Pikes Peak Ascent - September 16, 2023
The Pikes Peak Ascent is a grueling 13.3 mile race from Manitou Springs, Colorado, to the 14,115 foot summit of Pikes Peak. With a vertical climb of 7,800 feet up the historic Barr Trail, this is NOT your typical half marathon!
Beginning in downtown Manitou Springs, the course proceeds along approximately 1.5 miles of road before joining into Pikes Peak's Barr Trail. This is where the real adventure begins. With an average grade of 11%, the trail is often narrow, winding, or steep and may be gravel, rock or dirt with sharp turns and abrupt changes in elevation or direction. However, there are no exposed ledges, so there is little danger of falling off the trail! Keep in mind, there is no vehicle access to most of Barr Trail, so to ensure the safety of our runners and volunteers, all participants are required to complete a qualifying event before registering.
Pikes Peak Ascent invites Elite Competitors, offers cash prizes to winners as well as free entries to past winners! Are you ready to take the challenge?
2023 Dates to Remember |
In Training for the Ascent? |
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January 15, 2023 - Pre-Registration open to 2022 runners that deferred to 2023; registration by invitation only.
NOTE: If you deferred your entry fee in 2022, your entry is guaranteed through February 28, 2023; after that time, your entry cannot be guaranteed if the race sells out. You must claim your deferred entry by registering by February 28. March 1, 2023 - General Registration opens - 5:00am MST. Registration will be closed when each race sells out, and a waitlist may be available for interested parties. |
Short sleeve tech shirt in relaxed or slim fit
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Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc. is an equal opportunity service provider and a permittee of the Pike National Forest. Entry limits are set by the Forest Service for the runners on the course.
2023 Pikes Peak Ascent Qualification Requirements
Overview
All qualifications will be verified by the registrar. If we are unable to validate your qualifier, we will attempt to contact you via the email address you used for registration. You will then have two weeks to correct your entry (typos happen...we won't hold it against you). Failure to respond or submit a valid qualification within two weeks from the registrar's email will result in your removal from the event.
Warning: Submitting a future race date with an estimated time as your qualifier will result in immediate removal from this year's race.
Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon
Recent Pikes Peak Veterans
5+ Time Pikes Peak Veterans
Barr Trail Mountain Race
Half Marathon
Full Marathon
Ultra / Trail / Other Race
Cutoff Time - The cutoff time is based on the size of the event and the overall winner's time without regard for sex/gender as follows:
Event Type - Any event that meets at least one of the following criteria may be used as a qualifier:
Wave placement is based on the ratio of your time to the overall winner's time. If you have multiple results you could use as a qualifier, choose the one with the lower ratio, not the more impressive run.
- Runners must meet at least ONE of the following qualification categories before registering.
- Runners registering for the Double, both the Ascent and Marathon, must have previously completed the Ascent or Marathon prior to registering for both races.
- Runners must be at least 16 years old on race day to register.
All qualifications will be verified by the registrar. If we are unable to validate your qualifier, we will attempt to contact you via the email address you used for registration. You will then have two weeks to correct your entry (typos happen...we won't hold it against you). Failure to respond or submit a valid qualification within two weeks from the registrar's email will result in your removal from the event.
Warning: Submitting a future race date with an estimated time as your qualifier will result in immediate removal from this year's race.
Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon
Recent Pikes Peak Veterans
- You have completed the Pikes Peak Ascent or Pikes Peak Marathon in the past 4 years (2019+) with a time under the cutoff of 6:30:00 for the Ascent or 10:00:00 for the Marathon.
- Your fastest Ascent time in the past 4 years is used for wave placement purposes. If you have finished the PPA/PPM in the past 4 years and wish to use another qualifying race for wave placement purposes, you may do so only if the other race has been run since your most recent Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon.
5+ Time Pikes Peak Veterans
- 5+ Time Peak Veterans may use a Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon time as far back as 1 year for each Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon completed within the cutoff. For example, if you have completed the PPA and/or PPM 10 times, you may use an Ascent or Marathon time as old as 2013. Your most recent Ascent time will be used for wave placement purposes.
Barr Trail Mountain Race
- You may use a previous Barr Trail Mountain Race time if you have completed the BTMR in under 4:00:00 in the past 4 years (2019+).
Half Marathon
- You may use a Half Marathon Distance (13.1 miles) race or run as a qualifier if you have completed the run with a time under 2:30:00 and within the last 3 years
- This can be a regular race, a virtual race, or self-timed (Strava, Garmin, etc) run as long as you are under the 2:30:00 time cutoff.
- There are no restrictions on the surface or elevation gain/loss as long as it is completed outdoors.
- For a self-timed run, the run must be done outdoors and recorded with a GPS enabled device or smartphone. While you might stop during the run to hit a local porta-potty, time that passes while your device is paused will still count in the overall elapsed time, which must be under 2:30:00. Post the share link from Strava, Garmin Connect, or other system you used to record the run.
Full Marathon
- You may use a Marathon Distance (26.2 miles) race or run as a qualifier if you have completed the run with a time under 6:00:00 and within the last 3 years (Jan 1st, 2020 or newer).
- This can be a regular race, a virtual race, or self-timed (Strava, Garmin, etc) run as long as you are under the 6:00:00 time cutoff.
- There are no restrictions on the surface or elevation gain/loss as long as it is completed outdoors.
- For a self-timed run, the run must be done outdoors and recorded with a GPS enabled device or smartphone. While you might stop during the run to hit a local porta-potty, time that passes while your device is paused will still count in the overall elapsed time, which must be under six hours. Post the share link from Strava, Garmin Connect, or other system you used to record the run.
Ultra / Trail / Other Race
- To use an Ultra, Trail, or Other run as a qualifier, you must have competed in an organized race on or after Jan 1st, 2020 that meets the requirements for cutoff time and event type outlined below.
- Please note that self-timed runs of any type (Virtual Races, FKT's, R2R2R's, etc.) are not accepted in this qualification category.
Cutoff Time - The cutoff time is based on the size of the event and the overall winner's time without regard for sex/gender as follows:
- 1 - 200 starters: 2x the overall winner's time
- 200 - 999 starters: 2.25x the overall winner's time
- 1000+ starters: 2.5x the overall winner's time
Event Type - Any event that meets at least one of the following criteria may be used as a qualifier:
- Any race over 50k
- Any trail race over 13 miles on predominantly unimproved dirt trails (no concrete paths, dirt roads, rails to trails, or similar)
- Any trail race over 25 miles on predominantly unimproved dirt trails (no concrete paths, dirt roads, rails to trails, or similar)
- Any race with an ITRA point value of 2 or higher ("S" Category)
- Any race over 15 miles long with a point over 12,000ft
- Any race over 25 miles with a point over 9,000ft
- Any race where there is at least 4,000ft between the lowest point on the course and the highest point on the course and you travel from lowest point to highest point.
- Any Olympic distance Triathlon
- Any Xterra "Long", Half Ironman (70.3), or longer Triathlons
- Any Obstacle (e.g. Spartan) Race over 30k
Wave placement is based on the ratio of your time to the overall winner's time. If you have multiple results you could use as a qualifier, choose the one with the lower ratio, not the more impressive run.
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Pikes Peak Marathon