Join us in 2025 as we celebrate 70 years of running Pikes Peak!
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    • Race Week Schedule
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  • Plan
    • Training
    • Visiting
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    • Join the PPM Team
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The Ascent

Pikes Peak Ascent - September 20, 2025

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​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!

The course begins in downtown Manitou Springs with 1.5 miles of road before joining Barr Trail. With an average 11% grade, the trail winds through pine and aspen forests before climbing above tree line into breathtaking alpine views.

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?
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Pikes Peak Ascent - 2025 Registration Fees
$175 Early Bird Pricing March 1

Online registration opens at 5:00am MST on Saturday, March 1, 2025​ 
Registration Open
Confirmation Lists
Date
Registration Fee
March 1
$175
April 1
$195
July 1
$225
August 1
Last day for runner shirt option!
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.

2025 Dates to Remember

Need Help Estimating Your Ascent Time?


​January 15, 2025
 - Pre-Registration open to 2024 runners that deferred to 2025; registration by invitation only.

NOTE:  If you deferred your entry fee in 2024, your entry is guaranteed through February 28, 2025; 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, 2025 - General Registration opens - 5:00am MST.
Registration will be closed when each race sells out, and a waitlist may be available for interested parties.

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July 31, 2025 - Deferral Deadline for 2026 - Runners are strongly encouraged to purchase the optional race insurance at checkout to protect against their inability to participate due to injury, illness (including covid), family emergency, or job-related issues that are beyond their control.
When registering for the Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon, all runners must supply a qualifier. We then take these qualifiers and compare them with the results from previous runners with similar qualifiers. This produces an "Estimated Ascent Time" that is then used to determine which starting wave you will be placed into.

The top 90 men and top 90 women are placed in the 1st starting wave. Subsequent waves are filled based on a runners estimated ascent time.
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Use the link below to calculate your estimated ascent time based on your qualifier. If you have several possible qualifiers, we suggest that you use the one that produces the fastest estimated ascent time.

Runners have until August 1st to update their qualifier with a "better" one. To do so, edit your registration.
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We will also automatically factor in the current year Garden 10 Mile and BTMR results as long as you used the same RunSignUp account to register for all of your races. If your GoG or BTMR result produces a faster estimated ascent time, it will be used in place of your other qualifier.
Estimate Your Pikes Peak Ascent Time

2025 Pikes Peak Ascent Wave Placement Qualifications

Overview
  • Runners may submit one of the following for wave placement purposes when registering. 
  • ​Runners must be at least 16 years old on race day to register.
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Submitted results will be verified by the registrar for wave placement purposes. If we are unable to validate your results, they will not be used for wave placements. Submitting verified results will help to place registered runners in the proper start wave. 

Self-Timed
  • A self-timed run of 10 miles. Wave placement qualifier run must be from January 1, 2024 or newer.
  • There are no restrictions on the surface or elevation gain/loss. 
  • Longer distances may be used. 
  • For a self-timed run, the run must be done outdoors and recorded with a GPS enabled device or smartphone. Post the share link from Strava, Garmin Connect, or other system you used to record the run when registering.​

Sanctioned Event
Any organized and permitted event with publicly posted results. ​​
Pikes Peak Finishers
  • If you have completed the Pikes Peak Ascent or Pikes Peak Marathon in the past 4 years (2021+) 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 previously finished either the Ascent or Marathon but have not done so in the past 4 years, we will use your most recent Ascent or Marathon time for wave placement purposes. 
Event
Time
Date
Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Road Race
Under 2:30:00
Within the last 4 years (2020 - Present)
*run on June 9, 2025 and then sign up for the Ascent!
Barr Trail Mountain Race
Under 4:00:00
Within the last 4 years (2021 - Present) ​
Pikes Peak Ascent
Under 6:30:00
Within the last 4 years (2021 - Present) ​
Pikes Peak Marathon
Under 10:00:00
Within the last 4 years (2021 - Present) ​
Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Under 3:00:00
Within the last 3 years (2022 - Present) ​
Marathon (26.2 miles)
Under 6:30:00
Within the last 3 years (2022 - Present) ​
Ultra / Trail / Other Race*
Within 3x the overall winner’s time without regard for sex/gender
Within the last 3 years (2022 - Present)
*Other Race Types - any running event that meets at least one of the following criteria may be used as a qualifier:
  • Any race over 50k
  • Any trail race over 10 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 10 miles long with a point over 12,000ft
  • Any race over 12 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, Xterra "Long", Half Ironman (70.3), or longer Triathlons
  • Any Obstacle (e.g. Spartan) Race over 30k
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​441 Manitou Ave, Suite 100
​Manitou Springs, CO 80829

Fun Fact!

In 1972 Peter Strudwick did the Ascent in 4:20:29 and the Marathon in 7:02:28. What is so incredible about that you ask? Well, soon after his mother had caught rubella, commonly called German measles, Peter was born with legs that ended in stumps just past the ankles, a left arm that had only one thumb and a finger, and a right arm ending at the wrist.
When Zebulon Pike tried to ascend the mountain that would later be named after him he was turned back by the harsh weather. Many claim he said that no one would ever reach its summit. However, it is generally accepted that he meant on that day, under those conditions. The snow was waist deep and his men were not dressed for it and were out of food.
“Militant tobacco-hating physician” Dr. Arne Suominen from Delray Beach FL, became the founder of the modern day Pikes Peak races when he wrote a letter to the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce in 1956 and challenged cigarette smokers to race him up and down Pikes Peak. 1956 Results
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