The Great Trailhead Foot Race 5 & 10 Miler

Welcome to the Great Trailhead Foot Race at Bear Creek Lake Park!  Featuring legitimate TRAILS in the shadow of Denver's skyline, you'll love the single-track and dirt as you race 5 miles, or a double lap of 10 miles to the finish line party!  

Bring your ID because there's FREE BEER for 21 and up (with a valid ID)!  Plus, your registration includes entry to the park for the whole day and FREE Hot Dogs, Chips, Protein Bars, N/A Beer, Bananas, and more!  AND 10 Milers get a Finisher Mug!

Entry fees include the cost of entry into the park, a post-run party, and one finisher's meal! 

This is a chip-timed event.  Top award winners and age group finishers are ranked on GUN time.  Your chip is attached to the back of your race bib.  Please do not remove it.  Wear your bib LOW ON YOUR BELLY - front and center of your body, for best results.

The top 3 male and female finishers in each distance will be recognized.  These top finishers are REMOVED from age group awards.

The top 3 male and female finishers in each age group will be recognized.

Age Groups:
5 and 10 Miles:  19 and Under, 20-29, 30-39. 40-49. 50-59. 60-69, 70-79, 80+

Pre-Event Contact
We would love to work with you to feature your product or business with our racers.  There are many ways to be involved and gain exposure, from hosting a packet pick up location or after party, sponsoring a water station, adding a goody or coupon to the goody bag, providing an in-kind donation/sample for the racers on the course or at the finish line, or setting up a booth on race-day at the expo. 

We can feature your business on the event web page, racer emails, or social media!  All sponsorship payments must be received before your business is included in any kind of mention or posting.

Please contact our marketing team before the race with any questions:
Marketing Contacts:
AJ Benefield 
Email: AJ@3WRaces.com

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Goodie Bag Stuffers
If you have arranged to place something into the Goody Bag, please make sure your 'stuffer' reaches us by the deadline so our volunteers and staff can get it into each racer's goody bag!  Items received after the deadline will not be in the goody bag.

DEADLINE:  FRIDAY before race week: October 10, 2025  by 4:00 PM
QUANTITY: 350
LOCATION: 3W Races 7960 Hollywood Street, Commerce City, CO 80022
(If you would rather drop off in person than mail/ship your items, please email us in advance to make arrangements.)

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Tent/Table Rental
TENT/TABLE:  You will be given approximately 12'x12' of space.  Tents and tables are NOT included, however, some of you have already arranged for table/tent rental from 3W Races.  In that case, your tent and or table will be set for you at your designated space.

Generally, tent rental is $75 and tables are $10 each to rent for the event.  3W will bring the tent/table, set it up at your designated location and tear it down at the end of the event.  If you are interested in this arrangement, please coordinate with us at least one week in advance.

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Racer Data
2025 is an 8th-year event!  ​For 2025, we expect to have 400 racers. These numbers do not include the staff and volunteers that are also present at the race.

Demographics:
69% Female
31% Males

3% Under 18
11% 18-29
21% 30-39
42% 40-49
18% 50-64
​5% Over 65

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Race Day Logistics
TIME: 7:00 AM Vendor Set Up, Race starts at 8:00 AM, 10:30 AM is Tear Down. The finish line officially closes when the last runner crosses.  Click Here for Racer Schedule.

SURFACE: All Sponsors will be set up around the pavilion area in hard-packed gravey. Ground stakes are NOT allowed. Tent WEIGHTS are recommended

ADDRESS: Pelican Point, Bear Creek Lake Park CLICK HERE For driving directions. 

PARKING: There is parking near the expo. If you have more than one staff member, please carpool! 

COURSE: The course is on the trails through the park.

RACE DAY RAFFLE: As a perk to our runners and charity partner, those racers that bring 5 donation items or more get entered into a race day raffle for awesome prizes. If you have something you would like to donate for the raffle, let us know! You can bring it on race day or hand it off in advance! 

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Race Day Contact

Please check in at the 3W Races tent on race day regarding the specific location of your booth space!

Race Director Direct Number:
Whitney Vestal: 720-635-2665
Email: Whitney@3WRaces.com

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Special Requests: 
We ask that you please respect the property of our runners and kindly ask that you do NOT paper events. This includes placing advertisements on cars.

All paper advertisements need to be placed at the 3W tent and/or at your personal booth space and directly handed to runners. 

We are proud to partner with Sneakers4Good! When you donate your gently used or new athletic shoes, a donation is made to our ongoing charity partner, Growing Home!  Click here for more info! 

3W Races is proud to have Backpack Society as our charity partner for this event.

Bring 5 or more items to the in-kind donation gathering on race day and you'll be entered into the race day raffle where you can win prizes!  Winners are drawn during the run and posted at the registration tent.  No need to wait around for tickets to be pulled - you'll know right away if and what you've won!! 

Preferred items are listed below:

Cereal
Granola bars
Mac and Cheese
Jelly
Granola bars.

Click HERE to learn a little bit more about Backpack Society!

Date: Oct 15

Time: 4-7 PM

Location: Road Runner Sports-Westminster

Address:10442 Town Center Dr, Ste 300, Westminster, CO 80021

Yes, you can pick up for a friend or send someone to pick up for you! All team bibs/swag will be together and must be picked up at the same time, no exceptions.

*Date, time and location as subject to change.

Head over to WestFax Brewing Company after the Great Trailhead Foot Race for a BOGO free beer deal! Just show your race BIB and ID to redeem. Their doors open at 11:30am. Address: 6733 W. Colfax Ave. Lakewood, CO 80214

Course Support

Water stations
-> The 5 mile course will have ONE aid station at approximately mile 2.5 with water and sports drink.  There will be cups at this aid station for water and electrolytes.  Shortly after the aid station, you will find tables with water jugs for REFILLING your personal, handheld water bottles.
-> The 10 mile course will have TWO aid stations and approximately miles 2.5 and 7.5.  10 Mile racers will also pass through the expo area when starting the second lap and will have access to water and portojohns.

Restrooms
-> There are pit toilets installed by the park very near the course (i.e. you'll have to exit the course to use them) at approximately mile 2. Restrooms are also available at the expo/start/finish line.
-> This means that the restrooms for the 10 miler are also at miles 2, 5 and 7.

Course Surface 
-> 99% of this course is on the trails, much of which are single track. There are a couple sections where you have to cross a bridge or street (asphalt). The trails are packed dirt and have periodic roots and/or rocks! 

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DOGS AND STROLLERS:

While both dogs and strollers are welcome at the park/finish line, this single track course is not suitable for them to run with you. Bring a spectator and leave your extra running buddies with them to cheer you at the finish  :)

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5 Mile Course
CLICK HERE for an interactive map for the 5 Mile course.  

10 Mile Course
The 10 Mile course is TWO laps of the 5-mile course.

NOTE for 10-mile racers: by 10:20 AM, the 5 Mile 1st Lap must be completed by this time. 10 Milers will not be allowed to continue into 2nd lap after this time and will be moved to the 5 Mile distance.

Like all 3W Races produced events, this finish line will NOT have cups available.  Please bring your own water bottle for refilling!  Drinking water will be available, but NO CUPS will be present at the finish line.

The expo and race start/finish will be at the Pelican Lakes shelter and parking lot. To get there, enter at the main park entrance. Turn right at the first intersection, Kumpfmiller Dr. Follow Kumpfmiller Dr around for almost 2 miles until you reach Hampton Ave (at T intersection) and turn left. Follow Hampton until you reach the LARGE dirt parking lot on the left - it is almost where the road ends! 

We HIGHLY encourage people to carpool, as there is limited parking. There is absolutely NO parking allowed along the streets/roads. You may park in any lot in the park. See photo for parking lots. Some of the smaller lots may be closes seasonally. If for some reason the big lot fills up, overflow parking will be at the Soda Lakes parking lots with a quick walk to the expo.

8 AM: Expo Open - Walk-Up Registration and Late Packet Pick Up. NOTE: The gates to the park will not open until 7:00 am. No racer admittance to the park PRIOR to 7:00 am.

9:00 AM: 5 & 10 Miler Start

9:30 AM: After Party/Expo Opens!

9:55 AM: 5 Mile Awards

10:20 AM: 5 Mile 1st Lap must be completed by this time.  10 Milers will no be allowed to continue into 2nd lap after this time and will be moved to the 5 Mile distance.

10:30 AM: 10 Miler OVERALL Awards

11:20 AM: 10 Miler Age Group Awards

11:45 AM: Finish Line and Course Closes.  All racers must return before this time.

We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Sneakers4Good to provide you with a socially responsible way to donate your gently worn, used or new sneakers and running shoes to a good cause we support! The sneakers will help benefit Growing Home and give a hand up, not a handout, to micro-enterprises in 25 developing countries. The athletic shoes will be kept out of landfills where they can take decades to fully decompose. Visit Sneakers4Good to learn more!

It's super simple! You only need to bring your lightly worn athletic shoes and sneakers to the race (on race day please!). We collect them and mail them and a donation is made to Growing Home! 

Please donate only gently worn, used, and new athletic shoes.  These sneakers, trainers, and other athletic shoes will be worn again by people in developing nations, so please make sure there are no holes or soles falling off and that they are in wearable condition.  Dress shoes, sandals, brown shoes, flip flops, cleats, etc. and other shoes that are NOT athletic shoes will NOT be accepted. 

Please tie your shoes together or put a rubber band around the pair! 

Due to the nature of the single track dirt trails, we are NOT allowed to run on the trails in the event of wet weather before or during the event, as determined by the Parks Department.  In the case that the trail is closed to us on Race Day, ALL racers will be moved to the 5k foot race distance (at the START TIME of the scheduled 5miler) which will be moved to the surface streets within the park.  This is the best option for all of us so that we don't have to cancel the event completely.  The expo and festivities will remain even in the event of rain!  Note- there will be NO refunds or deferrals.  By signing up for this event, you acknowledge and accept the wet trails policy as enforced by the Parks Department.

5k Street Route CLICK HERE

Each participant will receive a gender-specific t-shirt. 

10 Mile finishers earn a finisher's mug upon COMPLETION of the event! 

The race start and finish line is located at Pelican Point picnic shelter at Bear Creek Lake Park.

The address for Bear Creek Lake Park is
15600 W Morrison Rd, Lakewood, CO 80228

However, if you navigate to that, it will bring you to the visitor's center which is NOT where the race is located! Click the hyperlink above!