2021 EVENT CANCELED, offering virtual Two Shoes Trek Challenge. *** The Pikes Peak Road Runners American Discovery Trail Marathon supports PPRR and the Trails and Open Space Coalition. The scenic course along paved and dirt trails is about as fast and flat as you can find in Colorado. All proceeds …
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2021 EVENT CANCELED, offering virtual Two Shoes Trek Challenge.
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The Pikes Peak Road Runners American Discovery Trail Marathon supports PPRR and the Trails and Open Space Coalition. The scenic course along paved and dirt trails is about as fast and flat as you can find in Colorado. All proceeds directly benefit local trails and local non-profits dedicated to trail stewardship and community running events in Colorado Springs.
The ADT Marathon is recognized as a premier race event by local and out-of-state runners! Join over 1,000 runners competing in the marathon, half marathon, or 10K races. The marathon will start at Palmer Lake and finish at America the Beautiful Park, reinstating the runners’ favorite, Boston marathon qualified point-to-point course through the United States Air Force Academy. The half marathon, 10K, and Kids Races will start and finish at America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs.
The ADT Marathon is a USATF certified Boston Qualifier (CO-08011-DCR). The marathon starts (6:30 AM) in Palmer Lake, CO. The N to S trail drops gradually from 7300 feet to 6040 feet in downtown Colorado Springs. It is a gently rolling course, with mostly hard-packed trails south to Woodmen Road. It is east of the Rampart Range and offers views of the majestic US Air Force Academy. The race ends at the America the Beautiful Park. There are some minor road crossings, which will have course marshals. The southern part of the course (south of Woodmen Rd.) is an urban trail with sections of concrete, asphalt and crushed granite. Some of the concrete sections have an adjacent soft shoulder.
Runners will be treated to flat, fast courses, a tech tee, finisher medal, and a fun Labor Day post-race party. Plus, the outstanding volunteers and course support you’ve come to expect from Pikes Peak Road Runners.
Come for the scenic, speedy course, come back for the amazing volunteers, and stay for the live music, crowd-pleasing spread and beer garden at the post-race party in the heart of Colorado Springs.
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Beautiful town - not so beautiful race
-I doubled this race with Jackson Hole Marathon (a Saturday race), as recommended by a friend. -It's my understanding that the course used to be a point to point. In … MORE
-I doubled this race with Jackson Hole Marathon (a Saturday race), as recommended by a friend.
-It’s my understanding that the course used to be a point to point. In 2016 – it was an out/back.
-The course was a nice cement/gravel mixed trail along the small river starting from America the Beautiful Park.
-The volunteers were awesome! I got a nice massage afterwards.
The Negatives:
-The trail was home to several homeless camps, abandoned camps and hangout spots. There was also a good amount of trash along the trail in some areas (especially under the bridges). While I never felt unsafe, I would likely not run the trail on my own if I were a local.
-The shirts are a disappointment. Compared to the 2015 shirts they were giving away at PP, the 2016 shirts were just blah. I got a small (what I normally get and rarely have size issues), but realized quickly, that it was WAY too small. I asked about exchanging but had to wait until after the race. I didn’t bother honestly, because I would never wear it. (I only kept it to be used in my quilt-in hindsight, I should have grabbed a 2015 shirt for my quilt and cut out the date).
Bottom line: Compared to Jackson Hole, this race failed to live up to my expectations. But I checked off the state and got to spend a great weekend with family in the area!
Would I go back? Not to this race. CO Springs is beautiful but this race was a disappointment.
Trail to Concrete
The first half of this course was on packed dirt trail with beautiful views of Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy grounds. Once you enter the city, you're running … MORE
The first half of this course was on packed dirt trail with beautiful views of Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy grounds. Once you enter the city, you’re running on concrete sidewalk until you reach the finish. I enjoyed every aspect of this race and was well organized. The only thing that disappointed me was a lot of food ran out for the marathoners by the time we reached the finish, but this was back in 2014 (writing this in 2023) and hopefully that’s been worked out by now. I would recommend this marathon to anyone since it was an easy overall downhill course (couldn’t tell that it was, just felt flat).