- Weather
- 37°Ftypical startModelled estimate
- Field size
- ~500 runners
- Course
- Hilly
- Elevation
- 1,100 ft gain · 0 ft net
Event listed as: Marathon
PR5Weather9Experience7
Mid-September · Mountain West · Out-and-Back
Pikes Peak Marathon
Manitou Springs, CO · Sunday, September 20, 2026
Not a road race in the conventional sense: an out-and-back ascent of Barr Trail to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak and back down, with roughly 7,800 feet of combined gain and loss. First run in 1956 as a bet between a doctor and a group of smokers over whether smoking hurt endurance, it's one of the oldest continuously run marathons in the country and plays by mountain-race rules, not road-race ones.
Ascent to 14,115 ft summit and back
Opens the race organizer's website
Typical start
61°
Cooler than 5% of U.S. marathons
Modeled historical conditions
Elevation gain
7,800ft
Flatter than 0% of races
Estimated total climb
Field size
800
Larger than 31% of races
Estimated field
PR potential
4.7/10
Ahead of 5% of races
Almanac model
Percentiles compare this race against all 224 U.S. marathons in the Almanac.
Course profile
7,800 ft gain · 0 ft net
Hilly course, out-and-back.
0510152026.2
Race-day weather
Modeled from location, month and coastal proximity, not verified race history.
6 AM
53°
Start
61°
Midday
71°
ExcellentGoodWarmHeat risk
Typical start sits at 61°F, warm for racing.
Typical dew point 39°F, 6% chance of precipitation, wind around 10 mph. All modeled.
The bottom line
This one is about the day, not the clock.
Pikes Peak Marathon is a strong choice for runners who like a course with real character, and the climbing is the point here. The tradeoff is atmosphere: expect long quiet stretches and few spectators.
Why runners choose this race
A out-and-back course around Manitou Springs, CO, with real climbing that will cost you time if you race it hard early.
The case for it
- Runners who want a low-key start
The tradeoffs
- You want crowds and on-course energy
- You are chasing a flat-course PR
Course and logistics
- Course type
- Out-and-Back
- Surface
- Road
- Profile
- Hilly
- Total gain
- 7,800 ft(estimated)
- Total loss
- 7,800 ft(estimated)
- Net elevation
- 0 ft(estimated)
- Field size
- ~800 runners(estimated)
- Crowd support
- Quiet, low-key
- Entry
- Data coming soon
- Start / finish
- Start and finish in the same area
Race details
- Typical timing
- Mid-September
- Next confirmed date
- Sunday, September 20, 2026
- Region
- Mountain West
- Editorial tier
- Featured
- Data last reviewed
- 2026-08-26
- Out-and-back
- Hilly course
- Destination race
Similar races
Races with a comparable profile.
- Weather
- 55°Ftypical startModelled estimate
- Field size
- ~400 runners
- Course
- Hilly
- Elevation
- 800 ft gain · 0 ft net
Event: Durango Marathon
PR5Weather9Experience6
- Weather
- 61°Ftypical startModelled estimate
- Field size
- ~6,000 runners
- Course
- Hilly
- Elevation
- 1,200 ft gain
Crosses the Golden Gate Bridge
PR5Weather8Experience8