Best Trail Running Events in the Rockies 2023
Updated Nov 11, 2022
Strambecco rates the top trail running events in the Rocky Mountains for 2023 based on various factors, including reputation, route quality, location, runner feedback, and the overall uniqueness of the event or race. Spanning Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, Rocky Mountain terrain features of Strambecco’s best list include tall peaks, canyons, basins and valleys, forested regions, and sublime single-track running. You can expect lots of elevation gain and events at high base elevations.
If we had to pick the best of the best, or those you’d classify as bucket list events, we’d recommend the Audi Power of Four Trail Run in July, an Aspen/Snowmass classic, or the prestigious Leadville Trail 100. We’d also recommend looking at events making up the Leadville Race Series, all qualifier events for the Leadville Trail 100 every year in August. We also strongly correlate the best events and professional event producers. In the Rockies, premiere event producers include Life Time Events, Leadville Race Series, and Gemini Adventures.
Strambecco does not list every event. We strive to identify and review events that are special and noteworthy. If you have suggestions on other events we should consider or review, please get in touch with us here or send us a note at editors@strambecco.com.
For the distance and trail junkies out there, Gemini Adventures brings you the Desert RATS Trail Running Festival, an exciting and fun event that started in 2003. This event offers four different…
The Bighorn Trail Run in Wyoming is an epic endurance race as technical as beautiful. It is a Rocky Mountain Slam event and a qualifier for the UTMB World Series. The Bighorn…
The Leadville Trail Marathon & Heavy Half is a qualifier event for the famed Leadville Trail 100 Run. The route runs through old mining roads and trails of Leadville, CO, that reach…
Leadville Trail 100 Run Camp is a perfect way to kick off the summer and practice for all trail running events in Leadville Race Series. It is a long weekend of getting…
The Audi Power of Four Trail Run is a premier endurance event utilizing the challenging and unique terrain of the four peaks of The Aspen Snowmass Mountains – Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands,…
Silver Rush 50 is part of the Leadville Race Series, a unique high-altitude trail running event that is both a component of the LT100 Run Qualification system and a preparation race for…
Aspen Parks & Recreation presents the annual Aspen Backcountry Marathon and Heavy Half Marathon. This event has two options available on race day. You can choose to run on dirt trails through…
Emerald Mountain Epic Trail is part of a two-day Emerald Mountain Epic event in Steamboat, Colorado. Saturday is dedicated to mountain bikers, Emerald Mountain Bike Epic, and Sunday is dedicated to runners who…
Leadville Trail 10K is the shortest event in Leadville Race Series for trail running, covering small sections of the Leadville Trail 100 Run. It is a great way to train for the…
The Leadville Race Series started with the Leadville Trail 100 Run, also known as “Race Across the Sky,” one-hundred miles of extreme terrain that reaches 12,600 feet of elevation at Hope Pass.…
Chosen by Trail Runner Magazine as one of “America’s 14 Most Scenic Races” and Colorado Runner Magazine as the “Best Half Marathon” in 2008, the Golden Leaf Half Marathon is one of…
For all runners who need an end-of-summer celebration, Gemini Adventures brings racers to Eagle Ranch with the festival of fun, Mountain RATS. Three-course options wind through the rugged mountains of Eagle, Colorado,…
Crested Butte Ultra is an event that has three events covering miles of the best trails in the country. Registration for the 50 Mile, 50K, and 35K is available. These courses are…