Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

Bolder Boulder preview: changes ahead

Details

Created on Sunday, 29 May 2011 18:08

Written by Evan Thomas

Boulder Camera

Dan King has been running the Bolder Boulder since 1979. The course, though it's had a few changes, is essentially embedded into his muscle memory and his brain.

This year, he'll have to tell his legs to head north on 30th Street instead of south when the gun fires.

"You do something so many years," King said. "It will definitely be weird to go a different direction at the start."After 32 years of beginning at 30th Street and Iris Avenue, race directors have moved the starting line about a mile south to 30th and Walnut streets for the 33rd annual Memorial Day 10K.

The first 2 kilometers of the Bolder Boulder will be new -- and the first half of that is now uphill, race director Cliff Bosley said. But then it will meet up with the old course at Pine and Folsom streets.

The change will make it easier for the more than 50,000 participants and fans to get around on race day, organizers said. The starting line and finish line are now only about a mile apart, making it easier to coordinate parking and transportation.

Bosley's main goal was to allow participants and supporters to spend more time enjoying the race, and less time being stuck in traffic or looking for parking. The race is famous for its crowd involvement, which includes neighbors along the course who line the sidewalks cheering.

"The course is generally the same today as it's been," Bosley said. "It's integrated into the community, and touching all parts of the community. The change is routed in that convenience and still being part of the community."

The first kilometer of the race will be slightly uphill, Bosley added.

Read more about changes to the Bolder Boulder and see pictures and video at The Daily Camera.