For most, a day that begins with recognition on the floor of the state senate, followed by a lengthy media session and yet another round of organizational meetings would be enough to fill a weekly to-do list.

At the Bolder Boulder, it’s business as usual. And the fact that it once again is business as usual at the nation’s biggest and most popular 10-kilometer road race is a source of gratitude.

As preparations heighten for the 43rd edition of the (nearly) annual Memorial Day extravaganza, the return to normalcy has been welcome. Last year’s race, the first after two years of COVID-spurred cancellations, was a spirited comeback, yet the event suffered a somewhat expected dip in participation numbers compared to pre-COVID totals.

This year, race director Cliff Bosley said registrations are about “two weeks ahead” of last year’s pace roughly a month ahead of the May 29 race. And for the first time since the pandemic struck, the race again has a permanent headquarters.

“It was a fun morning, all things said and done,” Bosley said of his mid-week detour to the state senate. “Last year, it was just about getting it out of the ground. Last year, it was 1,100 days from when we ran in 2019 to 2022. It was all about just getting the race kind of back out of the ground.

“I think it was important for our community. I think it was one of those touch-points for people in our community that, ‘All right, maybe COVID’s behind us.’ The shut downs and the mandates, that’s in our past and we’re kind of moving on. That was definitely the reaction we got or the response we got after putting on last year’s race.”

The changes this year in terms of the race will be subtle. Registrations have gone completely paper-free, although that is a circumstance that has been trending that direction for years. After a watered-down version of the International Team Challenge last year, which featured two-person teams instead of the traditional three, Bosley said the elite field will feature a return to form with the three-runner teams.

Organizationally, the Bolder Boulder had been without a headquarters since November of 2020 when, amid the peak of the pandemic, the race left its previous office. For the next two and a half years, including during the ramp-up for the race’s 2022 return, organizers worked remotely and kept materials such as office equipment and historical records in rented trailers.

Earlier this year, the Bolder Boulder secured a long-term lease in Gunbarrel that will give the event an HQ through the event’s 50th anniversary. Assuming there are no pandemic-like hiccups along the way, that will be in 2030.

“We’re bullish on the sport of running, and it’s an important thing in our community,” Bosley said. “A lot of the decisions we made getting the race off the ground last year, they certainly have an impact here in 2023. But we’re kind of looking down the road. 2030 is our 50th, and we’re in a place where we can move forward. We actually executed last year’s race from the mobile storage.

“What we learned is we can do it, but it’s very difficult.”