The Denver Colfax Marathon is offering runners in Colorado an opportunity of a lifetime: to run a 5K on the runway at one of the busiest airports in the world.
“This will be an incredible race for our runners in so many ways,” said Andrea Dowdy, CEO of the Denver Colfax Marathon. “Not only will they make history by running on a Denver International Airport runway, but they will also have a front row view of Colorado’s spectacular airport and sunrise over the mountains.”
The marathon partnered with Denver International Airport for the race which takes place on Saturday, September 10th at 6 a.m. Registration for the sunrise race sold out in 13 hours with 2500 runners getting a spot.
“This is the first time in the airport’s history that we have held an event like this on the airfield,” said Denver International Airport (DEN) CEO Phil Washington. “We are excited to offer this unique experience for the community to see DEN from a different perspective while enjoying the beauty of our airport and the surrounding landscape.”
Runners will have one hour to complete the race, so the airport can resume to normal Saturday operations by 7 a.m. The airport is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and its airline partners to ensure that airport operations will not be impacted during the event.
The race’s presenting sponsor, United Airlines, will host a post-race breakfast celebration for runners in their hangar just off the runway. Participants also receive a pair of aviators, a runway-themed shirt, an antique silver airplane medal, and free runner photos.
This race compliments the annual Denver Colfax Marathon race weekend which takes place in May. The marathon weekend welcomes nearly 20,000 runners every year. Registration for the 2023 marathon starts in August. You can learn more at www.runcolfax.org.