BOULDER, Colo. -- The race may still be nine months away, but Monday, August 21, is a big milestone for the BolderBOULDER. It means we’re just 40 weeks away from the 40th running of the 10k road race that has become one of Colorado’s most cherished Memorial Day traditions.
"Every weekend I went to two to four races and looked at them and said, ‘I think we can do that,’” founder Steve Bosley said.
In 1979, the first race started at North Boulder Park with around 2,700 runners and now more than 50,000 runners finish at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Folsom Stadium.
Bosley says he was inspired to create the race after seeing track coaches and parents berating young athletes for not running fast enough. He wanted to create an encouraging environment where everyone could feel successful.
Another idea, find a race memento no one wants to get rid of.
“We came up with the idea to make a poster that is too big and too fancy to throw away and we distributed one to every household in Boulder,”
Bosley's son Cliff passed out some of those 25,000 posters. Forty poster designs later, he's the race director.
“I think that's what we're passionate about, is just how we're connecting and impacting people's lives,” the younger Bosley said.
A banker by trade, Steve Bosley prides himself on bringing a professionalism and business acumen to racing, making the BolderBOULDERthe biggest Memorial Day 10K in the country, and perfecting the wave staggered start system now used around the world.
“We came in at a great time,” he said. “We're innovators. That's our DNA.”
Runners around the world have rated the BolderBOULDER the best 10K in the country with beautiful surroundings and a fun course with a ton of community involvement.
"That we can affect a community and the people, the individuals at all levels to this degree, is really really humbling,” Bosley added.
The 40th running of the BolderBOULDER will be May 28, 2018. Registration is already open.