Runnin’ of the Green, Colfax Marathon are still on for 2021
What about other big Colorado races?
Officials of the Cherry Creek Sneak and Bolder Boulder, two of Colorado’s largest running events, have yet to announce whether they will be held on their traditional dates this year or be postponed due to the pandemic. The Colfax Marathon, normally held in May, already has been shifted to October.
But the race that marks the unofficial beginning of the running season for many, the Runnin’ of the Green that celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, is set for March 14, just not as usual.
Normally held in LoDo, it will move to Washington Park for this year and will be capped at 600-700 runners and walkers, far fewer than the 1,800 finishers it had in 2019 (it was canceled last year due to the pandemic). Due to COVID-19, it will not have a mass start. It will have a staggered start with 75 runners setting out over 30-minute intervals from multiple socially distanced chutes, one at a time per chute. Race director Lonnie Somers said it will take three and a half hours to get everyone on the course for a 4-mile race that will take less
than an hour for most of them to finish.
The race plan follows a blueprint developed by Colfax Marathon officials Creigh Kelley and Andrea Dowdy last fall in collaboration with state and local health officials. It has been used as a template for several races in recent months.
“Either with our clients or ourselves, we’ve done about 18 events, all socially safe and regulated,” Somers said. “We have a cap of 600, right now; hopefully if things open up a little bit, we might be up to 700. We’ll have all the mitigation stuff in place with staggered start times, no large after-party. We’re glad to at least be able to have it.”
Runners will have to wear masks except while running or walking.
“That was approved by the state and city department of health,” Somers said. “While they’re running or walking, they can have their mask down if they choose.”
As for whether or when the Cherry Creek Sneak will be held — traditionally a late-April event — race director Pat Downing said he is “in the process of figuring that out,” adding that he hopes to make an announcement by next Friday.
Plans for Colorado’s largest race, the Bolder Boulder Memorial Day race, also have yet to be determined. Last year’s race was initially postponed to Labor Day and later canceled.
“We’re not there yet,” race director Cliff Bosley said. “We’re still having conversations with CU and the city of Boulder.”
In December, Colfax Marathon officials announced that the marathon and its associated shorter races will be held the weekend of Oct. 16-17. Dowdy, the Colfax Marathon executive director, said they are planning to stage two or three smaller races in late spring and summer.