About 2,400 girls from 132 schools across Colorado are set to lace up for the Girls on the Run Denver Metro 5K at Empower Field at Mile High, a race organizers describe as the culmination of a season of programming for third- through eighth-graders. Roughly 515 coaches and volunteers are expected to help pull off the event, and Lisa Hidalgo is slated to emcee.
The event date carries a notable wrinkle. According to Denver7, the race is set for Nov. 15, 2026, which the station describes as “this Saturday.” A listing on RunSignup for the same event lists the date as Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026 — a discrepancy that has not been independently resolved. Either way, families planning to attend or cheer on a runner should double-check the exact day with event organizers before heading to the stadium.
A Season-Ending Milestone for Middle Schoolers
The 5K marks the finish line for the organization's third- through eighth-grade programming cycle, giving participants a tangible goal after weeks of training. Girls on the Run of the Rockies is a nonprofit founded in 2005, and the group says it has served more than 74,000 girls since then. Denver7 disclosed it is a sponsor of this year's race.
The nonprofit frames its mission as going well beyond the run itself. The organization says its programming builds lasting practical life skills, strengthens how girls see themselves, and teaches them to build supportive relationships — goals that organizers tie directly to the stakes of the race-day gathering at Empower Field.
Last Year's Race Drew a Similarly Large Crowd
This isn't the first time thousands of young runners have taken over the Broncos' home turf for the cause. The 2025 edition of the race was held on Sunday, Nov. 9, with more than 2,500 girls expected at the starting line, Denver7 reported in coverage of that event. That earlier Denver7 article also described the organization's broader footprint, saying it had grown to serve more than 60,000 girls at 300 schools, community centers and parks across the Front Range, built around a 10-week curriculum for girls in third through eighth grade that blends running with lessons on confidence, compassion and community.
The push behind these races reflects a concern the organization has voiced more broadly: per Girls on the Run, girls' physical activity levels and mental health are declining nationally, a trend the nonprofit says its programming is designed to counter. Separately, a philanthropy.org financial filing snippet indicates Girls on the Run of the Rockies served 4,981 girls at 281 program sites during 2024, though that figure comes from a lower-confidence source and has not been verified against the underlying organizational records.
Denver7 disclosed that its article was paid for through an in-kind partnership and that the story was reported by a journalist before being converted to the platform with the assistance of AI. The station also said its editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
