Who can forget the drama of last year’s Boulder Marathon cancellation? The lack of permits, and lack of refunds, filled the web with news for a good two weeks. Gone is that race and management team and in its place are two marathons expected to happen at the Rez this year. We talked with the race director of the October 4 Boulder Rez Marathon to learn their plans for this year’s race.
The Boulder Rez Marathon! After last year’s Boulder Marathon fell through, did you follow that drama and immediately start to work on your own race afterwards?
We followed the drama very closely and wanted to offer a marathon to the athletes since they were unable to race. There were a few other companies that wanted to do the same thing, so we waited until January to submit our paperwork to the City and County. We didn’t want to saturate the market. By January, we had not seen any official announcements by other companies, so we decided to launch our event. Once we received the go-ahead from the City and County that our dates were secured, we opened registration.
What’s your background with races at the Boulder Rez?
We have been putting on inaugural events for 8 years at the Boulder Reservoir. We produce two nonprofit triathlons and runs: the Boulder Sunrise Triathlon and Boulder Sunrise Run on June 28, and the Boulder Sunset Triathlon and Boulder Sunset Run on August 29. We also produce TriBoulder on July 26.
In addition, we work with the City of Boulder on the 4th of July event that takes place at the Boulder Reservoir. The event is called Earn Your Independence. It is a 5K and 10K, and a bracket-style Volleyball Tournament open to the public.
Folks that lost money on the Boulder Marathon the last two years are surely going to ask for a comped entry or a discounted entry. What will your response be?
We are offering free race entries to all Boulder Marathon registrants from 2013 and 2014. This is our way of giving back to the athletes who lost their entry fees. In addition, we are offering $20 off to all new participants.
We also have a very flexible transfer policy designed to accommodate all athletes. If an athlete cannot make the race, they can notify us as close as 7 days before the event, and transfer their entry to any future BBSC event in the next 12 months. We have seen that athletes are more likely to register early while the rates are low, without having the fear that their schedule might change prior to the race.
Do you have permits already? If so, how hard was it to get them?
Many events do not have permits yet, but have a saved date. We should be receiving permits later this month, as it is a multiple step process. We have submitted all of the paperwork to the City and County in January, and received a tentative approval to open registration for the event. This locks the date. We are having our pre-race meeting on March 18th and should be receiving the permit shortly after. I have not been denied a permit by the City of Boulder or Boulder County as of yet. In the past, permits were usually drafted a week before the event. Due to the recent drama in regards to the Boulder Marathon, the City will be approving events long in advance moving forward.
Two laps for the half and four for the marathon. I ran a 26 x 1 mile (+ .2) marathon over 10 years ago and had a great time, but as I grew and changed as a runner, the idea of a multi-lap course holds little appeal. Did you consider doing something similar to what the Boulder Marathon attempted to do previously?
We considered doing a similar course than the Boulder Marathon, but decided to offer something different to the athletes. Our intention is to keep the runners close to the Boulder Reservoir to minimize the impact on the surrounding community and to give the runners beautiful views of the mountains and the reservoir. We also wanted to create an event that allows relay teams with up to 4 runners and one that is more spectator-friendly. We will have a very fun expo, so spectators will also have an awesome time at the event.
What else can we expect to see from the Boulder Rez Marathon and Half Marathon?
We will have many local sponsors attending this event. Boulder Beer will provide a beer garden and offer free microbrews to all athletes. We will have a great post-race meal and may have a live band at some of the aid stations (pending approval). Since the course consists of multiple loops, we plan to have awesome aid stations. We are a large event production, so we guarantee an amazing spectacle at the finish line. Our athletes will receive great customer service and professionalism, by our very experienced staff.
Learn more about the Boulder Rez Marathon here.