Boulder Marathon Race Report • December 13th, 2011
Happy holidays! Hopefully you've got some fun plans lined up for the festive season ahead. It doesn't seem like it now (especially with all of the snow we've had lately), but the 2012 Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring Half Marathon, 10 Mile & 5 Mile is not that far away.
If you're going to be serious about your running in 2012, then now's the time to schedule a 3 month training plan to prepare yourself for our April 1st event!
Many people wait until January 1st to commit to their new year's resolution, but if you want to perform at your best on April 1st, then now is definitely the time to commit to the training process for 2012.
Back for it's third year, the "Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring Half" event promises a fun day for everyone on the Boulder backroads. And, as has been the case the past two years, the event is the first major distance race (over 10k) for the competitive distance season. You definitely don't want to miss it.
In the elite field, the competition in the half marathon will again be top notch - and we've already received commitments from stand out runners like (past winner) Mario Macias. We also expect an excellent field in the 10 Mile & 5 Mile races as well.
If you don't want to commit to the full half marathon distance, then you can register for the 10 Mile. Now in it's third year, the Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring 10 Mile is a perfect distance if you want to move up from the 10k, but don't want to go all the way to the half marathon. We always have several hundred people in the 10 Mile field, so get registered today if you want to participate.
We're also really excited about our new 5 Mile distance. The Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring 5 Mile replaces the 10k (we had to do this to reduce runner traffic on Niwot Road). We expect nearly 500 people in the 5 Mile, so you'll have lots of company if you want to commit to the shortest race at the Spring Half event.
Pointing your training for the 2012 Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring Half event is a great way to keep yourself motivated over the next few months of winter training. So commit to a 3 month training schedule now, and you'll be ready to rest up for the event once mid-March comes around!
All other race planning is going well with the Spring Half event, and we hope you join us at the Boulder Reservoir on Sunday, April 1st!
Also, we're almost finished with our 2011 Runner Survey, so look for it in your in-box in the next few days. Please take a minute to fill it out once you receive it. All runners will be able to view the results once they're tabulated.
Happy running,
Jeff Mason
Race Director
All 2012 Participants Receive:
Official Race Entry, Race Bib, High Tech Timing Chip, Excellent Race Course Support (with Aid Stations, Food, Water, Gatorade Endurance Formula, Fruit, Ice, Larabars...) Gorgeous Race Medal; Beautiful Long Sleeve Technical Running Shirt for Boulder Marathon Event; Short Sleeve Tech Shirt for the Spring Half Event; Cool Technical Running Hat for Boulder Marathon Event Participants; Beverage Glass With Race Logo for Both Races; Goodie Bag With Good Stuff; Complimentary Post-Race Massage & Chiropractic; Race Results Posted Same Day; Beautiful Race Photos For Purchase; Boulder Beer Garden Access & The Best Post-Race Food & Music Around...
Boulder Marathon Race Report • November 21st, 2011
Dear Boulder Marathon Runner,
For the benefit of the Colorado running community, the Rudi's Organic Boulder Marathon and the Denver Rock & Roll Marathon have agreed to coordinate event dates. Please read on...
As you may know, the date for the fall 2012 Boulder Marathon event was set several weeks ago for September 23rd. However, subsequent to the announcement of this date, the 2012 Denver Rock & Roll Marathon announced that they need to hold their 2012 event on the same event weekend as the Boulder Marathon is currently scheduled (this is two weeks earlier than their 2011 event, which was held October 9th).
The reason for the Denver's move is related to complications coordinating their 2012 national event schedule, as well as the fact that the Colorado Convention Center is not available (in 2012) for Denver's packet pickup if they didn't change their weekend. In other words, Denver had no choice but to move their 2012 event to the weekend of September 22nd.
As you can imagine, having Colorado's two largest marathon/half marathon events on the same weekend makes no sense - for either of the events. And, perhaps more importantly, conducting the two events on the same weekend makes no sense for the Colorado running community, either. As you already know, we've tried our hardest to schedule the Boulder Marathon event on a weekend that has the least impact to other Colorado distance races. And this is why, though our Labor Day event was successful this year, we ultimately opted to move the event away from the holiday weekend - to a date later on in the fall.
Now that Colorado literally has a glut of races in August and September, it's really important that the larger event dates are scheduled with forethought, and literally year's in advance. To this end, we're already discussing the 2013 and 2014 running seasons to make sure that the Denver Rock & Roll Marathon and the Boulder Marathon are scheduled with at least three weeks between them. And not on the same weekend.
After speaking with Denver Rock & Roll race management, it's obvious that we both share the goal of producing quality distance running races for the Colorado running community. And, we also agree that it serves neither of our interests if the races occur on the same weekend next fall.
Therefore, since the 2012 Denver Rock & Roll Marathon can only be scheduled on the September 22nd weekend, we've decided to schedule the 2012 Boulder Marathon & Half Marathon event for Sunday, October 21st.
This date change allows for Denver Rock & Roll Marathon participants to run in the Boulder Marathon event, and for Boulder Marathon runners to be able to participate in the Denver Rock & Roll Marathon event. A win-win for both events, and an even bigger win for the Colorado running community. After Denver made the switch to September 22nd, I received lots of feed back from the Colorado running community that this move was a net loss for the Colorado runners who like to participate in both events. Thus the decision to make the change.
As our 2012 Rudi's Organic Boulder Marathon & Half Marathon event is still almost a year away, we have a small number of people currently registered. My hope is that our date change (from September 23rd to October 21st ) works for all of those already registered for the event. However, if you've already registered for September 23rd, and the change to October 21st doesn't work for you, then we'll refund 100% of your entry fee. If you have any questions, email us at: registration@bouldermarathon.com
Again, the new date for the 2012 Rudi's Organic Boulder Marathon, Half Marathon, Marathon Relay & 5 Mile event is Sunday, October 21st.
Perhaps the silver lining in all this is that the 2012 Rudi's Organic Boulder Marathon & Half Marathon event (now in mid-October for the first time) gives us a good chance at having ideal race day conditions. And, unlike in early September, when the likelihood of hot weather is extremely high, we should have a high temperature on race day in the 60's or 70's - perfect weather for running (rather than temperatures in the 80's, or even 90's, in early September). And October, with the gorgeous changing of the colors in and around Boulder, is certainly one of the most beautiful times year for our out of state guests on the Boulder backroads. All said, mid-October might just be the best time of the entire year to conduct the Boulder Marathon event.
Update: Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring Half, 10 Mile & 5 Mile
Planning for the Boulder Spring Half is going well, and it's definitely time to register as the April 1st event is just over 4 months away! Colorado's favorite new half marathon is again going to be a lot of fun - and the perfect way to begin your 2012 competitive running season. The Spring Half is filling up quickly, so don't delay, get registered today.
We're really excited for both of our 2012 events - especially since the Boulder Spring Half will be the first competitive distance race of the season, and the Boulder Marathon & Half Marathon event (being in mid-October now) will be the last major distance running event of the season. You could call the two events the "bookends" of the Colorado distance running season - and running in both is a great way to start, and finish, your 2012 competitive running season. Click here to register
Thanks for your time, and good luck with your running.
Jeff Mason
Race Director
Register for the 2012 Rudi's Organic Boulder Spring Half & Boulder Marathon Event Today • All 2012 Participants Receive:
Official Race Entry, Race Bib, High Tech Timing Chip, Excellent Race Course Support (with Aid Stations, Food, Water, Gatorade Endurance Formula, Fruit, Ice, Larabars...) Gorgeous Race Medal; Beautiful Long Sleeve Technical Running Shirt for Boulder Marathon Event; Short Sleeve Tech Shirt for the Spring Half Event; Cool Technical Running Hat for Boulder Marathon Event Participants; Beverage Glass With Race Logo for Both Races; Goodie Bag With Good Stuff; Complimentary Post-Race Massage & Chiropractic; Race Results Posted Same Day; Beautiful Race Photos For Purchase; Boulder Beer Garden Access & The Best Post-Race Food & Music Around...