Some History and Background
This was my 15th Bolder Boulder, going back to 1983. To date me even more, I was in town for the first Bolder Boulder ever in 1979. Some college friends and I traveled to Boulder to train for the summer, but I broke my foot a few days before the inaugural race and had to skip it, and I was so disappointed that I did not even watch the race.
I have lived in Colorado for half of my life, and I have run this race more than any other. However, I regret missing many years due to injury (1979, 1984, 2002, 2003) or work and travel (1982, 1987, 2004, 2015), or travel, plus the covid years. That’s a lot of misses, each with regret.
My course PB of 34:06 (1985), is 2 minutes slower than my 10K at sea level. It’s not an easy course, with rolling terrain and an uphill finish (and a net gain of 90 feet from start to finish; and nearly 300 feet of vertical), all at +/-5300’ elevation.
The goal was to break 40 minutes, a tough task at altitude and proving to be just as difficult for me as breaking 3 hours for the marathon (which I haven’t done since 2017). My last official sub 40 at Boulder Boulder was in 2019, although I did run 39:45 in a solo virtual attempt in 2020, and 39:37 at a socially distanced race in 2020. Both of these were at different locations and on flatter courses, and they do not count in the record books.
No one over the age of 64 has been under 40 minutes on this course, I was hoping do that in 2022 but covid knocked me out.
I returned in 2023, but it was only 16 days after an all-out (American age group record) at the Riverbank Run 25K in Michigan. Afterward, I did not manage my recovery as well as I should have. The result was a lackluster 40:46 in Boulder, my slowest Bolder Boulder and probably my worst result of that year. In 2024 I also had run the 25K a couple weeks prior but did a better job of recovering and tapering for the Bolder Boulder. On Memorial Day last year I just missed the mark, with a 40:08.
2025
So here we are in 2025, probably my last best chance to break 40 because we are moving to sea level next month and I’m not getting any younger. Unless I do 5 or 6 week altitude block, maybe with some coaching from Mike Smith or Ed Eyestone, it’s going to be quite difficult to break 40 going on this course.
This is a year of transition in other ways; for first time I did not qualify for the A wave, in which you need to run an 18:10 5K, 38:00 10K or 1:24:00 half marathon to qualify. I did not achieve any of those standards in the past year and had to run in the AA wave. There are about 500 runners per wave in this huge race, and 100 waves! They are going out all morning an 80-90 second intervals.
Nevertheless, the AA wave is very competitive (the fastest from our group ran 31:30 and was top 20 on Monday). If anything I found the A wave a little more relaxed because I would line up near the back and it was fairly easy to find a rhythm.
Race Time!
I got to the start corral a few minutes later than I probably should have (about 7-8 minutes before the start) and lined up back a way. It’s all chip timed of course, but it was crowded the entire way and in particular during the first 2 or 3 miles—enough so you could not really run the tangents effectively. I just watched my space and hoped not to get tangled up with another runner.
Monday was an odd weather day with mist and rain, and slick pavement. However, it was cool, in the upper 40s at race time. I split the first two miles in 6:24, and 12:47 (6:23). On this course you are climbing gradually through 2.7 miles, before getting some respite. The 3-mile split was 19:28 (6:41) and my 5K was about 20:10, which was just about what I wanted, because I was hoping to run a negative split. Despite those intentions and being right on for halfway I was not feeling optimistic, it felt like I was pressing as hard as I could and I did not know if I could hold on for another 5K.
Half-way and already feeling it.
The 4th mile is rolling, and I was struggling as I split in 26:04 (6:36), and I had wanted to be about 5 or 10 seconds faster on that mile. The 5th mile drops close to 80 feet, and it is the easiest stretch on the course, and I passed 5 miles in 32:21 (6:17). My mental math told me that I would need to be under 6:20 for mile 6, and have a strong kick, to finish under 40.
The course makes the turn onto Folsom Avenue, heading south, with about a mile to go. On that stretch I was hanging on with the but also struggling.
Running down Folsom, hanging by a thread (note the 9-year-old on my tail!).
The last kilometer is uphill and always extremely tough and I lost some time. With about 450 to go the climb gets more serious as you turn onto the stadium access road, I had practiced and visualized that dreadful hill over the past month, and I tried to increase my pace for a final long kick, but it kicked back! And by halfway up I was jogging. The 6th mile was a 6:37, not what I needed. I was gasping. Into the stadium with just a couple hundred to go I mounted a feeble kick (the mat was very slippery) to finish in 40:23. Shucks.
Entering the stadium, usually a joyous moment, but you can see we are all in our own private pain cave.
I fell short of a big but difficult to achieve goal at this point in my running journey. However, I am pretty happy with the race overall, I did break the single year age record, won my age group, and now have the two fastest times ever for the 5 year age group. This was also my 8 official age win at the Bolder Boulder (10th if count the covid races). Can’t argue with that. However, there are some caveats and maybe a misgiving or two (self-flagellation) about the shoulda, woulda, coulda on Monday.
As I mentioned earlier, my first half splits were good on paper. However, I had actually planned on going out a little bit easier, closer to 6:30 pace for miles 1 and 2, and then about 6:30-35 for mile 3. That would have put me a few seconds back, but maybe with a little bit more energy for the first half.
Did I get caught up in competition in those early miles, with certain rivals just ahead or behind? As the old adage says, for every second too fast at the beginning, you can lose 2 seconds on the back half. Did the rain and slick roads have an effect, as indicated by race announcers Alan Culpepper and Frank Shorter. It was definitely more crowded in the AA wave than hanging off of the back in the A wave. Running better tangents and turns might have helped shave off a few seconds. Or are those just three excuses?
It also just comes down to finding the wherewithal to push through over the second half. I lost time on the 4th mile (5 seconds), 6th mile (at least 7 seconds), and the final finish into the stadium (5 seconds), that was easily my weakest finish ever at Bolder Boulder.
Post Race and Elite Races
After the race I met up with teammates for a bit, trying to get warm in the old CU field house, and then hung out for the morning to watch elite races.
Had some mixed emotions as this will (probably) be my last time racing the Bolder Boulder as a Colorado resident. Nevertheless, although it was an exciting, if not damp and chilly morning.
The elite races were fantastic! Connor Mantz had a huge kick to win men’s race in 28:21, passing Kenyan star Daniel Ebenyo with just 50 m to go, and Grace Nawowuna broke the long-standing record (set 30 years ago) of 32:12 by running 31:52.
Bolder Boulder and Me: The Future
In spite of having some success at Bolder Boulder, I have never run quite as well as I had hoped. Or maybe it is just the course. As an open runner I probably should have run well under 34 minutes, in fact my goal back then was to run under 33. However, those years I ran too fast in the opening mile or two and then paid a heavy price to the finish. As a masters runner (1999-2001) I felt I could have been under 35, but didn’t put it together (pacing in 1999, hot weather in 2000, and out of shape in 2001). In this latest era as a grand masters and senior runner (2015-25, minus the covid years) I had the most success age group-wise, but it never has een my best race of the year. I guess that’s okay.
As for the future I want to return even though we are moving away. I will return. Whether or not I am as competitive as I have been is a different story. Maybe it will not matter. You see former world class runners taking more than an hour to complete the course, and they are happy and we are happy for them. Participation in this event is what it is about.
When I do return, I guess at least once, I would like to have the final weeks of my training block to be in Colorado or at altitude. To get into the best competitive shape that I can. That’s not a given, but something to maybe plan and strive to make happen.
Until I do return, thank you Bolder Boulder for the excitement as a participatory runner and fan of the sport of road running.
rrunnin234 