Happy birthday, Colorado — and Colorado sports.

Leading into the state’s 150th birthday Aug. 1, The Denver Gazette has partnered with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to publicize the definitive list of Colorado’s top 150 sports moments.

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian Dave Plati and a committee of 10 compiled and will release the list every week until the No. 1 moment on July 31. Plati and Broncos icon Jim Saccomano will unveil the list weekly on a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame podcast at coloradosports.org/podcast/.

No. 81 — May 28, 1979

The first BOLDERBoulder was held, starting and ending on the streets of Boulder. The co-creation of Bank of Boulder president Steve Bosley and Olympic medalist Frank Shorter, the inaugural race had 2,200 finishers. In 1981, in cooperation with the University of Colorado, the race’s finish was moved to Folsom Field, with Shorter the winner, and in the years since, the race has annually drawn anywhere from 40,000-50,000 runners (over 1.5 million finishers through 2025); the event is the third-largest 10K race in the nation and ends with the country’s largest Memorial Day celebration.

— Dave Plati, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian