bolder boulder 2026 will begin Monday morning with nearly 53,000 entrants, the largest field since the race’s post-pandemic return in 2022. The 46th annual race is also on track for a top-five total in its history, after registrations closed before the final pre-race weekend for the first time since 1979.
Bolder Boulder 2026 field grows
Cliff Bosley said the surge fits a wider pattern. “Broadly, running still just continues to increase in popularity.” He added, “I do know that during the pandemic there were a lot of people who started running.”
By Friday at 3 p.m., the field stood at about 700 more entrants than 2025, a gap that pushed the race toward a registration mark it has not reached in years. The event had already moved beyond last year’s pace before the weekend, and that early demand forced the cutoff before the final pre-race stretch.
Registration cutoff before race day
The closure came before the final pre-race weekend, which is the first time that has happened since the race began in 1979. Registrations for the 2025 race closed Friday at midnight, but this year’s count was already ahead by about 700 entrants at Friday afternoon. That left no room to keep taking entries into the last weekend.
The growth also fits the race’s recent climb back from the pandemic shutdown. The Bolder Boulder had 33,991 entrants in 2022, then 40,044 in 2023 and 43,971 in 2024 before rising to 52,054 entrants last year. The race had no events in 2020 or 2021.
Mantz and Nawowuna absent
Even with the bigger field, the citizen’s race will not include three-time defending Conner Mantz or two-time defending women’s champion Grace Loibach Nawowuna, who are both out. The race will again be capped by the International Team Challenge and followed by the annual Memorial Day tribute.
The numbers point to a race that has rebuilt enough to rank among its strongest draws, with nearly 53,000 entrants expected on Monday morning and a field large enough to trigger an early shutdown of registration. For runners still planning around the event, the cutoff has already passed, and the race’s headcount now sits among the biggest in its long history.
