Mount Sneffels Marathon & Half Marathon

Set for its annual summertime running between the small southwestern Colorado towns of Ouray and Ridgway, the Mount Sneffels Marathon & Half Marathon takes runners along a high-elevation course that follows an overall downhill descent on the dirt county roads between the two towns, along the Uncompahgre River Valley. From the starting line in Ouray’s Hot Springs Park, runners make a loop around the park and then cross the bridge over the river that takes them onto County Road 17 (also called Oak Road), which they follow for the next few miles until the race route passes by Black Lake. Runners reach the half-way point in the race after making turns onto Suzanne Lane and Marys Road near the town of Portland, and then turn onto County Road 23 and begin heading northward again along the river. Runners keep making their way along County Road 23 until they meet up with 17 again, for the last few miles that take them into the finish line at the soccer field in Ridgway. The course follows an overall descent in elevation from the start to the finish, beginning at roughly 7,700 feet in elevation in Ouray and finishing at about 7,000 feet above sea level in Ridgway. The event’s kids race will start and finish at the soccer fields in Ridgway, and the proceeds from the race will go toward the Mount Sneffels Education Foundation, named for the mountain peak that towers over 14,000 feet above sea level, looking over the town in the distance. There is also a walker category for the half marathon, so that entrants who wish to walk the 13.1-mile course can participate as well.