The Palmer Lake .5K, a 546-yard “run” with a donut at the halfway mark and a beer or root beer at the finish, starts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, on the east shore of Palmer Lake. The adult early rate ends at midnight Wednesday.
The race is half a kilometer, and its organizers bill it as “the ‘run’ for absolutely everyone.” Walkers, strollers and leashed dogs are welcome, according to Awake Palmer Lake, the volunteer-run nonprofit that puts it on and that says it works with the Town of Palmer Lake on its events. By the group’s count, this is the 12th year.
Registration buys a race T-shirt, a Euro-style .5K bumper sticker, one donut, and one beer or root beer. Dogs get a treat and a bandanna. Prizes go to the best outfit, the best costume and the best attitude. The after-party, in the organizers’ words, “continues until we run out of beer, root beer, and donuts.”
The course
The course map on the race’s registration page puts registration and packet pickup by the parking area on the lake’s northeast side. The start is on the east shore. From there the route runs south around the bottom of the lake, past the donut station, and west to a finish line near Highway 105. The map marks the after-party at O’Malley’s Steak Pub, 104 Highway 105, which is the address the race lists as its location.
What it costs
Adult entry is $35 before RunSignup’s processing fee, or $38.10 all in, through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30. It rises to $43.40 on Oct. 1 and to $48.70 on race day. Children’s entries are $22.20 and dogs’ $16.90, fees included, through race day. The race description on the same site still carries older early-bird prices; the figures here are from its registration table and match the organizer’s own event page.
Anyone who wants a T-shirt in their size has to register by 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8. Day-of registration is available.
Awake Palmer Lake says all proceeds go to its work on the town’s parks, trails and the lake. The group, formally the Palmer Lake Restoration Project, was founded in 1995 and is listed by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charity. Its website credits it with a public restroom on the west side of the lake, finished in 2023, and pickleball courts that opened there in 2024.
Sponsors
The race’s registration page lists its sponsors in three tiers. At the platinum level are O’Malley’s Steak Pub, the water-law firm Monson, Cummins & Shohet, Coors Banquet, Black Hills Energy and the Palmer Lake Arts Council. Gold sponsors are Shipley Do-Nuts, CORE Electric Cooperative, Masterbilt Homes, Facinelli Motors and Panorama Commercial Group. Silver sponsors are Alpine Essentials, First National Bank Colorado, Sara’s Sausage, Peak Equipment Rentals, Ahava Beauty Studio, Springs Insurance, Mountain Insurance, Esthetic Family Dentistry, Integrity Bank & Trust and Force Broadband.
Awake Palmer Lake’s own sponsor page also lists Herring Bank, The Antique Garage, RESPEC, Big Mission Automotive, Classic Homes and Morley Companies Family Investments.
If you go
Where: Palmer Lake. Packet pickup on the lake’s northeast side; finish and after-party near O’Malley’s Steak Pub, 104 Highway 105, Palmer Lake, CO 80133
Distance: 0.5 kilometers (546 yards)
Cost, fees included: adults $38.10 through Sept. 30, $43.40 Oct. 1–17, $48.70 on race day · children $22.20 · dogs $16.90
T-shirt deadline: register by 4 p.m. Oct. 8
Register: RunSignup
Sponsorships: four tiers from $500 to $5,000, listed on the event page
Questions: [email protected]
Sources & further reading
The Independent’s own coverage: The Fourth in Monument: A Parade at Ten, No Fireworks This Year, which reported that this year’s Awake the Lake fireworks display was canceled over fire conditions.
The race: Registration page and course map, RunSignup · Events and price schedule, RunSignup · Event page, Awake Palmer Lake.
Sponsors: Sponsor tiers on the registration page, RunSignup · Our Sponsors, Awake Palmer Lake · The Antique Garage’s Aug. 31 sponsorship post, Facebook · O’Malley’s Steak Pub, the finish-line pub.
The organizer: About Awake Palmer Lake · IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Colorado extract (Palmer Lake Restoration Project Inc., EIN 84-1360279).
Spotted an error? Email [email protected].
