On Memorial Day, Brian and I ran the Bolder Boulder for the second time! (You can check out our recap from last year here!)

We had such an amazing experience running the Bolder Boulder 10k last year, that we knew we were going to run this race again.

Race Day Details

This year, our wave start time was at 7:17am.  Thankfully, I had written my recap post last year, so I could look back this year to see what time we departed for the race in the morning.  Again, we drove from Denver, but we left a few minutes later (5:30am) because we had a LOT of time to kill before running last year.

We arrived and were able to park close to the starting line for free with ease in the Twenty Ninth Street Mall Parking Lot.

The weather was predicted to be sunny and around 57 degrees, so we both wore short sleeves and shorts.  The perfect choice for beating the Colorado sun!

Again, like last year, we used the restrooms at Peet’s Coffee & Tea, which was so nice.  Real bathrooms at a race are hard to come by.

The Race

Last year, Brian and I were impressed by the casual, fun, and relaxed atmosphere of the race and the overall organization of EVERYTHING.  We never felt like there were too many people in one space, running on the course (although there were 50,000 people running), or like things were disorganized.  This year, the folks putting on the Bolder Boulder showed us just how much of a well oiled machine this race truly is.

The course was relatively flat with a few hills that went DOWN hill immediately after.  It winded through gorgeous neighborhoods with tons of fun spectators offering things like doritos, marshmallows, beer, jello shots, and slip and slides.  It was such a fun atmosphere 🙂

All of the spectators and entertainment (there were quite a few music groups and DJs) made the race go by so fast!  I didn’t run with music, like I typically do, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the entertainment the course had to offer.

Post-Race Expo

Once we crossed the finish line, we winded through the stadium area to the water, beer, and snack bag pickup.  Just like last year, there were complimentary beers for sipping while enjoying the post race Expo.

There were a ton of samples from SO many local vendors and a few non-local vendors too 😉 (evol burritos, Marley coffee, Way Better Snacks, White Wave Foods, Clif Bars, Nuttzo, Nuun, and many more).

There were also booths with race gear like sunglasses, racing shoes, running clothes.  So many things to look at!  There were enormous amounts of people there, but everyone was friendly and happy to be there which made for a really enjoyable experience.

Once we were done walking through the expo, Brian and I headed back to the car and then back to Denver.  Just like last year, we had no issues getting out of the Boulder area and were back in town by 10am.  Such a great way to start the day, and we had plenty of time left in the day to hang out with Bernie, go for a walk and get ready for the week!

I am so happy that we had another great experience running the Bolder Boulder!

Question of the Day:

• How did you celebrate Memorial Day?
• Have you ever run the Bolder Boulder? (TONS of people travel to do this race!)