After running a portion of the ZOOMA Denver half marathon course last week, I am psyched to share the photos with you. I know I am biased, but I really believe this course is a hidden jewel in Denver. This course is flat, much of it is on crusher fine (which is awesome for runners - soft, but not too soft), and has fantastic views. Miles ~8-11 are on the Sand Creek Greenway, incredibly beautiful and serene. The whole course is basically flat (only a few small inclines). In my opinion ZOOMA Denver has one of the best ZOOMA race courses from several different perspectives.
I took some pics so you can see for yourself.
The race starts and finishes in Central Park, off MLK Blvd in Stapleton. Central Park is 80+ acres of manicured lawns, cool playgrounds, and fun fountains. When I was there last week (and it was 95 degrees outside), there were tons of kids playing in the fountain in their bathing suits.
This photo is where the start/finish lines will be. The race will start heading in the direction of the photo, and will finish heading toward back towards the viewer. The drama of the start/finish area isn’t captured well by this photo, but it is very, very cool and will look awesome with all the ZOOMA signage, etc. I think finishers will feel like heroes coming through this finish area.
After the first few miles in Central Park, the course heads south on the Westerly Creek Trail. This is a photo from the side of the road looking into the Westerly Creek area. The course will actually run on the trails inside (which aren’t really visible from this view.) But check out the wildflowers!
Next the course turns west onto this crusher-fine trail on 29th Ave. in Stapleton. This area is managed by the Stapleton Master Community Association, and it sort of reminds me of a Parisian boulevard. The houses along each side of the road are gorgeous, too, for those of you who enjoy mooning over real estate like I do.
After briefly snaking through some Stapleton residential neighborhoods, the course ends up again on the Westerly Creek Trail headed north. (On a different path from the trip south in the same area.) The course crosses Westerly Creek on this cute little bridge.
Around Mile 8, the course enters the Sand Creek Greenway, which is a crusher fine path through a nature area. On my run last week, we saw too many prairie dogs and rabbits to count. I felt like we were in the middle of a Colorado wilderness! It’s serene and beautiful, with Sand Creek peacefully flowing alongside and rustic fences lining the route.
This is around Mile 11… running west back towards Central Park for the finish. Check out the mountain and city view! The last ~4 miles are running west and this view is visible for much of it. For an east-coast girl like me, this is pretty cool…
These are just a few views from the ZOOMA Denver course. I wanted to share them with everyone because I think that, because Stapleton is such a new area in Denver, many people haven’t had the opportunity to run there and don’t realize how beautiful it is. And flat, too! Thanks a million to David Manthey, coach and founder of Runners’ Edge of the Rockies, for the design concept. You rock!
