As thousands of runners took over Pearl Street on Sunday morning, they relied on the support of not only family and friends but also hundreds of volunteers who made the series of Boulderthon races possible.

Boulderthon hosts a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, full marathon and kid’s race on 19th Street and Pearl Street. The event was created in 2021 with just 1,600 runners and has grown to have an anticipated 10,000 runners on Sunday morning.

Heather Hasz, volunteer and registration coordinator, said Boulderthon is one of the largest running events in Colorado and involves the help of more than 750 volunteers.

“I’ve tried to create a volunteer program that is just as successful as the actual race and runners,” Hasz said.

Whether someone is running their first 5K or using Boulderthon to qualify for another marathon, Hasz said, every runner supports each other.

When Hasz first moved to Colorado in 2022, she ran the 10K Boulderthon race and immediately fell in love with the area. She knew she had to help contribute to the race.

Hasz, who works in marketing and community management, combined her love of running and community engagement to help organize volunteers for the event.

For her, volunteering was not about appointing people to check off boxes on a list, but rather engaging with the community to ensure the race ran as smoothly as possible.

Whether volunteers are best suited to work at the aid stations or bib pick-ups, Hasz looks forward to working with the volunteers year after year. She’s come to view them as partners who help make the race possible.

Many volunteers are runners themselves, Hasz said. The running community wants to support each other, she said, and volunteering is one of the best ways to help out.

Hasz said volunteers might often be part of an important moment or milestone in someone’s life.

“Whether you’re giving someone their bib, their medal at the finish line or finisher’s shirt, you could be giving those things to someone that’s run their very first 5K. Like, this is a moment in their life, and the volunteer can be a part of that,” Hasz said.

She said the volunteer might not always be aware of the person returning to their first race after beating cancer or the person who is at their very first race. But with such a large running community in Colorado, it was easy to find runners who wanted to support runners, Hasz said.

Abbey Marceau, volunteer manager and Heather Hasz’s daughter, said Sunday was her first time volunteering at the event.

Marceau explained that a race of this size requires a lot of volunteers, and there are often little aspects of a race that need volunteers that people do not always anticipate.

“Everyone just loves to support others,” Marceau said.

Whether people came to the event to support their friend or were just passing by Pearl Street after brunch, Marceau saw many people at the finish line supporting the runners.

Tammy Hamann, who ran the 5K alongside her husband and four kids. She intended to walk the entire distance but got caught up in the excitement and ended up running the race. It was her first 5K in about two years.

Hamann is new to Colorado, and she and her family thought the race would be a good way to get involved in the community. She felt if she could run the race, then she could do anything.

During the race, she thought about how for some people, this could be their 50th race or it could be first. But everyone is encouraged to run and give it a go.

“You can get out there at any time and just start,” Hamann said.

According to the Boulderthon tracking information, Mark Messmer finished first overall in the men’s section with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 44 seconds. Leidy Yohanna Tobon finished first overall in the women’s section with a time of 3:05:12.

Volunteer information and inquiries can be directed to heather@boulderthon.org or at boulderthon.org/volunteer.