Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon [Home]

Expo — August 15
Race Weekend
August 16-17

Purple Mountain Majesties
In 1893 Katharine Lee Bates took a trip to the top of Pikes Peak. While on the summit the words to a poem started coming to her. Today, we know that poem as America the Beautiful.

A Journey to the Top and Perhaps Back

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The Pikes Peak Ascent^® and Pikes Peak Marathon^® will redefine what you call running. Sure, they start out like a lot of races on Any Street, USA. But your first left turn will have you turning in the direction of up! During the next 10 miles, as you gain almost 6,000 vertical feet, your legs, lungs, heart and mind will be worn to a ragged nothingness. But it won’t be until your last three miles, with still over 2,000' of vertical to go, that you will realize where the Marathon got its moniker—America’s Ultimate Challenge.

There’s a reason trees don’t bother growing above 12,000' on Pikes Peak. They can’t! Makes one wonder if trees are smarter than runners. Above treeline most runners take 30 minutes or more, some much more, just to cover a mile. What little air remains can’t satisfy the endless stream of zombies hoping only to survive their next step—a death march right out of a scene from Dawn of the Dead. Adding insult to injury, it might start to snow!

Then, if you are on the deluxe tour, you run back down for the second half of the Marathon. Along the way protruding rocks are waiting to send you crashing to the ground mangling flesh and only temporarily masking the pain of blood filled blisters. Meanwhile, the temperature has often risen by more than 30 degrees since the race start. After all, it’s always best to cook raw meat.

Join us in 2008 for the 53nd running of America’s Ultimate Challenge^®!

There’s a reason trees don’t bother
growing above 12,000' on Pikes Peak.
They can’t!

Maria Portilla from Albuquerque, NM on her way to winning the 2007 Pikes Peak Ascent. Her 2:35:46 was the 2nd fastest woman’s Ascent time ever only missing the course record by just over 2 minutes.

Triple Crown of Running Series
The Pikes Peak Ascent^® or ascent portion of the Pikes Peak Marathon^® is the 3rd and final leg of the Triple Crown of Running series. The 1st leg is the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run^® to be run on June 8, 2008. The 2nd leg is the Summer Roundup Trail Run 12K to be run on July 6, 2008. Series results are based on the cumulative race times for the three events. For those who run both the Ascent and Marathon (the Double) the faster ascent time will be used. More TCR series information.