Colorado Marathon Half Marathon 10K & 5K

With its long, fast and almost all downhill course through the foothills of the Northern Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains all the way down to the city of Fort Collins, the Colorado Marathon, Half Marathon, Point-to-Point 5K and 10K feature a route that’s exactly as advertised by the race organizers, who hail it the state’s fastest and most scenic marathon. This springtime race arrives just as the season is beginning to warm up in this northern Colorado town, and the course backdrop throughout most of the race — the half marathon is officially titled the Cornerstone Mortgage Colorado Half Marathon — is mountains all around as runners descend through the canyons on the way to Lee Martinez Park in Fort Collins for the finish. While the full, 26.2-mile marathon starts all the way back at Steven’s Gulch Campground off Highway 14, the starting line for the half marathon falls at exactly the 13.1-mile point in the race, at a bend in the road along Highway 14 just below Gateway Mountain Park and the Seaman Reservoir. From there, runners follow the highway as it twists and turns through the canyons, along the Poudre Canyon Highway through Log Canyon and through the towns of Bellevue and Laporte. All the while, with a few small hills (and one significant hill around the mile 6 marker), the route is descending in elevation, from about 5,400 feet above sea level at the starting line to about 5,000 feet above sea level at the finish. Runners follow the path as it winds along the river, crossing North Taft Hill Road and running along the Cache la Poudre River on the home stretch towards the finish. Runners make their way through Lee Martinez park before taking a right onto N College Ave, heading past the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. Runners will continue down N College Ave before taking a left onto Walnut St. which meats Linden St for the finish. Walkers are welcome, organizers add, thanks to the race’s 6-hour time limit.