Ahead of its 2024 event, Boulderthon in Colorado has announced changes to its 5K race to be held on September 29, 2024.

‘The Boulder Community Health (BCH) Heart to Heart 5K will feature an all-road, fast and flat experience for all participants, allowing for wheelchair athletes and those utilizing wheeled vehicles, such as duo runners, to take part in the event.’

“Our 5K race was a success in previous years, but I took note of runners’ feedback about the tight trails and saw an opportunity to not only improve the runners experience, but to also create a course accessible that welcomed wheeled athletes,” said Phil Dumontet, founder and President of Boulderthon.

“Our 5K race was recently voted one of the top ten 5Ks in the nation for 2024 by USA Today, and I expect that our participants will continue to rank it as highly with these updates to the new BCH 5K.”

Boulder Community Health (BCH) is partnering with Boulderthon to present the 5K event, billing the race as the Heart to Heart 5K.

“BCH is proud to offer our area’s only full-service cardiology program at Boulder Heart with a full range of life-saving treatments, experienced cardiologists and surgeons as well as advanced technologies to keep our community’s hearts healthy,” said Dr Robert Vissers, BCH CEO and President.

“The Heart to Heart 5K supports our vision of partnering to create and care for the healthiest community in the nation by offering a fun way for people to come together in community and wellness through movement as a means to better health.”

Additional sponsorship provided by local organizations includes Balfour Senior Living, DeNucci & Associates, CAPROCK, Elements Massage, BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine, Zio by iRhythm, BFG Partners and NextHealth. These organizations will support the BCH Foundation’s Heart to Heart Fund which provides financial assistance to cardiac patients at Boulder Heart to help them overcome barriers to accessing and optimizing care.

The Heart to Heart 5K will also serve as the culminating event for BCH’s annual Movement Challenge, a month-long event that encourages participants to move each day and log their results to be entered to win a daily prize. The Movement Challenge will begin on September 1 and conclude with the Heart to Heart 5K on September 29.

Some other additions to the 2024 Boulderthon event include a new prize purse for other Boulderthon race distances, as well as a new elite coordinator joining the Boulderthon team to encourage more top athletes to join the field.

Boulderthon’s marathon and half marathon courses will continue with their start and finish lines in downtown Boulder. Along the course, participants will take in different landscapes set at the foothills of the Flatirons, with views of the Boulder Reservoir, Table Mountain and Haystack Mountain along their way.

The fast, flat course features limited elevation change and multiple straightaways, making for high-quality race day performances. The 10K course will run participants through the streets of Boulder showcasing the scenic town, before leading them to Downtown Boulder for the finish at Pearl Street Mall.

In its third annual edition, Boulderthon drew 7,000 runners from all 50 US states as well as 18 countries. In 2023, Active.com named Boulderthon one of the Top 5 Best Half Marathons in the United States, and the following year the 5K and half marathon courses were both named a top 10 in their categories by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice awards.