I had to take off to Saturday morning kids’ YMCA soccer games, but if my family had been with me, we’d probably have made it a zoo day.The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is located at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station (CMAFS), a short distance from NORAD and USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. If you choose to, you can continue hanging out at the zoo for the day. The after race celebration winds down at 11 a.m. I may or may not have grabbed more than one of those…Īnd inside the Lodge, there was more food waiting – bananas, samples of frozen fruit bars, dessert breads and more. Ole! Kneaders Bakery had generous portions of syrup-soaked french toast waiting for us in rows. On The Border handed out chips and salsa. Should I be embarrassed that I took more photos of the after race food tables than anything else? I guess that’s telling of how pleased I was to see these sights after completing the run. Now I know how real runners must feel when they blaze through a finish line (well, it’s fun to imagine). The great thing about beginning a race with a two mile incline is ending it with a two mile sprint! I have never run so fast at the end of course as I did here.
What a fun surprise, then, to see the Tender Foot Bluegrass Band serenading us with upbeat tunes! I got my second wind and was ready to zip down the mountain. Encouraging volunteers behind the water table- not to mention NO MORE HILL- were already making me happy. When you arrive at the Shrine’s parking lot, the hard work is over. If you would like to visit the Shrine, you’ll be able to drive up after the race when the road reopens at 11 a.m. The course will take you to the Will Roger’s Shrine of the Sun’s parking lot, but not the Shrine itself. Enjoy the beautiful views to your right of The Broadmoor and the surrounding area. From what I saw, the majority of people did a combo run/walk/run/walk up the hill. Try your best and don’t feel bad about walking. Run to the Shrine 4 Mile RunĪnd you’re off! Get ready to start huffing and puffing – the first half is up, up, up! You’ll wind through the zoo along with hundreds and hundreds of other participants. Take this seriously, as there was still a loooong line in front of the port-a-potties moments before the race started. The race DOES begin promptly at 8:30 a.m., as the Zoo’s site indicates.
Registration and packet pick-up happens from 7:30 – 8:15 a.m. Once the Zoo’s lot is full, you’ll have to drive back down to The Broadmoor employee parking lot – just don’t do that to yourself. The starting line is close to the parking lot, so you can easily go back to your car to drop off your packet and/or warm up (a May morning can be chilly at 6,800 feet). This will give you enough time to find a parking spot within the lot and calmly pick up your race packet. Even if you have pre-registered, do yourself a favor and plan to arrive at the zoo’s parking lot before 7:30 a.m. From personal experience, let me suggest a couple of tips. Start your weekend with some exercise, comeradarie, views, and an after-party, all while supporting the continued “running” of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Race Registration and Parking:įor all the updated details regarding registering for Run to the Shrine, you’ll want to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Run to the Shrine page. That’s the fun and excitement of the morning, which leaves no good excuse NOT to participate! So, plan on kicking off the summer run/walk race season with entry into Run to the Shrine.
Participants range from highly competitive runners minutes ahead of the pack, to families with strollers minutes behind. Every May, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo puts on the Run to the Shrine race as a fundraising event for the Zoo.