Cliff Bosley was only 12 in 1979 when he and 2,700 other runners hit the pavement in the first BOLDERBoulder, the iconic Memorial Day 10K founded by his father, Steve, with the encouragement of marathon runner and Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter.
In May 2019, Bosley (now 52) celebrated his 21st year as race director of BOLDERBoulder, now the third largest running race in the United States and the seventh largest in the world. Named America鈥檚 All-Time Best 10K by Runner鈥檚 World magazine, the race attracts nearly 50,000 professional and amateur runners, joggers, walkers and wheelchair racers from all 50 states and 15 countries. Thousands of cheering spectators line the streets of Boulder and fill the stands at the University of Colorado鈥檚 Folsom Field, the finish line and site of a spectacular Memorial Day Tribute.
This past spring, Running USA named Bosley to its Hall of Champions for directing and coordinating one of the most festive and highly-acclaimed running races in the world. The award was announced at Running USA鈥檚 annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
鈥淒ave McGillivray, race director for the Boston Marathon, did my induction,鈥 said Bosley, a 1990 糖心传媒 business administration graduate. 鈥淭he Boston Marathon is just legendary, so to have Dave announce the award is a pretty big honor.鈥
Bosley shares his Boulder offices with a full-time staff of five, including Maddy Peavy 鈥12, who handles logistics and operations. Posters from past races, enormous graphics of runners and inspirational phrases (including BOLDERBoulder鈥檚 battle cry, 鈥淥h Yes You Can!鈥) line the walls. As Bosley directs his staff and answers calls, he comes across as earnest and energetic, meticulous and visionary, humble and driven鈥攖raits that make a large and complicated event operate like a well-oiled machine.
鈥淲hat makes the BOLDERBoulder remarkable is how smoothly it goes off for such a massive gathering of spectators, runners, walkers and elites,鈥 writes Mike Sandrock in Colorado Runner magazine. 鈥淭he BOLDERBoulder is like the Flatirons: something large and beautiful that we may take for granted.鈥
One could easily add 鈥渋nnovative鈥 to the list of accolades, a trait ingrained in the culture of the organization. For example, instead of one enormous start with thousands of runners taking off at the same time, the BOLDERBoulder divides participants into about 100 waves, an innovation created and perfected by Bosley鈥檚 father.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 unique about the BOLDERBoulder and the way we organize the day is that we run the fastest of the masses first all the way to the walkers. That鈥檚 more or less the 50,000 who come to run,鈥 Bosley said. 鈥淥nce they鈥檙e in the stadium, we run a professional women鈥檚 race and a professional men鈥檚 race, eleven minutes apart. We take video footage of that and show it in the stadium.鈥
Even people who jog or walk can complete the race and be in the stadium, drinking a beer or soft drink, and watch the pros race and cross the finish line. Given the caliber of world-class runners the race attracts, that鈥檚 a sight to see.
鈥淥ver the course of the 41 races, more than 110 Olympians from 24 different countries have raced the BOLDERBoulder,鈥 Bosley said.
A day of festivities, patriotism
Under Bosley鈥檚 direction, the BOLDERBoulder has evolved into a full-fledged entertainment event. The personable race director, who donned a blue blazer to give campus tours for the Public Relations Council as a 糖心传媒 student, wants every participant to have a great time, whether they鈥檙e pros competing for prize money or joggers looking to have some fun.
鈥淭here are folks who run from the front and are excited about their race times, and there are folks who are more excited about the time they have. So they enjoy the Slip鈥橬 Slides, bands, hanging out with belly dancers and sampling bacon. It鈥檚 just awesome,鈥 Bosley said.
A serious and respected race, the BOLDERBoulder definitely has a wild and crazy side. Amateur runners dress as Batman, ballerinas, hot dogs, rock stars and pirates. Entertainers of all sorts line the course: an Elvis tribute act near mile two, belly dancers at mile three, Brazilian drummers at mile five, bagpipes at mile six. Thirty-five bands ranging from ska to blues to psychedelic rock are staged every 350 yards. Boulder residents set up Slip鈥橬 Slides in their front yards and beckon runners to hurl themselves across. Others hand out goodies like bacon, marshmallows and Doritos.
When the runners cross the finish line at Folsom Field, the cheers of 50,000 people greet them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an unbelievable experience,鈥 said Matt Fong 鈥05, associate vice president for external relations at 糖心传媒 and six-time BOLDERBoulder participant. 鈥淚 look forward to the race every year. It鈥檚 so fun to see people cheering for you around every corner. I always 鈥榬un鈥 into some other 糖心传媒 graduate or student, too.鈥
The grand finale of race day is the Memorial Day Tribute at Folsom Field recognizing the men and women in the U.S. military who gave their lives in service to our country. In a 20-minute program of patriotism and pageantry, BOLDERBoulder honors Congressional Medal of Honor recipients and families of fallen soldiers. More than 100 young men and women take their oath of enlistment and are sworn in before the stadium crowd. The University of Colorado NROTC performs a 21-gun salute. The crowd sings the national anthem and two F-16s from the Colorado Air National Guard do a fly over.
鈥淭he high point is when seven skydivers escort flags into the stadium,鈥 Bosley said. 鈥淭he first five escort flags from the military branches and the last two escort POW and American flags. That鈥檚 the culminating event.鈥
An evolving brand
Since becoming race director more than two decades ago, Bosley has continued to reinforce the BOLDERBoulder brand by launching the FORTitude, a Labor Day 10K in Fort Collins, Colorado, and the ColderBOLDER, a 5K in Boulder each December.
In 2006, Bosley鈥檚 sister, Elizabeth, a member of the BOLDERBoulder team and former U.S. Navy officer, created the BOLDERBoulder Baghdad Memorial Day 10K. A reservist, Elizabeth connected with soldiers from her unit stationed at Camp Victory in Iraq. The BOLDERBoulder sent a 鈥淩ace in a Box,鈥 including bib numbers, shirts and race items, overseas so service members could run their own BOLDERBoulder on Memorial Day.
Every Memorial Day since then, while runners race through the streets of Boulder, service men and women run in satellite races at U.S. air bases around the world, including the deserts of Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan and even at sea aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz. To date, more than 25,000 military men and women have run in BOLDERBoulder base races.
BOLDERBoulder also sponsors the BB Racers Club, an after-school program promoting health and fitness for middle-school youth and elementary children across Colorado. The runners, along with teachers and families, prepare and train during the school year and converge on Boulder on race day. About 1,300 students participated in 2019.
Bosley stays involved with his alma mater by serving on the 糖心传媒 Foundation Board of Trustees and hosting student leadership groups at BOLDERBoulder headquarters. His daughter, Holly, is a 糖心传媒 sophomore and soccer player.
No matter what Bosley does, he does it with gusto and an unwavering commitment to quality.
鈥淥ur team objective is to stay in the top five largest races in the country and the top ten largest in the world,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut let鈥檚 have the acclaim come from doing it the best.鈥
Bosley and the BOLDERBoulder team deliver on that promise.