Now that you have done your best Conner Mantz Memorial Day imitation and run into Folsom Field with arms upraised at the finish of the Bolder Boulder 10K, it is time to use your fitness for a different kind of running fun: racing on the track at one of the Boulder Road Runners summer all-comers track and field meets.

No live bands, Slip ‘N Slides, or special “refreshments” doled out by college students along the way, but there is the same kind of camaraderie and joy of competition found in the Bolder Boulder, albeit in a more intimate environment.

The venerable series opens tonight on the University of Colorado’s east campus Potts Field track with a full slate of events (boulderroadrunners.org), from field events to 100 meters through 5,000 meters. The summer series draws competitors from serious vets to abecedarian track runners and is a nice way to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

“We want people to fall in love with the sport and try new things,” meet director Todd Straka said. “There is something special about competing at CU. It’s a brand new track, fastest in the state, and to run in that location where all the great CU runners and professional runners have trained is fun. There is something magical about running there at sunset with the view of the mountains.”

If you do come out to one of the five all-comers meets this summer to try your hand at a new event, several differences between the roads and track will be noticeable. First off is simply the number of runners you will be racing; rather than the 900 or so in your Bolder Boulder wave, along with thousands more along the point-to-point course, you will be lined up against just seven others in one of the heats of the 100, 200 or 400 meters.

Those races are run in lanes, meaning eight athletes per heat. Some of the competitors will use starting blocks, which let them brace their feet against a solid piece of metal to explode out at the start. The longer track races will have up to roughly 20 in a heat, with all age ranges represented.

Standing next to you at the start line could be an elite runner such as 2025 Bolder Boulder citizens winner Sara Vaughn, out for a tune-up, with her fast kids sometimes also racing. “I love the BRR all-comer meets, and any hometown/local meet; they’ve been super useful to me in the past,” says Vaughn, a World Indoor Championships 1,500 meter and Olympic marathon trials racer. “I’ve always used them as tune-ups.”

Vaughn’s 800-meter personal record came at one of the summer meets and, she recalls, “Last year I was lucky enough to race/pace both of my daughters to a PR (personal record) in the 800 at a BRR all-comers meet. That was very special.”

There are many such special moments taking place among the families who make the meets a regular summer-evening outing. It is common to see moms cheering along the straightaway as their 3-year-old wobbles down the track in the 100 meters, or a dad and his son running the mile together. Then there was the race where former CU steeplechaser Aric Van Halen did a flip coming out of the water jump.

The Road Runners, in conjunction with USA Track & Field Colorado, are offering steeplechase races — 3,000 meters (or shorter for youth) over barriers and a water jump — this summer as a way to give young runners a chance to practice the event before heading to bigger meets.

That kind of experience is helpful for those dreaming of competing on a larger stage. Such was the case for Silver Creek grad Valarie Allman, who threw the discus at the summer Road Runner meets while in high school before going on to star at Stanford and winning the past two Olympic discus gold medals. Other fast elites have been known to show up.

Do not, however, be intimidated. Come on out and try a new event and have some fun. “We are focused on bringing an experience to all ages and all levels,” Straka said. “We try to treat the meets as a learning experience and low pressure way to compete,” and perhaps learn the nuances of setting up a starting block and learning to listen and respond to the commands of long-time race starters Terry Femmer and Lorraine Green.

Said Straka, “Just the smiles on peoples’ faces when they finish and the overall vibe of the summer is what I take away from the meets all the time.”

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