Locals gear up for 28th Bolder Boulder

The 28th annual Bolder Boulder is expected to draw more than 50,000 runners to the Front Range hub on Monday.

One reason the famous 10K road race has become so large is that entire families show up to take part in it.

The Frisco-based Cunninghams are a prime example. They will be represented by five members at the Memorial Day classic - David Sr., David Jr., Cathy, Wyatt and Landon.

"I've been doing this race ever since I was in college," David Jr. said. "Now it's become a great way to spend time with my dad, wife and two kids."

David Sr., who lives in Santa Fe, will fly in for the race as he has for most of the last 10 years. His son hopes to maximize his family time and still finish the race in under 50 minutes.

"I'll run the first mile with my dad, then try to keep my time up a bit," Cunningham Jr. said. "After I finish the race, I'm going to meet my wife and kids wherever they are along the course. ... That's the great thing about cell phones."

As her husband is approaching the finish line at CU's Folsom Field, Cathy Cunningham will be walking somewhere along the course next to 5-year-old Wyatt with 1-year old Landon in her backpack.

"Once we meet up, I'll run the rest of the race with (Wyatt)," David Jr. said. "He'll probably be pretty anxious to get running by then."

Monday's first starting gun will be fired at 7 a.m., after which nearly 80 subsequent waves will set out over the course of two hours.

The format makes for some crowded streets in Boulder.

"It's a fun thing when you have 40,000 people chasing you," longtime race competitor Dan Burnett said. "I can't even finish in the top 1,000, but I still always feel good about how I run."

The Burnetts are another bunch who have made the Bolder Boulder a family affair. Burnett will be joined on Memorial Day by his wife Patti and daughter Rachel.

Patti Burnett, who celebrated her 54th birthday on Wednesday, expects to be competing against 200 or 300 other women her age.

"I usually do pretty well because I'm old," she said with a laugh.

Rachel Burnett is in a much later wave than her parents, thus won't start the race until they've already finished.

One local parent-child duo that will coexist in the same wave is Cynthia and Lee William Gordon.

Lee William Gordon, a 13-year-old Summit Middle School student, is gearing up for his second Bolder Boulder. He's said he's not sure if he'll cross the finish line with his mom like he did last year.

"I might be going a little faster," he ventured. "I've been training a little more."

Lee William Gordon plans to use today's SMS Tiger Trot as one of his final tuneups before Monday.

"The Tiger Trot is an all-school event," said SMS teacher Robyn Cornwell, who also plans to run in Monday's Bolder Boulder. "It's the school's way of saying we promote fitness and good health."

Cornwell plans to travel to Boulder with fellow teachers Heidi Sodetz and Tina Oberheide.

The three friends, each of whom describes shopping as a key component of their trip, are prepared to be separated during the race.

"We all have varying levels of fitness," Oberheide said. "So we don't make an effort to stay together. ... But there's a lot of Summit County people that like to gather after the race in section 206 (in Folsom Field)."

More than 100 Summit County residents have already registered for the big race.

Like Burnett, Sodetz is struck by the sheer magnitude of the Bolder Boulder.

"My husband and I have run the Chicago Marathon," she said. "It's understandable why that's as big as it is, but to have 50,000 people show up for a six-mile race is amazing."



Adam Boffey can be contacted at (970) 668-4634, or at aboffey@summitdaily.com.