{"id":30531,"date":"2026-05-25T13:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/bolder-boulder-registrations-soaring\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:18:01","slug":"bolder-boulder-registrations-soaring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/bolder-boulder-registrations-soaring\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolder Boulder registrations soaring"},"content":{"rendered":"


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There was a point when Cliff Bosley wondered if the COVID pandemic would permanently scuttle his life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Among the trials, setbacks and losses of the shutdown of 2020-21, a debilitating blow to an annual 10K doesn\u2019t register quite so profoundly.<\/p>\n

Still, the loss of momentum suffered by Boulder\u2019s annual Memorial Day running extravaganza was a telling blow. After a two-year hiatus, with no races in 2020 and 2021, the Bolder Boulder didn\u2019t exactly hit the ground running in its return.<\/p>\n

It was a more of a slow, steady pace for the Bolder Boulder as it regained its legs. Now it\u2019s once again racing ahead at full throttle.<\/p>\n

When the 46th annual Bolder Boulder takes off Monday morning, it will do so with the largest number of registrants since the post-pandemic return of 2022. Nearly 53,000 entrants are expected for the start in a Bolder Boulder on track to welcome a top-five mark in total registrations in the race\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadly, running still just continues to increase in popularity,\u201d said Bosley, the Bolder Boulder\u2019s longtime race director. \u201cI do know that during the pandemic there were a lot of people who started running. Because it was something you could do and stay fit and kind of keep yourself preoccupied when the world was seemingly closed. People were gravitating toward being outdoors. Hiking, walking and running. I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s part of the trend, but the sport continues to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 13 races from 2007 to 2019, the Bolder Boulder welcomed at least 50,000 entrants 10 times. That era peaked in 2011 with 54,554 entrants \u2014 still a Bolder Boulder high \u2014 and a run of nine Bolder Boulders in 10 years with at least 50,000 entrants between 2007 and 2016 was interrupted only in 2013, when the bombing at the Boston Marathon helped contribute to a registrant total of \u201conly\u201d 48,300. That total still would\u2019ve counted as the Bolder Boulder\u2019s best prior to 2007.<\/p>\n

When the Bolder Boulder emerged from the pandemic hiatus, the 2022 race drew 33,991 entrants, the lowest mark since 1991. It has been a gradual rebuild from there, with a jump to 40,044 entrants in 2023 to 43,971 in 2024.<\/p>\n

After increasing to 52,054 last year, the Bolder Boulder once again has experienced significant gains. For the first time since the race\u2019s inception in 1979, the Bolder Boulder closed registrations before the final pre-race weekend, citing the need to stay within operational capacity. As of Friday at 3 p.m., still nine hours before the close of registrations, the Bolder Boulder had about 700 more entrants than 2025 (registrations closed Friday at midnight).<\/p>\n

Typically, the race welcomes at least 1,000 registrations on race morning. That won\u2019t be the case this year, and while Bosley couldn\u2019t pinpoint one specific reason to explain the registration surge, the numbers are in line with local trends. The Denver Colfax Marathon last week sold out its half-marathon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another race in our area that\u2019s also seeing a good amount of interest,\u201d Bosley said. \u201cThat could be another indicator of the interest in running road races seems to be increasing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the citizen\u2019s race will feature the largest field in more than a decade, the 46th Bolder Boulder once again will be capped by the International Team Challenge, followed by the annual Memorial Day tribute. The Bolder Boulder will crown new champions \u2014 three-time defending Conner Mantz continues to recover from an injury, while two-time defending women\u2019s champ Grace Loibach Nawowuna from Kenya also won\u2019t compete \u2014 but the team fields will feature eight squads on the men\u2019s side and seven for the women.<\/p>\n