Colfax Marathon races attract 16,000 runners
With lilac bushes in full bloom near the starting line in City Park, the Colfax Marathon returned to its traditional position as a rite of spring for Colorado runners on Sunday for the first time since the pandemic.
The city’s largest running event attracted an estimated 11,000 in the marathon, half-marathon, 10-miler and marathon relay. Another 5,000 ran in a 5-kilometer race on Saturday. The return to near normalcy after the pandemic was on the minds of many.
“It’s awesome to see the community still wants to be here, that this isn’t lost, that people’s desire to do something and accomplish something hasn’t diminished at all,” said Patrick Rizzo, 38, who finished second in the halfmarathon. “It’s seeing positivity in an atmosphere of camaraderie come back.”
The Colfax Marathon races began in 2006. It was canceled in May 2020 and postponed from May until October in 2021 because of COVID-19. It traditionally ranks as Colorado’s second-largest running event behind the Bolder Boulder Memorial Day 10K.
Al Herzl, 66, of Littleton, has run the marathon every year it was held, including the one last October to keep his streak alive.
“It’s huge,” Herzl said. “I’m so glad that this has become a fixture in Colorado. It’s a great thing.”
Adam Alban ran the halfmarathon despite having endured a bout of COVID in April.
“It totally disrupted my training,” said Alban, 51, who live in Arvada. “I had to take a couple weeks off, and when I came back, I definitely wasn’t as strong as before. But it’s good to be out here with everybody.”
Tyler Mccandless of Fort Collins, who ran the Los Angeles Marathon eight weeks ago and qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic marathon trials, won Sunday’s marathon and broke the Colfax record with a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, 7 seconds. His last race before the pandemic was the 2020 marathon trials in Los Angeles, which attracted massive crowds along the race course. Less than a month later, the world shut down due to COVID.
“Then we didn’t leave our house for months,” said Mccandless, 35. “This is a very important part of my life, and I love it. I love the community. It’s just amazing. I won’t take it for granted again.”