Overview The Rocky Mountain Half Marathon and 5K is a two-race weekend in Estes Park, Colorado, the gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park. Vacation Races, the national-park race series run by Motiv Sports, holds it each summer: a 5K on Friday evening and the half marathon on Saturday morning. Both courses start and finish by Lake Estes at the fairgrounds, with the peaks of the Continental Divide in view. On site The expo and bib pickup run Friday afternoon at the Stanley Park ball fields, and the 5K goes off at six that evening on a paved loop with awards right after. On Saturday the half marathon starts at dawn in rolling waves. The course is a paved, high-elevation loop. It climbs for the first five and a half miles. Then it runs mostly downhill back to the lake. Runners park in lots by the ball fields, the high school and the fairgrounds, a short walk from the start and finish. The finish is a short walk from downtown Estes Park. Race shirts are handed out at check-in, the course is wheelchair and stroller accessible, and aid stations are cup-free. Audience Runners travel in from across the country and pair the race with time in the national park. At the most recent race close to two thirds of runners were women, and the biggest age group was 25 to 34. Many run both days for the Elk Double, and across the series nine in ten runners visit a national park while in town. Talent and Influencers There is no paid elite field. Course record holders race free every year their mark stands. Place medals go five deep overall, for masters and in every age group, which keeps the front of the pack busy long after the winners finish. Charity runners race on Wander Project bibs and can have their entry fee waived once they reach their fundraising goal, with the money going to the communities and wild places around the parks. Track record The race is one of the longest-running stops on the Vacation Races calendar, with course records going back more than a decade. The most recent weekend drew more than 1,200 runners across the half and the 5K, and the series as a whole brings over 30,000 runners a year to events in and around the national parks. Brand presence HotelPlanner books discounted race-weekend rooms and Runna is the official training app. Honey Stinger, ZICO, Muscle Milk, Mount to Coast, Grüns, Siete Foods, Kate's Real Food, That's it., Aloe Up, Good Wipes and Sawyer are also partners. Sponsors can brand the finish arch, course signage, race shirt and race page, run a booth at the Friday expo, sample at aid stations and the finish, get announcer mentions at both awards ceremonies, and reach runners through emails, the digital race guide, blog and social posts.