Colorado Trail Race

Colorado Trail Race

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 - 6am
Start: Waterton Canyon Trailhead - Denver
Finish: Junction Creek Trailhead - Durango

Route Changes for 2009!!!

Results and Records

The CTR: 470 miles and 65,000' of elevation gain winding through the Colorado Rocky Mountains from Denver to Durango. Approximately 300+ miles of singletrack at elevations ranging from 5500' to a gasping-for-breath 13,200'. The CTR is a monster! If the monster is in a good mood, you may experience Colorado's beautiful sunny blue skies and wildflowers blooming as far as you can see! But, be warned — the CTR's mood can change on a whim, and you may just as likely find yourself getting besieged by massive hailstones and lightning bolts. In short, don't come to this race unprepared — no one will be there to rescue you.

The CTR is similar to The Arizona Trail 300 and The Great Divide Race. There is no entry fee, no support, no registration, and no prize money. It is an ITT (Individual Time Trial): all that is provided is a route description, a suggested start time, and a list of results. However, all individuals participating are strongly encouraged to donate time or money to the Colorado Trail Foundation. Without them, we wouldn't have this trail!

Race Rules:

Race from Denver to Durango, self-supported, under only your own power, along the entire CTR route.
No pre-arranged support, with the exception of maildrops to a post office.
Don't break the law.

Not clear enough? Read the CTR rule FAQ.

Colorado Trail Info:

For the most part, the Colorado Trail is very well marked. However, you will want to purchase The Official Guidebook for a complete description of the actual trail segments and mountain bike detours. Any shortcutting or deviating from the course, intentional or not, will result in a DNF, so please study the route and know it well! You may, however, ride off course to resupply/sleep/eat as long as you return to the exact same spot you left.

For the first runnings of the CTR ('07 & '08), detours around parts of the trail were taken to make the route as rideable as possible. This year ('09), that has changed and the route sticks to the trail as much as possible. There are segments with prodigious amounts of hike-a-bike, and also segments with miles on end of high alpine riding. In particular, the Cataract Ridge segment is not a good place to be during an electrical storm. So come prepared to do some hiking and to exercise good judgment regarding the weather.

Also highly recommended for carrying en route is the Trailside Databook. The newest version (4th edition) has updated elevation profiles in addition to information on mileage, where to find water, good campsites, and also the Cataract Ridge Reroute.

Here is a CTR GPX track and a 500 point pre-split CTR GPX track. DISCLAIMER: The resolution of these tracks is very coarse and may result in your getting lost on the trail. They are mainly for planning purposes and should be used alongside maps and written descriptions to assist with following the CTR route.