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Elephants are slow, lumbering animals, right? Actually, they’ve been clocked at 25 mph — nearly as fast as the fastest human. During the eighth annual Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon, however, the elephants will be mere spectators as thousands of runners stream through the Denver Zoo.
The marathon begins today with the Colfax 5K run, a warm-up for the main events tomorrow, which include the Urban 10 Miler, a 13.1-mile half-marathon and the full 26.2-mile race. “What’s new and exciting this year is the all-new half-marathon course,” says Liz Easterly, spokeswoman for the marathon. “It begins in City Park, has a one-mile run through the Denver Zoo, heads out through Park Hill on historic Montview Boulevard, then loops through old-town Aurora on Colfax, through Aurora Fire Station #1 — a huge runner favorite. Runners will get to go through the new Toyota Elephant Passage, with two male elephants [Bodhi and Groucho] and a new lady elephant [Kimbo] to keep Dolly company.”
Runners will be rewarded by more than sightings of zoo animals; the marathon raises money for local charities, and there’s a $1,000 prize for new men’s and women’s records. The 5K race starts at 9 a.m. at City Park; the marathon, half-marathon and relay start tomorrow at 6 a.m., also at the park; the Urban 10 Miler will take off at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, 1600 Pierce Street in Lakewood. For details and to register, visit runcolfax.org.
Sat., May 18; Sun., May 19, 2013