Ashli Jerado teared up as she crossed the finish line of a soggy BOLDERBoulder 10K race on Memorial Day Monday, remembering her friend Oscar who was killed in the line of duty at Little Creek, where the two of them were stationed together. 

Jerado, who is stationed in Virginia, ran the race for Oscar, who she said would probably jokingly tell her to run faster if he were there — but encourage her to keep pushing and support her the entire way. 

“Today’s Memorial Day, so it just felt really good to be able to run for a reason today,” she said. “At the finish line, I was thinking about him and got a little emotional.”

Jerado was one of more than 50,000 people from all 50 states and 11 countries who ran Monday morning’s BOLDERBoulder, which starts at the intersection of Walnut and 30th Streets and meanders about six miles, or 10 kilometers, through the city. Participants end in University of Colorado Boulder’s Folsom Field, crossing the finish line to a stadium of cheers. 

On Monday, runners dressed in everything from standard running clothes to full costume splashed through Boulder’s foggy streets, shoes soggy down to the socks and spirits high despite the gloomy weather. 

On the sidelines, race supporters and onlookers cheered for participants in colorful tutus and glittered faces. Mario and Luigi ran side-by-side. Following closely behind, a group of bananas. Elvis trailed, crossing the finish line with a punch to the air. Joined to one another with collapsible tubes, four girls crossed the finish line as a caterpillar. 

After the last of the citizen runners and walkers trickled into Folsom Field, professional athletes raced to the finish line, with three-time winner Connor Mantz from the U.S. team taking the men’s lead by less than one second over his Kenya competitor Daniel Simiu Ebenyo.

Mantz trailed just behind Ebenyo as the two entered the stadium to deafening cheers that grew louder as Mantz shot in front of Ebenyo at the last second, finishing first for his third year in a row with a time of 28 minutes and 20 seconds, which is an average mile pace of four minutes and 35 seconds. 

In the women’s race, Grace Loibach Nawowuna from Kenya took first, crossing the finish line with a 31-minute, 51-second time, an average five-minute and 16-second mile pace. Following closely behind, Meseret Belete from Ethiopia finished at 32 minutes and 38 seconds.

The Bolder Boulder started in 1979 as a small local race with a few thousand people joining together to celebrate Memorial Day. Forty-five years later, the race has attracted more than 1.6 million people to walk, jog and run. 

It stands as the fourth largest running race in the United States and one of the largest in the world, according to the BOLDERBoulder website. 

Following the race each year, the events hosts one of the nation’s largest Memorial Day celebrations, which included a flyover Monday. 

The BOLDERBoulder had a $23 million impact on the city of Boulder this year, bringing 90,000 people, including spectators and supporters to the foothills, according to race statistics. Forty seven of the participants have run the race every year since it began. 

Along the route, participants chugged more than 15,000 gallons of water, waved their thanks to 1,700 volunteers and used one of 418 portable toilets.

Boulder City Councilmember Lauren Folkerts said the race is defined by “the spirit of fitness, community and patriotism,” and the city is “honored” to host the event each year. 

University of Colorado Chancellor Justin Schawtz called the BOLDERBoulder an “iconic representation” of the Boulder community and a “proud” celebration of Memorial Day as “more than a day off.”

While some participants, like Jerado, run in honor of people who served, others, like 13-year-olds Isla Harmon and Lily Troy, run for the fun and community of the race.

Kameron Troy, who usually cheers Harmon and Troy on at the BOLDERBoulder, decided to run this year with the two teenagers. 

“It’s fun to come into the stadium,” she said. “You get the chills and the cheering and seeing yourself on the screen, it’s so great.”