The event first finished in the stadium in 1981 and has done so ever since.

Bosley said the wave start, created and pioneered by the BolderBoulder, spaces out participants by design, adding to the safety of the outdoor event. The A wave (the first to start) is scheduled to begin at 6:55 a.m. and the final wave is expected to start around 9:30 a.m.

We felt this event’s absence due to COVID-19 and are delighted to welcome locals and visitors back to Boulder,”, said Boulder City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde. “The BOLDERBoulder is a Memorial Day tradition, a rite of passage from spring to summer and a community-defining event that brings us together to showcase the best of Boulder and the University of Colorado.”

CU Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano said CU Boulder is excited to see the event’s return. “CU Boulder and the BolderBoulder have been great partners for several decades on this community-wide race and celebration,” he said. “We are as delighted as anyone to see it return and we’re thrilled to have it once again finish on our campus.”

About BOLDERBoulder 

The BOLDERBoulder, named America’s All-Time Best 10K by Runner’s World magazine, is the 5th largest running race in the United States and the 7th largest in the world.

The race attracts 48,000-52,000 runners, joggers, walkers, wheelchair racers and professional athletes from around the world to compete in one of the most unique pro race team formats in road racing.

The race course winds through Boulder neighborhoods with live music and entertainment at every corner. The race finishes at the University of Colorado’s Folsom Field and attracts over 100,000 runners and spectators.

2021 Bolder Boulder Cancelled Again

The organizers of the Bolder Boulder 10K road race say that COVID-19 restrictions prevent them from running the event in 2021. It’s the second year in a row that the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of the event which had taken place in Boulder on Memorial Day since the 1970s.

“The bottom line after talking daily with public health officials, the city of Boulder and the University of Colorado is that safety restrictions and our timeline prevent us from holding the traditional BOLDERBoulder,” the race organizers wrote on the Bolder Boulder website.

As an alternative to the timed race of 50,000 or so participants, organizers have announced plans to allow for runners and walkers to experience alternative timed 10K options over the Memorial Day weekend.

They’re calling it Bolder on The Run 10K.

Racers will be given the opportunity to line up during various time slots at five different locations across Colorado’s Front Range, and there will be a cap on the number of participants allowed.

According to the website, “All courses will be marked, measured and timed using RFID tags on the bibs.” The five different courses are as follows:

– Mary Carter Greenway Trail, Littleton/Denver– Firestone Trail, Firestone– Interlocken, Broomfield– The Ranch, Loveland– Coal Creek Trail, Erie.