ZOOMA Colorado Half Marathon and 10K Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Jane P.
Centennial, CO

  (08-05-2010)

"The race was challenging due to elevation, hills and heat. It was in July and it definitely can be hot in Colorado. I do believe that some races should be more challenging than others so I enjoyed it. It was very fortunate that they decided to move up the start time was 8 to 7. My time was slower than usual but it seemed that everyone experienced that. I had all the aid that I needed along the course. Gathering on the patio after the race was quite nice. Food and beverages were available as was shopping. Perhaps increasing the depth of rewards would be nice. The age group winners received a nice hat and the 2nd and 3rd place just had names called. In a mainly women's race, I think it is important to recognize more runners as many were first time participants in a race. Overall I think it was nicely run and I would consider running it again."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Rebekah V.
Fort Collins, CO

  (07-22-2010)

"It was very difficult to say the least. I'll start with the positives: The event staff was friendly, the Broadmoor was beautiful and their staff VERY friendly! The post race necklace was awesome and I love wearing it!! The post race meal and party were forgettable except for the venue. The route for the race was crazy; the course went around a loop twice, which wasn't easy by any means but it was enjoyable. It slowly climbed around the Broadmoor, until about 2/3 of the way through the loop, before a nice decent towards the start; this was done twice, was manageable and somewhat shady - a god-send both because of a horrendous heat wave and the nature of our Colorado mid July climate. The final 7 miles were an added out-and-back into busy traffic and included hellish, LONG/STEEP ups and downs - this section was relentless from the beginning to end. There was little, if any shade, there weren't nearly enough aid stations for the severe heat and when I finally reached the turn around point I was desperate for water - unfortunately the aid station was completely OUT of water, only offering the sport drink 'Ulta'. I'm sure that was fine for some, but for me it was devastating because the sport drinks tear my stomach up when I'm running. If this race was done at a milder time of year, offered twice as many aid stations, and if it must include hell-climbs, have them in the beginning or middle portion NOT all the way to the end, then I may consider running this race as a half marathon again. I think the 10k'ers made a wise choice on this one, and not because of the distance. I've done some steep races (at altitude) before, including the "Horsetooth Rez" half and the Vail "Spring runoff" 10k, (Reportedly the toughest 10k in the country), but this one was particularly impossible, resembling more of a walk-a-thon on the out and back portion than a race.

I do really hate to be negative considering this was a 'gift' entry, and there were some great positives to the day, but I'm still limping around almost a week later because the hills were so difficult - they re-inflaimed my i.t. band injury that I haven't had issue with in almost a year. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010