54th Running of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Pikes Peak Ascent: Celebrating 50 Years of Women Marathoners

2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the first time that a woman completed a sanctioned marathon in the United States. That race was the Pikes Peak Marathon. This year’s race will be a celebration of that event.

The first woman to finish the Pikes Peak Marathon was Arlene Grundmann Pieper. All that was known about her is that she was 29 years old in 1959, a resident of Colorado and she and her 10-year old daughter ran the Ascent together. In 1959, the two races were run concurrently. Arlene had planned to run just the Ascent, but got to the top and decided she had enough left to complete the Marathon. The race committee launched a search to find her, hoping to make her an honored guest at this year’s race. Fortunately, she was just recently located along with her daughter, Kathy, who ran the 1959 Ascent. Both will be attending as special quest during race weekend

This year’s race is also special in that it is the United States leg of the Skyrunner® World Series. The Skyrunners bring together the world’s strongest mountain runners in a series of races around the world.

The 54th running of the Pikes Peak Marathon will be held on August 16th. Its sister event, the Pikes Peak Ascent, will be held the day prior on August 15th. Cash prizes are awarded to the top 4 male and top 4 female finishers. The first finisher also wins a lifetime guaranteed entry into either the Ascent or Marathon. The next 9 finishers win a guaranteed entry into the Ascent or Marathon next year.

The Pikes Peak Marathon has always brought together world-class runners, local citizens, men and women alike since its inception in 1956. It is the third oldest marathon in the United States.

Named as “the most difficult marathon in the world” by Runner’s World Magazine, the Pikes Peak Marathon is unique. Known as a race with only “one hill,” runners ascend the mountain to 14,115 feet for a total elevation gain of 7,815 feet. Once at the summit, the runners turn around to finish back down near where they started in Manitou Springs, covering 26.22 miles, the traditional marathon distance.

The Pikes Peak Ascent also starts in Manitou Springs and continues on the same course as the Marathon. The Ascent finishes at the 14,115 foot summit of Pikes Peak for a total distance of 13.32 miles and altitude gain of 7,815 feet. The Pikes Peak Ascent on its own is considered equivalent to a flat course low altitude marathon in physical exertion levels, difficulty and time to complete.

The Pikes Peak Ascent is limited to 1800 runners and the Marathon limit is 800. Entry restrictions are set for the safety of the runners and volunteers, as well as to prevent overcrowding.

Spectators can watch the start of both races at 7:00 a.m. in front of the Manitou Springs City Hall (606 Manitou Avenue) on Saturday August 15th for the Pikes Peak Ascent and Sunday August 16th for the Pikes Peak Marathon. The Pikes Peak Ascent finish is on the east face of the Pikes Peak summit. The Marathon finish is at the intersection of Ruxton Avenue and Manitou Avenue in Manitou Springs.

Events open to the public include the pre-race expo and spaghetti dinners. The expo begins at 10:00 am on Friday, August 14th, followed by the dinner at 5:00 pm. The same events will take place on Saturday, August 15th with the inclusion of the Pikes Peak Ascent awards ceremony at 5:00 pm. Both evenings will also include guest speakers and panel discussion. Special guests will be, Arlene Pieper Kline, 1st women marathoner, her daughter, Kathy Pieper, who ran the 1959 Ascent and Thomas Woodall, who ran the 1959 Pikes Peak Marathon. Locations for the programs, expo and spaghetti dinners are at Memorial and Mansions Parks in Manitou Springs. More information and directions can be obtained at: www.pikespeakmarathon.org.

Volunteer opportunities abound. Interested parties should email raceinfo@pikespeakmarathon.org.

For reference purposes, the attached contains a brief history and further course information along with a history of women running.

Due to the extreme nature of the course, the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent require medical support beyond that of the average city marathon. For your reference, interesting information regarding our special medical coverage is attached.

For more information, contact Ron Ilgen at (719) 963-9014.
For race day press coverage, please come to the Packet Pickup booth on race mornings for a press pass.