Aspen Valley Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K

More than 7,000 feet up in the Rockies, one of Colorado’s newest half marathon race events offers some attractive features, especially for the first-time half-marathoner — a course that takes runners off the highways and onto a converted rail corridor trail, along gorgeous scenery thanks to the mountain peaks all around and the Roaring Fork River alongside the trail, and an almost all downhill course from the start to the finish. Those features and more brought out the more than 750 runners who crossed the finish line in all three Aspen Valley Marathon race distances last year, including over 400 finishers in the half marathon alone. Runners taking part in the 13.1-mile distance will follow a route that starts at Wilton Jaffee Park in Woody Creek, a small town in the Roaring Fork River valley that lies just a few miles northwest of Aspen. From there, runners head onto the Rio Grande Trail via the Woody Creek trailhead and start making their way northwest toward Basalt, where the finish line lies in that town’s Lions Park, along Midland Spur Road. Along the race route between the two towns, the beauty of the Colorado Rockies is on full display. Beautiful homes and large barns out in farm fields alternate between pastures dotted with grazing horses and even a couple of abandoned rail cars still out on the trail. Though there are a few shady spots along this part of the trail — which will consist of soft dirt and gravel surfaces for most of the race — much of the course is out in the wide-open sun, so sunscreen and a baseball cap or visor is recommended. Three water stations will be provided along the half marathon route — first at Gerbatz Way, around the mile 4 marker; a second time at the Arciero Trailhead near the mile 9 marker; and a third station will be located at about the mile 11 marker, near the intersection of Kelli Court and Holland Hills Drive. Those running the full marathon will be the first to start, followed by the half marathoners from Woody Creek. The finish line festivities will follow the races in Lions Park