The Cheyenne Mountain Run

The Cheyenne Mountain Run on August 17, 2024 will feature three trail races: a 25K to the top of Cheyenne Mountain for the more advanced trail runner, a 10K for experienced runners and a 5K trail run/walk, which is perfect for all levels of runners to enjoy.  However if you are new to trail running, this is the perfect introductory run for you and your group. Each race will have different colored bibs that correspond with course marking.

All three races will start at the Limekiln Trailhead at 8:00 AM and all runners will start out going up the Talon Trail. The start will be a staggered start with the fastest runners starting first and progressing smoothly to starts for runners with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 10 plus minute per mile paces. Walkers doing the 5K will start last. The races are chip timed, which records your start and finish time as you cross the start/finish line and your total race time will be calculated by subtracting your start time from your finish time.

The Cheyenne Mountain Run 25K will start at the Limekiln Trailhead at an elevation of 6,000 feet and follows the Talon and North Talon Trails to the start of the Dixon Trail. Runners will follow the Dixon Trail to the top meadow and will turn left and continue to the top of the Dixon Trail. At that point the course continues on the Mountain Loop Trail and runners will reach an elevation of about 9,450 feet and complete a clockwise loop that returns to the lower junction of the Dixon Trail and the Mountain Loop Trail. Runners will continue down the Dixon Trail and return to the Limekiln Trailhead finish line on North Talon and Talon Trails. Total elevation gain and loss will be about 3,450 feet over the 25K distance. Because this is a mostly an out/back course and the Dixon Trail is mostly single track, hiking poles will not be allowed.

Due to the safety of both runners and volunteers we will have a CUT OFF TIME of 9:45 AM at the Dixon saddle on the way up. This is at the 2.5 mile mark on the Dixon Trail and about 5.8 miles from the start. This point is where the trail increases in steepness and elevation gain. Runners who arrive here after 9:45 will be turned around. We will have a water stop at the top of the Dixon Trail and our top of the mountain split time will be recorded at the top of the Mountain Loop Trail. The top of Dixon aid station and the split timing station will close at 12:00 PM. The timing station at the Start/Finish line will stop at 1:00PM. 

In addition to the water stop at the top of the Dixon Trail, there will be water stops at the Talon/Sundance and Talon/North Talon junctures and one just up the lower section of the Dixon Trail. From the lower Dixon Trail water stop to the top of the Dixon Trail, aid station runners will need to carry their own hydration and be prepared for weather changes. We will have course marshals and communication methods but there won’t be a way off the top other than coming back down the race course to the Limekiln Trailhead. The finish line timing station will close at 1:00 PM.

The Cheyenne Mountain Run 10K course goes out to the end of the Talon Trail and the second intersection with the South Talon Trail and does a counterclockwise loop on South Talon. The course returns on Talon Trail to the first junction with Sundance Trail and returns on Sundance Trail to the trailhead finish. This course will have aid stations at the Talon/Sundance and Talon/North Talon junctions.

The Cheyenne Mountain Run 5K course goes out Talon Trail to Sundance Trail at about 1.4 miles and returns to the Limekiln Trailhead on Sundance, Turkey Trot Trail and Talon. This is a loop course with one water stop at the Talon/Sundance junction.

This race is a fundraiser for The Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park and is made to celebrate and fundraise for the trails we know and love.