Platte River Half Marathon & Relay

Runners follow the tree-lined trails along the South Platte River for nearly the entire race at Littleton’s Platte River Half Marathon & Buckhorn Exchange Relay, a point-to-point race that brings more than 2,000 runners out each spring, and marks its 19th annual running this year. After stretches that take the field along city streets at the start and near the end of the race, most of the rest of the course is run along greenway trails and through city parks along the river as it winds its way northward to the finish line at the Buckhorn Exchange. The race starts downtown at the intersection of Alamo Ave. and Prince Street, next to the Littleton Light Rail Station, and then takes runners along the first two miles through downtown’s streets before meeting up with the Platte River Trail. This starts a 10-mile stretch of riverside trail, taking runners past Centennial Golf Course, Centennial Park, and up to the edge of Englewood Municipal Golf Course, where runners cross over the bridge to the river’s eastern bank and continue running northward along the trail. Once they reach the stretch of the course that nears Frontier Park, runners cross over the bridge again and follow the eastern side of the river as it passes by Overland Park and Golf Course. There are a couple more bridge crossings over the last few miles of the race, which take runners along South Platte River Drive up to 8th Avenue, to the finish line at the Buckhorn Exchange at 10th Avenue & Osage Street. Over the course of the race, runners can expect an elevation change of about 120 feet, with a single uphill section near the end of the race at the 8th Avenue viaduct. Throughout the race course, the surface is paved, with occasional sections of dirt and crushed gravel. Organizers note that the race is limited to the first 2,900 entrants in the individual half marathon, and the first 100 teams that sign up for the half marathon relay.