Milestones Icon: The Bolder Boulder

The BolderBoulder started as a 2,700-person road race in 1979.

Today more than 50,000 people compete in the yearly event.

Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter approached Steve Bosley, then president of the Bank of Boulder, about hosting a road race in Boulder. Bosley agreed, and the first annual BolderBoulder – won by Ric Rojas – was up and running.

The race quickly gained popularity, and the next year the finish line had to be moved from North Boulder Park to Boulder High School’s track to accommodate the 5,280-person field.

These days, the race ends at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Folsom Field – the largest athletic venue in the city.

The race got so big that organizers needed to figure out a way to include everyone and still have an official race. They came up with waves – groups of up to 900 people, with staggered start times. Faster runners are put in the first waves, and slower ones are placed in the following waves. A new wave is started every one to two minutes, and the start and finish times for the runners in each race are recorded.

The BolderBoulder, which is 10 kilometers, takes place every year on Memorial Day. This race is open to everyone and includes a wheelchair race and a walkers’ race.

The race has had its share of characters and legends over the years. Arturo Barrios, from Mexico, won the race four times. Then there was Rosa Mota, from Portugal, who won the race five times.

Saul Mendoza, who participated in the wheelchair race, won the title nine times in a row.

In 1970 Frank Shorter came to Boulder and changed its running scene forever.

Shorter, who had just graduated from Yale University, was told by his college track coach that running at altitude would significantly help him prepare for the 1972 Olympics.

Shorter trained at an indoor track in Boulder, and once he saw the benefits he invited other Olympic hopefuls to train in Vail, which has an even higher altitude. The runners soon found that the altitude was too high for recovery purposes and returned to train in Boulder.

There must have been something in the air because two years later Shorter won the marathon and brought home the Olympic gold medal.

In 1976 he won the silver medal in the marathon in Montreal and in 1984 was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

A statue of Frank Shorter was placed near Folsom Field at the finish line of the BolderBoulder.

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