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Colorado > Keystone Trail Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Keystone, CO  •  Saturday, July 19, 2014  •  Course Map

   

 
Set for its 4th annual running in 2014 along the roads and backcountry trails of this gorgeous ski resort town high in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, the Keystone Trail Half Marathon, 10K & 5K is a two-day running event that offers the 10K race distance on Saturday, followed by the 5K and 13.1-mile half marathon distances on Sunday.

For runners taking part in the half marathon, the course follows an out-and-back loop route that starts and finishes in Keystone village near the intersection of County Road 8 and River Run Road, within a few dozen yards of the hotel rooms and rental condos that race organizers have reserved for registered race participants (and which you can learn more about by visiting the race website shown below).

From there, runners head out onto the paved biked trails and natural surface bike paths that parallel County Road 4, heading west past what will be the grassy slopes of Keystone's ski area, which just a few months after the race will be covered with snow as well as skiers and snowboarders gliding down the mountain.

The terrain along this stretch alternates between flat stretches and hills; this is the Rocky Mountains, after all, so runners will need to be ready for some steep uphills and downhills as well as high elevation (the race starts at an elevation of just over 9,300 feet above sea level).

Once the trail takes you past the ski slopes area, runners next head down an out-and-back that lasts for roughly a mile along Keystone Gulch Road, and features the first real uphill stretch of the race. After runners make the turnaround and head back to County Road 4 (also known as Soda Ridge Road), the course then resumes heading west, taking runners further away from the road now and more into the trails that wind through the trees and mountains of Keystone.

The next stretch of the race is basically one large clockwise loop route that takes runners south into the trails that run alongside residential neighborhoods and golf courses on one side, and the rising peaks of the tree-covered mountains on the other. The trail takes runners all the way down to the southernmost point of Keystone Ranch Road, where runners briefly meet up with that road and then head back off onto the trails that wind through the mountains again on their way north for the second half of the race.

Organizers describe the race route as "challenging," and for good reason -- the hills continue throughout the next few miles, and the race concludes with a gradual uphill over the last three miles back in to the finish line in Keystone village.



Runners will start the half marathon on Sunday at 8:00 AM, and while organizers plan for most runners to finish by 11:30 AM, they don't have an official cutoff time -- they plan to allow all runners to complete the race and cross the finish line.


Race Weather & Climate

Located at just over 9,100 feet up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, about 75 miles west of Denver, Keystone typically sees its warmest and wettest weather of the year in July, which has brought record temperatures here as low as 22 degrees (in 1938) and as high as 89 degrees (in 1939).

July Avg. Day of Race Monthly Precip.
Low: 39°F Low: 39°F Rain: 1.75 in.
High: 73°F High: 74°F Snow: 0 in.



Course Map

See the race route map for the Keystone Half Marathon


Starting Time

8:00 AM


Fees

$65 for the half marathon, if registered by June 5, 2014
$70 between June 6 - July 17


Registration

To reserve your spot in the summer 2014 running of the Keystone Half Marathon, 10K or 5K race, register online at Active.com.


Official Race Website

www.keystonehalf.com



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