18th Denver Colfax Marathon Celebrates a Record-Breaking Year in the Mile High

May 23, 2024

The largest running event in Denver’s history took place over the weekend

Denver, CO /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The 2024 Denver Colfax Marathon, presented by Cigna Healthcare, welcomed close to 25,000 runners over the weekend to its annual race event. The weekend, which hosts eight races over two days, saw twenty percent more runners than last year. Athletes from all 50 states plus 11 different countries came to the Mile High for the scenic race route, complete with mountain views and an after-race lakeside party.

“Our runners have fully embraced this race weekend and taken it to the next level,” says Andrea Dowdy, CEO of the Denver Colfax Marathon. “This event started with 4,000 runners back in 2006, and in the past 18 years, it’s not only grown into Denver’s largest running event, but also the biggest marathon weekend in the 8-state Rocky Mountain Region.”

The Denver Colfax Marathon race weekend brought 100,000 people to the city of Denver through its various events. The Sunday races were live streamed by a local news helicopter, capturing the historic crowds through every step of the race. News reporters on the ground hosted live reports from the start line and finish line festival, showcasing the runners in their element.

Two Colorado runners broke long-standing course records this past weekend. The women’s full marathon course record was broken, along with the men’s half marathon record. The race weekend’s marathon relay is the largest in the country, with four different divisions of relay teams participating every year – corporate, government, public school teachers and open. Runners finished their race in Denver’s picturesque City Park, surrounded by a mile high mountain landscape and a gorgeous lakefront. They were treated to a grilled lunch with complimentary beer, wine, and a live Colorado band.

This year, the marathon is proud to announce the debut of its new “Colfax Fly Feet” program. The program focuses on providing at-risk kids a chance to run in the city’s only marathon weekend. In the program’s inaugural year, the marathon provided complimentary race entries for kids to run in the Colfax 5K.

Patrick Rizzo, a 4-time Olympic Trials participant and former Denver Colfax Marathon winner, ran the half marathon to raise money for the new program. He started in the back of 26 corrals and the marathon donated a dollar to the program for every runner that he passed. Rizzo physically passed 97% of the runners on the half marathon course on Sunday. The money raised will go directly into the Colfax Fly Feet program, to continue inspiring youth in every marathon race weekend moving forward.

In its third year as the title sponsor of the race, Cigna Healthcare’s support and dedication to the runners elevates the race’s profile nationwide and keeps health and wellness in focus.

“The team and I at Cigna are so proud to sponsor this amazing race,” said Brett Winingham, general manager and market growth leader for Cigna Mountain State. “It embodies our mission to improve the health and well-being of our community. We love being out there to support the runners and their families at the finish line. Running and socializing both increase vitality.”

The Denver Colfax Marathon is a nonprofit that gives back to hundreds of local charities every year. This year, the marathon had more than 135 different charities involved in the race weekend to raise awareness and funds for their cause through the marathon’s Charity Partners Program. Twenty percent of the weekend’s runners voluntarily chose to run for a charity this year, and the marathon will award the money raised at its annual awards evening in June.

The 2025 Denver Colfax Marathon weekend will take place May 16-18, 2025. Registration begins in August. To learn more about the marathon weekend, please visit www.runcolfax.org.