The annual Boulderthon running event, presented by PUMA, took place on September 29, and saw a record-breaking registration count of over 10,000, up over 40% from last year.
The event welcomed runners from all 50 US states and 22 countries. Among this year’s participants were three-time Olympian Maor Tiyouri; three-time Olympian Emma Coburn; 50K world-record holder Charlie Lawrence; and Olympian Rory Linkletter.
Linkletter took home first place in the men’s half marathon. Guest appearances were also made by 2024 Olympians Kara Goucher, Dakotah Lindwurm and Molly Seidel.
The 2024 race offered five distances: a marathon, half marathon, the 10K presented by Cheribundi, the Heart to Heart 5K by BCH and a Kids Run.
All courses started and finished in the heart of Downtown Boulder while displaying scenic sights exclusive to the Boulder area along the way. The Downtown start and finish allowed Boulderthon to spotlight the small businesses that bring Boulder to life and created a location for participants to congregate.
Last year, Boulderthon added an estimated US$7.6m in direct impacts for the local area. This year, the event is predicted to have over US$10 million in economic impact.
“Even with Boulderthon being a young race, we have large ambitions for the event as we watch it grow at an incredible rate year after year,” said Phil Dumontet, founder and President of Boulderthon.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone who’s helped us build Boulderthon into what it is today, including our remarkable sponsors and partners who are equally committed to making Boulderthon the ultimate runner experience.”
The top-rated, fast-growing running event became the second-largest marathon event in Colorado in its first year of existence, and the largest autumn/fall running event in the state. In 2023, Active.com named Boulderthon one of the Top 5 Best Half Marathons in the United States, and the following year the 5K and half marathon courses were both named a top 10 in their categories by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice awards. After this year’s event, Boulderthon is expected to join the list of top 100 largest races in the US.
Leading up to race day, Boulderthon hosted a shakeout run event in partnership with Fleet Feet, PUMA and Cooldown on Saturday, September 28. Attendees of the event included Olympians Molly Seidel, Dakotah Lindwurm and Rory Linkletter, as well as over 300 additional runners. The event took place at Fleet Feet Boulder, and featured on-site demoing by PUMA of the Deviate Nitro 3 and MagMax, as well as free PUMA x Boulderthon x Fleet Feet shirts for the first 200 people who arrived.
The race weekend also featured the Boulderthon Expo from Friday, September 27 to September 29, which included runner-friendly products and services for participants and spectators. It brought over 75 vendors to the heart of Boulder and reportedly had over 30,000 attendees.
