Boulder Archives

Race: BOLDERBoulder 10K

*TRR Coach Nicole Thome after running the 2024 BOLDERBoulder 10K.*

Runner: TRR Coach Nicole Thome

Race Date: 05/26/2025

Location: Boulder, Colorado

Result: 54:51, 15th in age group

3 Bests – What aspects of the race did you like the most?

Well-organized
Festivities and race atmosphere: The BOLDERBoulder 10K takes place on Memorial Day, and the entire event is a party!!
Something for everyone: Choose your own race experience. You can make it as competitive as you want, or ‘fun run’ it and enjoy all the on course entertainment!

Not so much – Aspects of the race that didn’t do it for you

I always arrive early (~6 am), so this wasn’t an issue for me, but I have heard that parking can be difficult. So I’d recommend arriving early!

Also, you can submit to move up to a higher wave (which is a good thing), but your ‘official’ time won’t appear for WEEKS and doesn’t show up on live tracking. So, depending on how far back you’re placed, it could be worth staying put if real-time results are important to you.

Weird factor – What’s the weirdest thing about this race?

I don’t know if this is a “weird” thing, but the race doesn’t offer finisher’s medals. While that doesn’t bother me personally, I know that’s an expectation for many.

Highlights of your race – What did you do well and enjoy about your race in particular?

A unique highlight of the BOLDERBoulder 10K is the way the organizers start it; for a race this large (over 2300 finishers!), the waves are very small. This allows you to race it without a lot of human traffic to weave through! The waves are released about 90 seconds apart, and every wave gets its own gun and trumpet start. Very fun!

I always arrive early (~6 am), so this wasn’t an issue for me, but I have heard that traffic and parking can be difficult, especially if you get there after 7 am. So I’d recommend arriving early! If you have a later wave, have some coffee, warm up, take in the atmosphere, but DON’T WAIT to get there!

If you’re coming from out of town, remember that Boulder is at an altitude of 5,430 feet. This is not considered “high elevation” but will require you to slow down a bit. Your sea-level 10K race pace will feel harder here, especially on the hilly course, so focusing on 10K effort rather than pace is the way to go!

Lessons you learned that will help you next time around

I’ve run this a few times and have it pretty dialed in. As mentioned above, try to avoid parking and traffic issues by arriving early.

Most important course specific knowledge to know about the race

It’s Boulder so… expect hills. The course is over mostly rolling hills, nothing too extreme but pretty consistent. The most significant inclines are halfway in so, on one hand, don’t be afraid to go out a little fast; however, it’s also beneficial to conserve some energy for the middle.

You’re better off racing this one on effort. Once you hit mile 5, it’s a nice downhill to flat… until you hit the big hill into the stadium at the end. The stadium finish is awesome!

Aesthetics – Is it a pretty course?

While you are definitely surrounded by beauty, it isn’t as “pretty” as the surrounding trails, given that the course runs through towns and neighborhoods. Spend any time in Boulder, though, and you’ll see plenty of beautiful scenery!

Difficulty – Is it a tough course?

With rolling hills and elevation, it’s far from the fastest course. However, it’s not impossible to PR (many runners do!) but you definitely have to prepare for the hills (and if from out of town, the altitude!)

Organized and well run – Did it feel like a well-oiled machine or were they flying by the seat of their pants?

The BOLDERBoulder 10K is impressively organized and well run. As one of the biggest road races in the world and 2nd largest 10K in the US, it would be easy for BOLDERBoulder to feel messy: it doesn’t. It’s one of *the* most well-oiled races you’ll ever experience.

BOLDERBoulder Men's Pro Race, led by Conner Mantz (bib 1). — *BOLDERBoulder Men’s Pro Race, led by Conner Mantz (bib 1).*

Competition – Is there a strong field?

Yes, the earlier start waves and professional races are always stacked! BOLDERBoulder has a history of deep, international competition, and this year, Olympian and American Record holder Connor Mantz showed up to win it for the 3rd year in a row! A cool feature of this event is that (unlike most races) the elites have a later start time, so all of us “regular” runners can sit in the stadium and watch them finish. It’s a lot of fun!

Logistics – Does it require a special handshake, registration a year in advance, hotels all booked? Give us the low down on the nuts and bolts of making the race happen.

Runners taking a mid-race slip n' slide! — *Runners taking a mid-race slip n’ slide!*

No special handshake, but BOLDERBoulder is unique in that you can submit a qualifying time that the race uses for seeding into waves. These waves run from ~6:50 am until after 9 am. If you don’t submit a time, you’ll get placed in the mass start (ie, party wave!) after 9 am.

Aid Stations – Standard fare or anything special to know about the aid stations in terms of what’s available or when?

They have the standard aid station fare of water and Gatorade. BUT, the fun stuff is what the local residents and on course spectators provide. Since it’s on Memorial Day, the community comes out in force! There’s all kinds of food (including bacon at mile 3!) and booze if you want it.

Weather and typical race conditions

It’s Colorado, so you never know what you’ll get! It could be 80 degrees and sunny, or cold and raining (which it did this year). Prepare for anything!

No.

A runner bouncing on a trampoline during the BOLDERBoulder 10K!

Spectators – Is this a friendly course for your friends?

Very much so!!! The course and stadium are lined with spectators cheering everyone on and creating a great race atmosphere!

How’s the Swag?

The race shirts are great! They offer different styles, which you can choose from when you register. While they don’t have finisher medals, they DO offer various prizes, like key chains for the top 15 in each age group, and other cool incentives. If you finish under 40 minutes, you’ll be rewarded with a t-shirt for the “Sub-40” club. And if you run faster than your age in minutes, you’ll receive an “Ageless Wonder” certificate.

After the race, you receive a BOLDERBoulder lunch sack with lots of snacks and a beer from Avery Brewing!

5 out of 5 stars! I love this race and would recommend it for anyone — whether you want to run it competitively or just for fun! Check out the race website here.

Nicole Thome is a coach with Team RunRun based in Denver, Colorado. She specializes in road races up to the marathon, with a focus on first-time marathoners, female athletes over 40, athletes looking to get into trail running or set new PRs, and runners who have plateaued and need a jumpstart.

Race: Boulder Rez Marathon

Runner: Matt Urbanski

Race Date: 8/14/2021

Location: Boulder, CO

Results: 2nd OA, 2:51:23

Strava Activity Link: https://www.strava.com/activities/5792356178

3 Bests – What aspects of the Boulder Rez Marathon did you like the most?

Close to home.
Smooth, fast dirt roads.
Easy logistics for a good hard long run.

Not so much – What aspects of the Boulder Rez Marathon didn’t do it for you?

It was hot and sunny with no shade. But it’s August in Boulder at the Rez. I knew this coming in, so I’m not complaining about it. It was just a challenge of this race!

Highlights of your race – What did you do well and enjoy about your race in particular?

I backed off my effort soon enough that I didn’t blow up! I was working a good steady effort early on to keep pace with my friends Steve and Andrew, and while many times in my life that effort was fine for a marathon, I’m not there right now and I realized it early enough to keep the race from falling apart.

Lessons for others – Share your pro-tips on the Boulder Rez Marathon to help the next runner

It’s a 4 loop course, so after loop 1, you know what you’re in for the rest of the day. The first part of the course has a few rollers. They feel like bigger hills on lap 3 and 4! Once you do the turn around just past Monarch Road, you’re done with nearly all hills for the loop, so you can celebrate! There is a bit of trail from when you get off Monarch road until you get to the loop around the Rez – it’s a section of trail that follows the water ditch, and this is normally off limits and not something we get to run on. It’s not technical trail, but if you’re expecting all smooth roads, this part is a bit bumpy.

There is no shade. Be ready for sun, and hot! And with the race not starting until 7:15am, the second half of the race was toasty.

There are four stations along the course, so a total of 16 aid stations (and once or twice coming through the start/finish I think they were handing out water too). This was ample opportunity to drink, and to pour cold water over my head.

Lessons you learned that will help you next time around

A little more prep for those hills would have helped on the last two laps! Otherwise, just being ready to handle the heat and to pace well for a not super fast course.

Aesthetics – Is it a pretty course?

It’s dirt roads outside of Boulder and some trail around the reservoir. It’s not un-pretty, but it’s also not breathtaking!

Difficulty – Is it a tough course?

Compared to the Berlin marathon, this is a slow course! Given the conditions, I’d say it was a challenging marathon.

Organized and well run – Did it feel like a well-oiled machine or were they flying by the seat of their pants?

Yep. Easy to sign up for, easy to get to, nothing weird or difficult about it. The course was easy to follow, well marked, and with plenty of marshalls along the course directing us on where to go.

Competition – Is there a strong field?

Not usually. And this year from the get go, it was me and my buddy Steve out in front. He wanted his BQ (and he got it), but it was only the two of us under 3 hours.

Logistics – Does it require a special handshake, registration a year in advance, hotels all booked? Give us the low down on the nuts and bolts of making the Boulder Rez Marathon happen.

Nada. Super easy. Low key marathon, easy to sign up for, and I don’t think it sold out. I don’t think this is a race people would be traveling to, so hotels aren’t likely a thing to be thinking about. But Boulder has plenty of options, though the race was right around the time when CU students were coming back to town, so town may have been busy and booked up for that!

Aid Stations – Standard fare or anything special to know about the aid stations in terms of what’s available or when?

They weren’t quite as dialed in as the big city marathons where the volunteers had cups ready for you to grab on the go. I had to stop and go to a table for water most of the time. Not a big deal, and later in the race I welcomed the walk through and drink part of the aid station visits. There were some gels there too, I don’t remember the brand, but I carried my own. Plenty of cold water available, and that was all I wanted!

Weather and typical race conditions

Hot! Sunny!

Gear – Did you need anything special or is there anything you’d recommend for the next runner?

I didn’t carry anything with me. I had some gels in my shorts pockets, and that’s it.

Spectators – Is this a friendly course for your friends?

With it being a looped course, we came through the start/finish area 4 times including the finish. While spectators could have been elsewhere on the course, that would have been a hassle for them, and not great for the runners b/c that would have meant more cars on the dirt roads, and more dust kicking up.

How’s the Swag?

Red shirt, fits a little big. Finisher medal. Standard swag.

The Overall Score – How many stars do you give this race and do you recommend that others run it?

4 of 5 stars. I wouldn’t travel for this race. But for a local event that is well organized, it was a good event and I’m happy I did it. This was a substitute for a good hard long run for me, and I’m glad I did this race rather than doing something solo!