Colorado gives you a race nearly every weekend. The hard part isn’t finding one. It’s matching a race to the season, the altitude, and where you actually are as a runner.
These guides sort the Front Range racing year by season, so you can pick a race that fits instead of just signing up for the next 5K you see.
The Front Range has a race nearly every weekend; the work is matching one to where you actually are.
Spring
March is Denver’s loudest racing month, built around St. Patrick’s weekend.
- Denver St. Patrick’s Day races is the place to start: what the races are like, and how to run one as a newcomer to altitude.
- Picking your St. Patrick’s distance helps you choose between the mile, the 5K, and the 10K, which matters more than it looks at altitude.
Fall
October is quietly the best racing weather of the year here.
- Denver Halloween races covers the costumed fall 5Ks and 10Ks, and the big October temperature swing to dress for.
Winter and the holidays
December trades fast times for festive ones.
- Denver holiday and Christmas races covers the cold-weather 5Ks and how to dress for a freezing start line.
- Denver’s festive December fun runs is the costume-and-family side: short distances, kids’ runs, and a morning out rather than a race.
Finding this year’s races
Dates move from year to year, so for anything happening this season, check a current Colorado race calendar like Colorado Runner for the specifics. Then come back here to pick by the season and the scene.