A two-part series about some “senior” Estes Park runners who run the Bolder Boulder 10K competitively and some non-runners who just nonchalantly ran this famous race that began in 1979.
Some impressive Estes Park residents are headed to Boulder on Monday, Memorial Day, for the epic 10K race called the Bolder Boulder. Race director Cliff Bosley says, “Estes runners are famous here in Boulder.” And he attributes that to “running at altitude” – Estes Park is 7,522 feet above sea level – and running with fortitude.
This epic 6.2-mile race, which began in 1979 and is held on Memorial Day, is known for its quirky course: a Slip ‘N Slide, free vodka shots, cupcake corner, Elvis impersonators, belly dancers, bacon handouts, and more.
Yes, while you are racing through the neighborhoods of Boulder, there are plenty of distractions on the course for you to zip by or stop and enjoy.
Estes Park Running Club president Belle Morris says the BB10K is one of the toughest 10Ks around because of the altitude – 5,430 feet – and the elevation changes, especially the final incline into Folsom Field at the University of Colorado. This 6.2-mile party is also a serious race for many of the more than 40,000 runners.
Just ask Estes Park resident Carla Pederson, who holds the record for the fastest 71-year-old female to ever run in history of the race. Last year she had the second fastest time ever recorded for a 72-year-old female at the BB10K, and this year she is at it again. No free vodka shots or bacon snacks during Pederson’s run.
Pederson has run the BB10K 20 times, starting at age 54. She has run the Boston Marathon twice, where her best finish was 9th in her age group, and she won the Estes Alpine Classic Marathon from Estes Park to Allenspark when she was 29. At age 73, she says, “Pilates and yoga are the only reasons I am still able to run.”
Club president Morris will also be on the BB10K course this Memorial Day, but with a different focus than usual. Although she has run the race over 10 times in the past, this year the focus has changed because she is in treatment for breast cancer, which is scheduled to continue for the next five years.
As an avid runner, she is looking forward to a run/walk for the 10K this year on the course with friends for fun and camaraderie. She likes the BB10K for its “community vibe, celebrations all along the course, because it is for all abilities, and for the enthusiasm at the finish line.”
Morris, who is 59 years old, has finished four Iron Man competitions which include marathons, and three other marathons on their own. Her favorite moments in Iron Man competitions, she says, are after the 112-mile bike ride, beginning the 26.2-mile run. “Immediately after the transition from the bike to the run, you don’t really have your legs under you; but after mile one, they come alive. Then all the training you’ve done, all the fun – it all comes together, and it’s a great feeling.”
Amy Plummer, who is 66, is going to Boulder Monday for her 40th BB10K. She placed first in her age group at age 62 and has been in the top three for her age group for the last several years. She, like Pederson, eschews the Slip ‘N Slide, liquor, and food stops along the course.
Her fastest BB10K was in 2000 after completing the Boston Marathon as a warmup. She has completed 11 marathons, including the New York Marathon, the Estes Park Marathon with a 2nd-place finish in the women’s division, the Colorado Marathon down Poudre Canyon, and the Muir Marathon in California through the redwoods.
Plummer is the leader of the Estes Park Asylum Runners club, so named because, she says, “We are all crazy, and running is like an asylum, a refuge.” Estes Park Mayor Gary Hall is credited with giving the group its name.
Ernie Petrocine is another Estes resident training for the BB10K this Monday. At the age of 74 this year, he has run the race probably 25 times, routinely placing in the top 10 for his age group, and he has repeatedly won Beat Your Age medals. A 74-year-old beats his age by running the 10K in under 74 minutes, and that is his goal this year.
In his early days, he used his running time as a benchmark for his health. “Comparing my time to others my age showed how I was holding up against athletes my age and gender,” he says. With 42,000 finishers in 2024, and a record 54,554 in 2011, a 70-year-old man’s age group could include more than 400 runners.
Petrocine gets optimal results by eating right, influenced by Dean Ornish’s book “Reversing Heart Disease.” He says as an older athlete he now pays more attention to training, stretching, hydration, acclimation to altitude, and daily diet, especially the day before the race.
One winter training trip he has done in the past is to cross-country ski through the Rocky Mountain National Park, traverse the Continental Divide, and camp out for one night before finishing the next day in Grand Lake.
One memorable BB10K for Petrocine was an interview with the youngest runner that year, “probably 4-5 years old.” The kid was asked what the hardest part of the run was, and the boy answered, “The running.”
Petrocine also remembers watching a 92-year-old runner complete his run in Folsom Field’s stadium at the University of Colorado. An announcer called the crowd’s attention to the oldest competitor that year, approaching the finish line. About four yards from the end, the man was moving slowly with his head down, but then he stood up straight, looked forward, and sprinted across the finish. The crowd went crazy, roaring with admiration.
The finish line is also an epic part of the race. Runners climb a long incline into Folsom Field with a victory lap in front of a cheering crowd. Then world-class elite runners from around the world run in to complete the International Pro Team Challenge as the final runners of the day.
As part of the nation’s largest Memorial Day celebration, the Colorado Air National Guard does a flyover with four F-16s, and skydivers arrive with fanfare as part of the tribute to military veterans. Prizes are awarded for winners in every category, including professional wheelchair racers, the world-class competitors, and amateurs. Spectators are allowed in the stadium to celebrate with the throngs.
In research for this article, I discovered that the BB10K is part of many Estes residents’ pasts – for non-runners as well as superior-class runners.
Carol Jaenecke, 88 years old, lives in Estes, but years ago moved from Minnesota to Boulder with her husband, and he signed them up for the BB10K, although neither of them were runners.
His proposed “training” for the two of them was hiking up a mountain near their house, which they did; and the next day they ran/walked the 6.2-mile course with tens of thousands of participants. After the race, “We barely made it back to the car,” she says. “We had to help each other step up and down the curbs!”
Two septuagenarians “Bob” and “Betty,” (not their real names) told their one-and-done stories of the BB10K, as follows: Bob grabbed a cup of water from a drink station on the course and poured it over his head to cool off, except it was Gatorade! “That ‘stuck’ with me for the whole race,” he says, “especially in my hair.”
Betty’s story begins when Bob parked too far from the starting line. She was perturbed because they had to walk a few miles before even beginning the race. “I pretty quickly abandoned the whole thing,” she says. “I left the course to do some window shopping…I had no purse or money.”
Hungry, she decided to get over to Folsom Field for the runners’ free lunch, since she was still wearing her race number. On her way, she suddenly stopped with a shocking realization: What if she was the first person there?
“I actually thought I might win and would be discovered as a fraud, which was not my intention; I was just hungry! I was glad when I saw runners ahead of me nearing the CU stadium. I ran in and got my lunch.”
Myrna Houchens, an 88-year-old hostess at The Egg of Estes also has a history with the BB10K. As a teacher in Fort Collins years ago, she ran the race every year with a group of teachers from her elementary school for at least 12 years. Although she routinely ran with her dog for 30 minutes every morning, she insists, “I was not a runner. It was just something I did that was good for me and good for the dog.”
As a 68-year-old non-runner myself, I had an odd moment during the race last year. A woman in her front yard was using a spray bottle to spritz runners with water to cool them off, I thought. When I stopped in front of her for a squirt, she told me to open my mouth. I gave her a quizzical look, and she said, “It’s wine.” I blurted out, “It’s 9 o’clock in the morning!” and ran on my way.
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Thursday, May 29, after the race, Part 2 of “The Older Bolder Boulder” will be published and will include results for the Estes Park runners profiled here and more information about the charitable legacy of the BB10K organization.
Clarification, May 29, 2025 6:18 pm: The term "elite" runner was initially used to describe the four senior runners from Estes Park featured in this article, however, none of those athletes are “elite runners” as defined in the sport. These runners are more accurately considered "superior" runners. A "superior class runner" is often associated with a runner who consistently achieves a high level of performance.
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