I grew up with the BolderBOULDER. It started a few years before I was born in Boulder, and as a child, my family would retreat to a distant campground during BolderBOULDER weekend. When 54k people and all their spectators swarmed my small hometown, we went into hiding.

Now that I'm a grown-up and a runner, I decided I should probably give my world famous hometown race a try. When I first ran it in 2014 I ran it alone and it was easy to bob and weave through the crowd. I register as a "jogger/walker/mostly jogger" and there are ALWAYS people with their dogs and baby strollers walking the breadth of the street. So unless you're in a timed wave, be prepared to be annoyed by race participants who are oblivious to race etiquette.

What I love about the BolderBOULDER is the party atmosphere. I've run races all over the country now, and no other race compares to the level of hippie, slip-and-slide craziness that you'll see at the #BB10K. There are belly dancers, dunk tanks, giant homemade slip-and-slides that city residents who live along the course build in their front yard for the runners, guys handing out bourbon and bacon at their unofficial aid stations, and not a mile goes by without live music provided by the race, or by some folks just playing their guitars in their driveways. This is the essence of what Bolder used to be before it was ruined by rich folks. It's a truly unique race, super fun, and the scenery cannot be beat.

What I don't like about the BolderBOULDER is the crowd size. It's a HUGE race. And although it is very well organized and the waves are perfectly paced, they crowd is unruly and not really primarily made of runners. Unless you are an elite runner or qualified for a wave, be ready to be doing a lot of walking on your run.

Everyone should do the BolderBOULDER 10K at least once. It's not like any other race in America, and you will have fun as long as you have lots of patience.