The Colfax Marathon is an annual long-distance running event held in the

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

metropolitan area. The Colfax Marathon weekend is the largest marathon weekend in the

Rocky Mountain region The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, with 25,000 runners in 2024. As Denver’s largest running event, the Colfax Marathon includes seven races over two days and a two-day health & fitness expo. Races include a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

, urban 10 miler, and a 5K. In addition, the

marathon relay is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on Road running, roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times accessed Feb. 19, 2009. The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competiti ...

has teams in corporate, government or open divisions and is the second largest marathon relay in the United States.

History

The Colfax Marathon was first held in 2006, with about 6,000 people taking part in the inaugural race. The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually or transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022. Similarly, the 2021 edition of the race, originally scheduled for May, was postponed to October due to the pandemic.The event returned for 2022. In 2023, 21,000 runners participated in the race weekend.

Course

The initial course followed

Colfax Avenue Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the loca ...

for almost the entire race. It began in

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

at the Aurora Sports Park, headed west through

, only departing the Avenue to detour briefly to the entrance of the Children's Hospital at

Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is the academic health sciences campus in Aurora, Colorado that houses the University of Colorado's six health sciences-related schools and colleges, including the University of Colorado Scho ...

, as well as looping through

City Park, Denver City Park is an urban park and neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. The park is and is located in east-central Denver. The park contains the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Ferril and Duck Lakes, and a boathouse. City Park ...

, before finishing in west Lakewood near

Colorado Mills Colorado Mills is a outlet shopping mall in Lakewood, Colorado. The mall has 11 anchor stores, including Nike Factory Outlet, Target, Burlington, Dick's Sporting Goods, H&M, Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse, and United Artist Theater & IMAX. It ...

. The course changed in 2008 to start and finish in City Park, with only portions of it along Colfax Avenue. The full marathon headed west to Lakewood and back; the

east to Aurora and back. Over time, the half marathon route has undergone various changes to incorporate various Denver landmarks, including the

Colorado State Capitol The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, United States, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, and the Co ...

, Civic Center Park, Fire Station No. 1,

16th Street Mall The 16th Street Mall is a pedestrian and transit mall in Denver, Colorado that opened in 1982. The mall, 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) long, runs along 16th Street in downtown Denver, from Wewatta Street (at Union Station) to the intersection of ...

, the

Colorado Convention Center The Colorado Convention Center (CCC) is a multi-purpose convention center located in Downtown Denver, Colorado. At 2,200,000 square feet (total space) it is currently the 12th largest convention center in the United States. Opening in 1990, the ...

, among others. The route also incorporates a "Zoo Mile" which allows runners to pass through the

Denver Zoo Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is an nonprofit zoological garden and wildlife conservation, conservation organization located in City Park, Denver, City Park of Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1896, it is operated by the Denver Zoo ...

. Because of the high number of participants in 2023, the marathon and half marathon courses were changed for the 2024 event. Previously, the two courses were completely merged together; now, the event has separated its marathon and half marathon courses for several miles of the race.

Other races

In addition to the main event, a half marathon, a marathon relay and a 5K race also take place.

Colorado Colfax Kids Marathon

The Colorado Colfax Kids Marathon was a race like the Colorado Colfax Marathon, established in 2006. The run was for Kindergarten to 8th grade students. It was a run that is only . The students ran the other in training. The training lasted from February to early May. The race was usually planned to be held in the middle of May. The event was held at the Colorado Mills Mall. The students ran through a path in the parking lot around the mall area. The race was replaced with the Kids Run America program before being cancelled altogether.https://web.archive.org/web/20120225083737/http://www.coloradocolfaxmarathon.org/Events/2012Events.aspx

Marathon winners

References

External links

Official website
Foot races in Colorado Recurring sporting events established in 2006 Marathons in the United States Sports competitions in Denver Sports in Aurora, Colorado 2006 establishments in Colorado {{Colorado-sport-stub