Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent 2027

When is the Pikes Peak Marathon in 2027?

Sunday, September 19, 2027. The Pikes Peak Ascent is the day before, Saturday, September 18, 2027, with a 7:00 AM start. General registration for both opens March 1, 2027 at 5:00 AM MST and closes when each race sells out.

Date	What
Jan 15, 2027	Pre-registration for 2026 runners who deferred (by invitation; guaranteed through Feb 28)
Mar 1, 2027, 5:00 AM MST	General registration opens for the Ascent and the Marathon. The race pages call it a Saturday and a Sunday; March 1, 2027 is a Monday. Go by the date.
Jul 31, 2027	Deferral deadline
Aug 1, 2027	Last day for the runner shirt option and to update your wave-placement result
Sat Sep 18, 2027	Pikes Peak Ascent, 7:00 AM
Sun Sep 19, 2027	Pikes Peak Marathon

Runners must be 16 or older on race day. No qualifier is needed, but a recent result decides your starting wave. Entry numbers are capped by the Forest Service.

How much does it cost to run the Pikes Peak Marathon?

For 2027 the Marathon costs $200 from March 1, $225 from April 1 and $250 from July 1. The Ascent costs $175, $195 and $225 on the same dates.

Registering	Ascent	Marathon
From March 1, 2027	$175	$200
From April 1	$195	$225
From July 1	$225	$250

The organisers recommend the optional race insurance at checkout.

How long is the Pikes Peak Ascent?

The Ascent is 13.32 miles from Manitou Springs City Hall at 6,300 ft to the summit, with 7,815 ft of climbing at an average grade of 11%. The Marathon is 26.21 miles: the same course up, then back down to Manitou Springs.

The first 1.45 miles are on asphalt, through Manitou Springs and up Ruxton Avenue past the Cog depot; then a short spur joins the Barr Trail. The course never uses the Highway. The steepest stretches are Hydro Street to No Name Creek (13.4% average) and Barr Camp to the A-Frame (13.1%); No Name to Barr Camp is the fastest section at 8.3%. Above treeline the last miles are loose gravel with the "16 Golden Stairs", 32 switchbacks below the summit. Race miles run about a mile ahead of the trail miles used on our Barr Trail calculator, because the race starts at City Hall.

Ascent finish-time estimator

Start from a result you already have. The organisers' own formulas turn it into an estimated Ascent time; we then spread that time along the real trail profile to give your splits against the cutoffs.

Your result A flatland marathon Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Barr Trail Mountain Race

Your time (h:mm)

I live at altitude (Colorado Front Range or higher)

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Checkpoint	Race mile	Your split	Cutoff

How the estimate worksOfficial formulas, our split model

• Flatland marathon: the course page's rule of thumb. If you live at altitude, your Ascent time is about your marathon time; otherwise add 30 minutes.
• Garden of the Gods 10 Mile time × 3.058 and Barr Trail Mountain Race time × 1.561: the formulas the race uses for wave placement ("Estimated Ascent Time").
• Marathon finish: Ascent time × 1.63, because the course page says the average descent takes about 63% of the Ascent time.
• Splits are our model, not the race's: we cost every 0.1 mi of the real Barr Trail profile (OpenStreetMap and USGS 3DEP) with Naismith's rule (distance plus climb) and add the road from City Hall at 6,300 ft, about 1.1 mi below the trailhead. Naismith alone puts Barr Camp at 55% of the effort, but runners slow down in the thin air above it: the race's own 2024 wave rule counts twice the Barr Camp split as the Ascent time. So we stretch the effort above Barr Camp until Barr Camp falls at half your time. Result: No Name 30%, Barr Camp 50%, A-Frame 74% of your Ascent time. A model, not a pacing chart.

How long does the Pikes Peak Ascent take?

The organisers' rule of thumb: if you live at altitude, expect about your flatland marathon time; otherwise add half an hour. The cutoff at the summit is 6:30 for the Ascent and 6:15 for the Marathon turnaround.

Checkpoint	Race mile, elevation	Cutoff (elapsed)
No Name Creek	4.3 mi, 8,800 ft	1:40:00
Barr Camp	7.6 mi, 10,200 ft	3:00:00
A-Frame	10.2 mi, 12,000 ft	4:30:00
Summit (Ascent finish)	13.3 mi, 14,115 ft	6:30:00 (Marathon turnaround 6:15:00)
Marathon finish	26.21 mi, Manitou Springs	10:00:00

What is the Pikes Peak Marathon record?

Matt Carpenter ran 3:16:39 in 1993; the women's record is 4:02:41 by Maude Mathys in 2019. The Ascent records are 2:00:20 by Rémi Bonnet (2023) and 2:24:58 by Kim Dobson (2012).

Race	Men	Women
Ascent	2:00:20, Rémi Bonnet, 2023	2:24:58, Kim Dobson, 2012
Marathon	3:16:39, Matt Carpenter, 1993	4:02:41, Maude Mathys, 2019

From Wikipedia's winners tables; the race's own records page has no record list yet, and Wikipedia's infobox lists 4:02:45 for the women's marathon record. Bonnet's 2023 Ascent broke a men's record that had stood for 30 years.

The race began on August 10, 1956, when a doctor challenged smokers to race him up and down the mountain. The organisers call it the oldest continually held marathon in the United States. The Ascent became its own race in the 1980s. More on the mountain's past: Pikes Peak history.

What is the Pikes Peak Skybound Marathon?

A new road race on the paved Pikes Peak Highway, first run on August 7, 2027: a 26.2-mile out-and-back marathon and a 13.1-mile half marathon that finishes on the summit. It is a separate event from the trail Marathon and Ascent in September.

The organiser, the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, says the marathon climbs over 4,700 ft toward the summit before turning back, starts by headlamp, is cupless (carry at least 16 oz of fluid) and is open to runners 18 and older. Finishers are taken back to the start by shuttle. The event page has no registration date or start time yet, only a sign-up for news. If you plan to drive the Highway on August 7, 2027, check the road status first.

2027 race days: what is affected for visitors

Enter the date of your visit to see whether a race is on that day or the day before or after.

1. Sun, Jun 13 Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run Garden of the Gods
   Starts near the Garden of the Gods park entrance and finishes at Rock Ledge Ranch. First race of the Garden to Peak series.
2. Mon, Jun 21 to Fri, Jun 25 Hill Climb race week: tech inspection, then practice and qualifying June 22 to 25 Highway
   Practice runs on the Highway in the early morning. Whether ordinary visitors are held back on practice days in 2027 is not published.
3. Sun, Jun 27 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race day Highway closed
   The Highway is closed to the public. The Cog Railway runs on its own track.
4. Sun, Jul 18 Barr Trail Mountain Race Barr Trail
   12.6 mi from the Barr Trail trailhead to Barr Camp and back. Expect runners on the lower trail.
5. Sat, Aug 7 Pikes Peak Skybound Marathon (first running) Highway
   Marathon and half marathon on the paved Highway, starting by headlamp. What it means for ordinary Highway traffic has not been published; spectator access needs a pass.
6. Sat, Sep 18 Pikes Peak Ascent Barr TrailManitou Springs
   7:00 AM start at Manitou Springs City Hall, up Ruxton Avenue and the Barr Trail to the summit. Runners are bussed down the Highway to Glen Cove.
7. Sun, Sep 19 Pikes Peak Marathon Barr TrailManitou Springs
   Up and back down the Barr Trail; on the descent, uphill runners must yield to downhill runners. Finish at Ruxton and Manitou Avenues.

On race weekend in September, Manitou Springs fills with runners and their families. Book a room early: Manitou Springs hotel rates on Booking.com (partner link, disclosure), or see walking times from each hotel to the start.