Join us on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024, for the Sunset Trail Running Festival in Gold Hill, CO! Hosted by The Boulder Watershed Collective and in collaboration with Team BOCO, all money raised from the event will be donated to the town of Gold Hill and will fund wildfire preparation and response initiatives such as forest restoration, home hardening, emergency planning, land stewardship, and community resiliency.
This event provides an opportunity for the Front Range trail community to show its support for small mountain town communities that live with a high risk of disruption and destruction from wildfire while providing visitors with access to their unique character, beauty, and the surrounding landscapes.
RACE DETAILS:
Runners can choose between a 28K (17.4M), 12K (7.7M), 5K, or kids 1K trail race. All distances start and finish on the main street of Gold Hill at the Gold Hill Inn, and the longer distances are run, in part, on the National Forest System roads. Runners will enjoy varied terrain of dirt roads and trails through ponderosa pine and aspen forests while taking in amazing views on these challenging courses.
The 28K course heads south to Salina and then west along Fourmile Canyon Dr to the historic town of Sunset. From there, runners will head north up the Switzerland Trail and back to Gold Hill. The 12K course heads west along Gold Hill Rd to the famous Mount Alto Picnic area and back into town.
Please note: We encourage all runners and spectators to utilize the free shuttle to and from Boulder leaving from Boulder County Justice Center (1777 6th St, Boulder, CO 80302). To ensure minimal vehicle impact and disruption to the Gold Hill community on race day, parking will be very limited. The cost per car will be a required donation of $30.
POST-RACE:
After the race, celebrate the day with your family, friends, and fellow participants at our after race party! We will have food, drinks, music, and a chance to win trail running gear and local goods!
To view more race details, register, or donate, visit Team BOCO’s event page here!
REMEMBERING THE HISTORY OF SUNSET AND GOLD HILL:
Gold Hill is the oldest continuously occupied mining town in Colorado and today is home to around 200 permanent residents. The town was established in 1859 after placer gold was found in the nearby Gold Run Creek and soon became a beacon for economic opportunity as settlers moved west. By the late 1800s, Boulder was a hub of activity that supported nearby mining operations with the help of a rail line, The Switzerland Trail, that wove through and between the canyons and small mining towns west of Boulder.
Sunset, the namesake of this trail running festival, was once a small, bustling mining town and a stop on The Switzerland Trail. During the race, the 28K runners will pass through Sunset around mile 10 before continuing up The Switzerland Trail until they join with the 12K runners at the site of the historic Mount Alto Picnic Area, a resort destination for train travelers.
This more recent history of The Boulder Valley and its historic human-built sites was made possible only by the unlawful and unjust claim of land by white settlers. This theft was in direct opposition to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, which protected the Arapaho and Cheyenne nations and their land, and it went against the agreements prospectors made with Chief Niwot, chief of the Southern Arapaho.
Today, there are ample opportunities to honor, celebrate and learn from the Indigenous Peoples whose homeland we now live, recreate on, and travel on, as well as all of the communities of people, animals, and plants that have existed here through time.
We hope that through this event, runners and spectators reflect on and honor this history and acknowledge the ways to live more mindfully within these wildfire resilient landscapes.
To learn more about the Indigenous history of The Boulder Valley and the ways you can participate in healing with the land and its People, there are many resources including those available through Right Relationship Boulder and the Museum of Boulder.