We are again stoked to invite you to come run with us at beautiful Staunton State Park, near Conifer, CO, on October 14, 2023, for our now 7th Annual Fall Runs - 25K and 50K. We are even more stoked to be back with the crazy fun and special 25K Fishslappers edition to our race day offerings (yes, it involves catching a fish!). Whichever distance you choose, rest assured you will be running on some of CO's most beautiful and runnable trails - lovely, flowing, single track through gorgeous pine and aspen forest - with some decent vert thrown in to keep you honest - and spectacular views of the Rockies. And, equally important, you will be helping raise real money to protect and preserve our exceedingly precious public lands and waters.
Start times
50K - 8 am sharp on 10/14
25K & 25K Fishslappers - 9 am sharp on 10/14
Note: Registration really does end on October 8. There will be no race day registration.
Registration fees
Suffer Better Fall 50K Closed
Online registration closed-
50K on beautiful and runnable trails. Ultimately, you'll cover almost every trail in the Park.
-
$95.00
Early bird
Jun 1 – Jul 31 -
$105.00
Regular
Aug 1 – Oct 1 -
$110.00
Late bird
Oct 2 – Oct 8
-
Suffer Better Fall 25 K Closed
Online registration closed-
25K on gorgeous trails with multiple aid stations to keep you moving.
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$65.00
Early bird
Jun 1 – Jul 31 -
$85.00
Regular
Aug 1 – Oct 1 -
$90.00
Late bird
Oct 2 – Oct 8
-
Suffer Better Fall 25 K Fishslappers Closed
Online registration closed-
The same beautiful course as the 25K, with one important difference (really important): You must catch a fish at Elk Falls Pond, and make sure one of our volunteers sees it, before heading back to the finish. There might also be whiskey involved.
-
$65.00
Early bird
Jun 1 – Jul 31 -
$85.00
Regular
Aug 1 – Oct 1 -
$90.00
Late bird
Oct 2 – Oct 8
-
Like all of our Suffer Better events, our Fall races are both trail and fundraising events. We believe that we have an obligation to give back to protect the special places in which we are fortunate to recreate - like our public lands and waters. We do not, though, require any kind of minimum donation, trusting you all to do what you can. The money's raised go directly and fully to our nonprofit partners to support the good work they do on the conservation front. Our goal is simply to do our best to leave things better than we found them. And, if you do choose to seriously help raise some dough we've got a couple things to make it worth your while: 1) if you raise 10X your entry fee, we'll refund you that entire fee; and 2) we have amazing prize packages, thanks to our generous partners, for our top 2 fundraisers.
So, please, help support our partners: Conservation CO and Running Rivers.
As always, we are working to reduce our own footprint at our events. A couple of things on that score:
1. We are cup-free, so please bring your own bottles or reservoirs. We'll have both water and gNarly Nutrition for your hydration needs.
2. Carpool if you can, plus you or your driver will save the $10 Park Entry Fee.
3. We'll have clearly marked receptacles for recyclables, compostables and basic trash. Please help us do better and make sure what you're tossing ends up in the right spot.
4. Thanks for helping us out.
Here are the course maps, along with a map showing aid stations. Both courses are entirely on Staunton's lovely trails. Easy to follow. Hard to run.
You may access/view/download these maps by clicking here.
The 25K Course: 25km (15.3 miles), 2264" elevation gain (and loss!)
The 50K Course
Here's the course profile for the 50K: 30-31 Miles, 4915' of vert.
Aid Stations
For those of you participating in the 25K Fishslappers Division:
1) First, thank you, this is a fun and challenging new addition to our Fall events.
2) You must have a valid CO fishing license in order to join the FS division. You'll be asked to show that at check-in.
3) You must carry your rod, net and any fishing gear you expect to use for the entire 25K. Flies worked great last year - Elk Falls Pond is chock full of little (very little) brookies.
4) A volunteer at the aid station will confirm your "catch" and check that box for you. Make sure that someone sees and checks off that you caught the whopper you did.
5) Once you've confirmed your catch with the aid station, you are free to sprint back to the finish.
6) We heard a rumor that there will also be whiskey at the aid station to "celebrate" your catch. The whiskey is, of course, optional.
7) Have some fun out there.
We're gonna give you all a new custom hat from our friends at BOCO. It's part of your registration. But, if you prefer not to get the lid, that's cool. If that's your choice you get $10 off your registration fee. Your head, your choice.
We'll get a pic up when we get it figured out.
Staunton State Park charges a per car fee for entering the park, currently $10/car. We've worked with the Park to help you save that dough:
1). If you are running in the 25 or 50K and you carpool, with another runner (that part is important), you will not pay to enter the Park.
2) If you drive yourself and do not carpool with another runner or runners, even if there are other folks in the car (i.e. family), you'll still have to pay the $10 entry fee.
3) We'll be asking runners who want to carpool to meet up at either of the Park 'n Rides on Highway 285 (one just S of the Indian Hills exit, and the other at the Mountain View Park n Ride, just a few miles from the park.). Either way you can meet up and share the ride!
4) We've created a car pool doc to which you can add your info and link up with other runners. Go here to add your name and info to the "official" carpool list.
Still, the smartest move you can make is to connect up with other runners and share the ride to the Park, and avoid that cost. Someone to talk to, hold your coffee cup, navigate.....All good.
We know you all love trail running, that's why you are here. But we also know that sometimes the "fun meter" needs a little boost. So just to keep us all smiling, we've got our usual fun piece to add to your race day joy.
Haiku
We have a ton of amazing prizes from our incredible partners - everything from packs to hats to water bottles to mugs to..... Rather than just call out numbers, we'll be awarding prizes to those of you who can run and compose a haiku at the same time. Unlike walking and chewing gum, which we all know makes one presidential material, composing haiku requires at least a little thought. We'll have cards and pens at the Elk Pond aid station where you can pen your piece. What's a haiku you ask? Fair question:
"A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression."
It so fits with running and being outdoors - simple, intense and direct. Start there and have fun with it. We'll pick from the lot and ask you to read yours to claim your prize.
Staunton has some 24 beautiful camping spots and we'd encourage you to take full advantage of the Park's resources and spend the night before the race right there in the Park. Think about it: a restful night outdoors, no need to drive to the start, no parking hassle....
Check availability and reserve your camping spot: https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Staunton/Pages/Camping.aspx
Captured here are photos from the 2022 events. Hopefully, the skies will be blue and the Aspens gold come October '23.
Staunton's trails are smooth and runnable.
Contact information
- Event contact
- Peter Downing
- peter@sufferbetter.com
- Phone
- 720-261-6766
- Website
- Visit website
