Denver Marathon With Keliq Washington

 Nadene Goldfoot

Kali finished with 6 medals, of which 3 was awarded to him just this  year!   In getting ready to leave, Portland weather was cool, windy and rainy.  "Sounds like Denver is gonna be hot! Glad the weather will cool down when I get back'. he related. 

 Kali wears elastic socks because he had recently sprained his ankle badly enough to check it out for broken bones at the hospital, so it's on the mend.  Just what he needed as a marathon runner!!!  Still, he was able to join a running club and be sponsored by them in the race.  Being a nursing student at the nearby college kept him being very careful about helping the healing progress.

                                                    

                                                  

                                           

He ran the 26.2 miles and stumbled once in the middle of it but was able to right himself and not fall.  It must have been a scary moment. 
                                                                      

Kali's Denver family was not only there but his sister also ran. 
                                                                                         

There he is, still able to stand after all that way of 26.2 miles of running.

"Marathons are booming — can the world’s top races keep up?

Fueled by the rise of run clubs, social media influencers and a growing interest in wellness, demand for marathons has surged in recent years."

                                                  

                                                   

                 Keep on going, Kali, I can see you, I think.  

Participants in the 2026 Eugene Marathon are off and running along Agate Street in Eugene April 26, 2026.Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard, Keliq's first marathon this year in Oregon where he medaled.  

That running boom has pushed demand for entry into the world’s premier races to unprecedented levels.

At the center of the frenzy is the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a circuit of seven of the sport’s most coveted races: London, New York, Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Boston and, most recently, Sydney. For many runners, completing all six of the original races has become the sport’s ultimate achievement, a feat that comes with a giant doughnut-shaped “six-star” medal and bragging rights for completing the equivalent of the “Amazing Race” for marathoners.

                 Keliq in a practice run before Denver,

Time Limit: There is a 6-hour time limit for the marathon (an average pace of 13:44 per mile).

Altitude: It is one of the highest urban races in the country, run at exactly 5,280 feet. That affects breathing.  Portland is at sea level.  The change will be dramatic !  

More than 22,000 people have completed the medal, according to Abbott, and hundreds of thousands more are chasing it.  The increasing popularity of the series is clear, attracting celebrities like musician Harry Styles, who ran the series’ Tokyo and Berlin marathons this year, along with hundreds of thousands of others.

Demand for entry into the races has become so high that it has fueled an industry around access. Beyond the handful of guaranteed entries for ultrafast runners or charity fundraisers, one of the only ways to secure a spot is through marathon tour companies that sell bibs bundled with travel packages for thousands of dollars. Other hopefuls can try their chances in ultracompetitive lotteries put on by six of the seven marathons, but chances are slim. The New York City Marathon admitted just 3% of lottery applicants last year — lower odds than getting into an Ivy League college.

Denver's turnout in 2018.  More than 19,000 athletes were anticipated to participate in the Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon weekend in Denver (held May 19–20, 2018). This total figure includes runners across multiple race events, as the weekend featured a full marathon, half marathon, 10-miler, and relays.

An estimated 28,000 runners participated in the 2026 Denver Colfax Marathon, the region's largest running event held on the weekend of May 15-17. The milestone 20th anniversary of the race weekend featured multiple distance categories, including a 5K, half marathon, urban 10-miler, full marathon of 26.2 miles, and the marathon relay.

Resource:

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-runner-denver-upcoming-marathon.html

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2026/05/marathon-run-in-denver-sunday-may-17.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/track-field/marathon-interest-boom-races-abbott-majors-world-rcna233298

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2026/04/multitudes-of-important-events-today.html