Early on May 17, almost 3,000 runners made their way to the starting line of the Denver Colfax marathon. The race kicked off at 6 a.m. with the Corral A speedsters flying out of City Park.
Alec Hornecker, a 28-year-old from Arvada, Colo. would be the first of them to cross the finish line with a time of 2:27:56. Behind him was Ryan Montera in second and Patrick Keeley in third, rounding out a podium of Colorado locals.
Colorado locals also dominated the women’s podium. Hali Hafeman, a 34-year-old from Golden, Colo. won the women’s division, crossing the finish line in 2:55:26. Emily Stoodley and Chelsea Factor followed in second and third.
But most would not be fast enough to catch a whiff of these 26.2 mile sprinters. Athletes were divided into corrals based on their goal time, with each one leaving about a minute apart. This system left the starting line packed until 6:15 a.m.
As the rest of the casual participants jogged leisurely out of City Park, they were met with the cheers of enthusiastic spectators who woke up at the crack of dawn to watch thousands of people run.
Aside from the spectators, the first few miles were filled with entertainment. An Elvis impersonator sang on the street corner, a drummer rocked out on buckets and Lyra performers danced through hoops in the air, almost as if to show runners that there are harder things they could have been doing.
Before the race moved out of downtown Denver and onto the Cherry Creek Trail, runners passed through the fire department and were applauded by courageous first responders and serenaded by bagpipes, a surprising addition.
The Cherry Creek Trail took the horde all the way to Empower Field at Mile High, a highlight of the race about six miles in. Here, runners were directed into the stadium and took half a lap around the field. Despite the empty stadium and grassless field, the marathoners felt like football stars.
After the stadium, runners took a lap of Sloan’s Lake, which offered stunning views of the water.
Next on the docket was a trek down Colfax Avenue before the halfway point came at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
A neighborhood stretch brought supporters to their front yards, offering runners water, orange slices and even doughnuts.
But the picturesque houses did not last. Soon the marathoners were flung back out onto Colfax and into a much needed downhill section. The end was coming soon. Well, in nine miles, the end was coming eventually.
From there, it was retracing steps back to City Park. The course went back around Empower Field, onto the Cherry Creek Trail and downtown Denver.
In the last three miles, supporters were everywhere. They offered their signs, ranging from statements like “Run if you think I’m hot,” to “Don’t trust that fart.”
They also offered morale boosters in the final stretch, with cans of Coor’s Lite and shots of Fireball making their way to a few brave runners.
As the noise rose from the finish line in City Park, the majority of the athletes came in with times between 3:45 and 4:15, a huge achievement.
But this wave wasn’t without its stars. The four hour pacer quickly told his group that it was his sixth marathon of the week, traveling the country and pacing as his full time job.
Athletes could also see an energetic presence from a runner in a Bigfoot onesie, who turned out to be Wyatt Moss, a running influencer who made his fame by running a marathon in every state.
The day wrapped up as runners made their way home for a well earned rest.
But no pain will stop thousands of people from running right back to the Denver Colfax Marathon in 2027, which will be held on May 16 with registration opening this August.
