REVEL Rockies Marathon & Half Marathon

Set for its 11th annual running in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado this year, the Revel Rockies Marathon & Half Marathon is designed to give runners amazingly gorgeous views and the chance to record a personal record time, and even to qualify for the Boston Marathon (if you’re running the full marathon). The race is part of a three-race series that also includes September’s Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half Marathon in Utah and the Revel Canyon City Marathon & Half Marathon in Azuza, Calif., just outside Los Angeles in November. With this race near Denver, runners will have an all-downhill course: the half marathon begins at an elevation of about 7,410 feet above sea level and finishes at 5,759 feet, which is still more than a mile above sea level. Runners in the half marathon start their race at not quite halfway into the full marathon — they’ll begin at the 10.5-mile point of the full marathon course, in Evergreen at the intersection of Stagecoach Boulevard and Evergreen Parkway. Those running the full marathon begin back further west in the shadow of Squaw Mountain, along Squaw Pass Road. From Evergreen, the half takes runners along the rest of the route for the marathon all the way into Morrison, Colo., where the race finish line lies near Bandimere Speedway. Turn by turn, the half marathon course unfolds along Evergreen Parkway, Meadow Drive and Bear Creek Road, with a final turn left onto South Rooney Road to the speedway for the finish line. Along the way, runners will get to see some of the most gorgeous scenery the Colorado Rockies have to offer. Most of the half marathon unfolds alongside the Bear Creek Trail, a winding path that follows the creek of the same name as it slowly carves a downhill path out of the mountains and into the valley. They’ll even pass by Red Rocks Amphitheater, a place of pilgrimage for everyone from U2 to Mumford and Sons. Time limits are generous for what will likely be a challenging race: full marathoners are expected to keep a pace of about 13 minutes per mile, which works out to a finishing time of 5 hours, 40 minutes. Runners in the half marathon are allowed a pace of 23:40 per mile, which works out to time of about 5 hours, 10 minutes.