Northern Colorado’s distinctive scenery and ranching heritage take center stage for the Steamboat Marathon, providing the perfect opportunity for a personal experience among vistas and wide-open spaces. Voted one of the most scenic marathons in the country by Runners World, the Steamboat Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K will take place on Sunday, June 1, 2014.
The Steamboat Marathon, a certified Boston Marathon qualifier, is a nationally recognized race with a USATF-Certified Course that has earned accolades throughout the running community. Its late-spring timing and similar route characteristics make the Steamboat Marathon an idyllic precursor to the Boston Marathon, perfect for warming up for the big race in 2015.
“The Steamboat Marathon has the cozy, friendly appeal that only a town like Steamboat can bring, but with the organization of a big city marathon,” said Cara Marrs, Steamboat Springs resident and distance runner. “It offers a challenge to the veteran or new runner and truly it’s a race where every runner is allotted their own experience and feels that they are celebrated.”
The marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. in the lazy town of Hahn’s Peak Village at 8,258’ – about 20 miles from the Wyoming border. The course takes participants past fields and pastures blooming with the summer’s first wildflowers and dotted with grazing horses and cows. As runners near Steamboat Springs, the snowy peak of Mt. Werner dominates the view and the crowds grow, lining the main street cheering runners until the last participant crosses the finish line. The marathon finishes at 6,728’, though that elevation is deceiving; runners will navigate several hills during the second half of the race providing a consistent challenge to the finish. Aid stations are plentiful and well stocked, but not overdone so the peaceful solitude of this beautiful place is preserved.
The Steamboat Half Marathon course is also a USATF-Certified Course that begins at the mid-point of the marathon course, locally known as Moon Hill, at an elevation of 6,990′ and finishes at the same location as the marathon in downtown Steamboat Springs. The Steamboat 10K course begins and ends at the courthouse in historic downtown Steamboat Springs and takes runners on a scenic tour of town.
The event also includes a free half-mile Fun Run, open to children ages five years and older, who will all receive goodies for their participation. The Fun Run is open to the first 200 kids to register.
For information about the Steamboat Marathon, visit www.steamboatmarathon.com or call 970-879-0880.
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About Steamboat Springs
Steamboat’s unique mix of warm sun, cowboy boots and friendly locals lends an inviting, laid back atmosphere to this historic Colorado resort town, where western heritage meets abundant outdoor adventure. Here, cowboys ride mountain bikes and summer adventure runs the gamut, with options ranging from biking along Steamboat’s Yampa River Core Trail to exploring the hundreds miles of single track and endless county roads; floating down the Yampa to soaking in one of many natural hot springs; golfing among the peaks and valleys to casting a line for native trout; and above all, making the most of the long, summer days. Get up here and discover an authentic Steamboat Springs summer.