RacesColorado Rockies
Run Rabbit Run 100
Demand
4 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
3 out of 5
Worth the flight + fee
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, United States
Scorecard · is it worth it?
Worth the flight if the mountains match what you want.
The card
Run Rabbit Run is a real 100 miler in a real mountain town, and that is not the same as being the Colorado 100 you should spend the flight on. Steamboat Springs is easy: airport, lodging, a ski-area alpine that photographs well. The course has on the order of 21,000 feet of gain and high points around 10,600 feet. Demand is 4 because 100 miles at that elevation with that climbing is still a night and a day. It is not 5 because the technicality is ski-area and trail, not mining-country off-trail, and because the weather problem is ordinary high-country September, not Hardrock lightning and snow.
Worth is 3 on purpose. Destination, not skip: if you live nearby or you specifically want Steamboat, go. If you are choosing one Colorado flight, High Lonesome, Ouray, Never Summer, and San Juan Solstice are the better mountain weekends. Rabbit's prize-money years and resort wrapper made it famous in a way that outran the course. We are not calling it a jeep-road 100. We are calling it a 3 on worth because the mountains in this state get better when you leave the ski town.
Date and fee are not listed here. Organization confidence is medium. If the rabbit costume is the point, be honest. If the Park Range is the point, this still clears destination. If the San Juans are the point, you are reading the wrong card.
Steamboat will sell you lodging, an airport, and a mountain that looks like a brochure. The climbing is real. The altitude is real. The comparison class is High Lonesome and Ouray, not a Midwestern 100. Against that class, worth is a 3. We left it in destination rather than skip because the Park Range is still mountains, and because a skip on this list is reserved for jeep-road fame and towpath history. Rabbit is neither. It is a competent Colorado 100 that people overrate because it is easy to travel to. Date and fee stay on runrabbitrunsteamboat.com.
Who it is for
Runners who want a Colorado 100 with resort-town logistics and real vert, and who cannot get into High Lonesome or Hardrock.
Who should skip
Anyone using a Steamboat 100 as a substitute for the San Juans. If you can fly to Colorado, aim higher.
Weekend
Official handbook facts
- Start
- 13:00
- Poles
- Allowed
2025 RRR Runner's Manual, Friday Sep 12 Hare 1:00 pm · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Field
Last editions · 100M scored distance
Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.
2025
- Starters
- 109
- Finishers
- 55
- DNF
- 50%
- Win
- 17:42:56
- Median
- 24:37:41
2024
- Starters
- 92
- Finishers
- 52
- DNF
- 43%
- Win
- 17:24:42
- Median
- 25:07:40
2023
- Starters
- 93
- Finishers
- 51
- DNF
- 45%
- Win
- 17:22:34
- Median
- 24:12:59
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Climate
Typical September at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 74°F (23°C)
- Typical low
- 46°F (8°C)
- Typical precip
- 0.90 in (23 mm) / September
- Days with rain
- 16% of days
- High point
- 10,600 ft (3,231 m)
BewareHigh point 10,600 ft (3,231 m). the air is part of the weather.
2015–2024 September means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Map
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence medium
A full 100 miler in the Park Range. The distance is real; the mountain identity is mixed.
On the order of 21,000 ft of gain. Enough climbing to be a mountain 100.
Steamboat trail and ski-area terrain: steep, not San Juan off-trail.
September high country: cold nights, possible snow, not a monsoon siege.
High points around 10,600 ft. Air matters; it is not Hardrock's average.
Steamboat is a resort town. Easy compared with Silverton, which is also the critique.
Known, prize-money history, not an icon start list.
Long-running Steamboat event. Confidence is medium; it is not WSER.
A Colorado 100 you can often enter. Worth is dinged because better mountains exist nearby.
Park Range and ski-area alpine. Pretty. Not the San Juans.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 4 out of 5 | A full 100 miler in the Park Range. The distance is real; the mountain identity is mixed. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 4 out of 5 | On the order of 21,000 ft of gain. Enough climbing to be a mountain 100. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 3 out of 5 | Steamboat trail and ski-area terrain: steep, not San Juan off-trail. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 3 out of 5 | September high country: cold nights, possible snow, not a monsoon siege. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 4 out of 5 | High points around 10,600 ft. Air matters; it is not Hardrock's average. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 3 out of 5 | Steamboat is a resort town. Easy compared with Silverton, which is also the critique. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 3 out of 5 | Known, prize-money history, not an icon start list. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 3 out of 5 | Long-running Steamboat event. Confidence is medium; it is not WSER. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 3 out of 5 | A Colorado 100 you can often enter. Worth is dinged because better mountains exist nearby. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 4 out of 5 | Park Range and ski-area alpine. Pretty. Not the San Juans. |