A Guide to Front Range Trail Running Groups

If you’re interested in getting into trail running but the idea of choosing routes or traipsing through the woods alone is intimidating, don’t worry: The Trail Run Project, an international, crowdsourced guide, lists dozens of off-road Colorado clubs on its website (and that directory is far from complete). To get you started, we polled four Front Range groups to help you decide if one of them could be your trail tribe.

Trailtinos

Basics: Founded in June 2020, Trailtinos meets every other Sunday around 8:30 a.m. for group runs; times and locations can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
Purpose: “This is a very white sport,” co-founder Victor Fallon says. “We wanted to create some diversity, so we started a simple group run for people of color.”
Size: Five to 15 people
Who should come: BIPOC runners of all abilities. “Right now, we’re keeping it to people of color,” Fallon says. “But eventually we want to open it to everyone.”
Off off-road activities: The group often meets at a Hispanic-owned restaurant, such as Cultura Chocolate in Westwood, goes for a run, then heads back to the eatery for breakfast or coffee.

Front Range Cross Country (FRXC)

Basics: FRXC, born in 2015, meets for group runs every Wednesday around 6 p.m.; times and locations are posted on Facebook.
Purpose: “The original founders started the club because they were intimidated by the more serious groups in the area,” member Nick Leuck says.
Size of the group: 20 to 50 people
Who should come: “People new to the sport,” Leuck says. “You can run at your own pace, and we stop at all trail intersections so the last person can catch up.”
Off off-road activities: FRXC always meets at a brewery—often New Terrain Brewing near North Table Mountain in Golden—after its outings.

Denver Trail Runners (DTR)

Basics: Established in 2000, DTR meets every Thursday night at 6:15 p.m. and every Sunday around 7 a.m. during the summer and 8 a.m. during the winter. Locations are posted on Facebook.
Purpose: “To run and make friends on the trail,” says Rebecca Hall, one of the group’s Facebook moderators.
Size of the group: 20 to 30 people
Who should come: “Anyone who wants to run on trails,” Hall says. “It’s a great way to learn trails on the Front Range. That being said, we have quick people, too.”
Off off-road activities: Once a month, DTR hosts a potluck dinner after a Thursday night run; the group also organizes trail crew volunteer outings.

Trail Sisters

Basics: Buena Vista–based Gina Lucrezi’s online journal, founded in 2016, has spawned 130-plus trail running groups nationwide. Visit communities.trailsisters.net to join your local chapter (Boulder, Golden, Fort Collins, etc.) and access its schedule.
Purpose: “Our mission is to grow women’s participation in hiking and running through education,” says Lucrezi, whose site also hosts more than 700 crowdsourced articles on topics such as backcountry safety, nutrition, and training while pregnant.
Size of the groups: From five to more than 20
Who should come: Anyone who identifies as a woman. “We’re reserving a place where women can work on educating, empowering, and growing confidence with each other,” Lucrezi says.
Off off-road activities: Local groups often form book clubs and volunteer at race aid stations.