Community Highlights: Meet Alexa Squillaro of Boulderthon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexa Squillaro.

Alexa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Boulderthon started as a personal project when founder, Phil Dumontet and I, moved to here to Boulder over 8 years ago. Boulder had all the makings for a great, signature Downtown Marathon series, but yet, it was missing. Together, we worked with city officials and went in front of our city council to get our event approved. It took almost three years from its inception to host the first Boulderthon race in 2021. We were excited to bring 1700 participants to our race that year, and in the past 5 years, we have grown to over 15,000 participants.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not always been a smooth road – in the first call we had with the city, we were told this would be an impossible effort. Boulder is a beautiful place with many events, and residents experience event fatigue over the summer season. In order to start Boulderthon, we had to purchase an existing race to ensure that this would not add an event to the calendar, but rather replace one. Starting was the hardest part! Each year, we work to be mindful of the impact that all events have on our community, and try our best to work in a way that serves our runners, volunteers, spectators, and the residents.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Boulderthon?
Boulderthon is a marathon series, taking place on the last Sunday of September in Boulder, CO. We provide a boutique marathon feel to over 15,000 participants by going above and beyond on the participant experience. We’re proud to be a 501(c)3 non-profit and provide Community Bibs to members of our community who otherwise would not have been able to run a local race. We’ve been members of the Boulder community for the past 8 years, and we work to include community spaces, like Tom Watson Park, into our service work. We are proud that Boulderthon means more than just a race or an event weekend – it is a community organization.

Registration for Boulderthon, taking place on September 27, 2026, is open now for the Full, Half, 10K, and 5K distances.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson learned is to never give up – things can feel impossible in the beginning and the middle, but that does not mean that it’s the end. It could be that a different approach is needed to reach the intended goal, as was in the case of starting Boulderthon, and with many of the obstacles we face as we grow.

Pricing:

• Marathon – $155.15
• Half Marathon – $138.03
• 10K – $58.85
• 5K- $31.03
• Pricing is subject to change as we get closer to the event.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://boulderthon.org
• Instagram: @boulderthon