40th Eldorado Run for the Cure set for Aug. 2

When the 40th Eldorado Run for the Cure kicks off next Friday, Rich Sandoval will be there as usual.

Since the first time he ran it in 1987, Sandoval has been charmed by the setting — starting and finishing in the funky little enclave of Eldorado Springs, near the entrance to Eldorado Canyon — and because it’s the rare race set in the evening.

“It was always the sight of coming up to Eldorado Canyon and seeing the cliffs there in the background,” said Sandoval, who figures he’s done the 4-mile race 25 times. “That was the main draw, the evening and the sight. It was always one of the races I never wanted to miss.”

Race founder Stan Havlick says it’s the oldest charity run in Colorado. Havlick, who would later found the Cherry Creek Sneak in 1982, wanted to create a fundraising race in 1980 when his wife was in a cancer fight with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

One of her doctors was Bill Robinson, an oncologist at the University of Colorado Cancer Center who lived in Eldorado Springs, and that seemed like the perfect spot for the race. All proceeds from the race go to the Colorado Cancer Foundation to benefit the CU Cancer Center, Havlick said.

From the start at 6:30 p.m. in Eldorado Springs, the race heads east 2 miles on Colorado Highway 170 before turning around and heading back toward the lengthening shadows of the peaks framing the famous canyon.

“It’s a spectacular location,” said Havlick. “As you’ve made your turn and you’re coming back into Eldorado, you have this glorious view of the canyon and the cliffs there. At a nice time of day, too, with the sun dropping off, and it’s getting cool. There is just a gut feeling in me to keep this thing going. It’s such a beautiful area, and we got such support from the community and the doctors.”