Estes Park Half Marathon

Estes Park, Colorado

Sunday, June 16, 2019

On Sunday, June 16, 2019 I race walked the Estes Park Half Marathon in Estes Park, Colorado.  The temperature varied from 44 to 58 degrees with a shower before the start lasting 3 miles into the race.  The skies where overcast for the next 8 miles and sunny for the remainder of the event.  The winds were light and variable.  The course consists of 6 miles of paved roadway that was not closed to traffic; however, traffic was sparse, 2 miles of dirt and gravel on a bike trail, and 5 miles of paved bike paths.  It started at an altitude of 9100 feet, climbed to 9134 feet in the first 0.5 miles, descended to an altitude of 7428 feet near mile 9.5, and finished at an altitude of 7500 feet on the high school track.  The total descent was 2123 feet and the total ascent was 574 feet.  Volunteers and tape arrows on the ground were used to help the participants navigate the course.  Water or Water/electrolyte stations were located at irregular distances along the course and had plenty of volunteers at each station; however, all of the stations used extremely small cups that were only slightly filled and some of the stations had the cups on tables and the participants had to stop and pick them up even though there were plenty of volunteers standing around.  The electrolyte drink was unknown to me and did not agree with my stomach very well.  I became quite dehydrated during the half marathon.  This is the first time that I have done this event.  The course is quite challenging for race walking because there was so much steep downhill.  The event was reasonably well organized but could definitely be improved some.

Before Race

After Race