The Alley Loop is not your typical Nordic marathon. It is a premier American Birkebeiner qualifier and Crested Butte’s most outrageous costume party of the year, and it does both at once. The course winds through the snowy streets, alleyways, and narrow bridges of downtown, cheered on by revelers and occasionally waylaid on a bridge, then opens onto the groomed tracks and big views of the Crested Butte Nordic trail network. If you like normal, this is not your race.
Saturday, January 30, 2027. Distances from a 1.5K kids’ race to the full 42K marathon, with 21K, 10K, and 5K options in between. The 42K classic goes off at 9 AM. Awards and the costume contest results on Elk Avenue at 2:30 PM; the finish line closes at 3 PM.
Registration and bib pickup: Center for the Arts, Friday, January 29, 4 to 7 PM. Online registration is open through Friday at 5 PM on RunSignup, with day-of registration available. Wax service drop-off at the Nordic Center before 8 AM Saturday. Full details in the Alley Loop racer manual on the Nordic site, or email events@cbnordic.org.
Family FriendlyOutdoor EventFree Parking
What to bring: A costume, warm layers for the start corral, and the bib you picked up Friday.
Schedule
Fri 4:00 PM
Bib pickup and registration
Center for the Arts
Friday, January 29, 4 to 7 PM.
7:00 AM
Late bib pickup and day-of registration
CB Nordic Outpost
Open until 11:30 AM.
9:00 AM
42K, 21K and 10K starts
Elk Avenue
Staggered starts through 10:30 AM.
1:00 PM
5K start
Elk Avenue
Afternoon
Youth 1.5K and 3K races
Elk Avenue
Follows the 5K.
2:30 PM
Awards and costume contest winners
Elk Avenue
3:00 PM
Finish line closes
Elk Avenue
Elk Avenue and the alleys get cleaned up starting at 3. Racers are asked to pitch in.
Sun 9:00 AM
Son of an Alley Loop Skiathlon
CB Nordic Center
Pinnacle Orthopedics Community Race Series. 42K and 21K classic and skate, 10K, 5K and youth races through the afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Distances run from 42K down to 1.5K youth races, and a good share of the field is there for the costume contest. Judges document costumes on course and winners are announced at 2:30 PM with the awards.
It starts on Elk Avenue, winds through the alleys and over the narrow bridges of downtown Crested Butte, then heads out onto the CB Nordic trail network before returning to Elk Avenue to finish.
Yes, through the CB Nordic Center. Pick up rentals the evening before your race (4:30 to 8 PM, note it on your reservation) or on race morning, and return them by 5 PM on race day.
Yes. Rex Wax provides a non-fluoro race wax for $65. Drop skis at the CB Nordic Center front desk the day before and pick them up at the Nordic Outpost on race morning. Kick wax is not applied to classic skis.
Register online through SkiSignUp. Distance transfers happen through your SkiSignUp profile by January 30, with no day-of transfers. Day-of registration is available at the Outpost on Saturday morning.
The 42K skate purse is $800, $500 and $200 for the top three men and women, and 42K classic pays $500, $250 and $100. Sub-3-hour marathon finishers earn an achievement bell, and age class winners take home a commemorative pint glass.
Elk Avenue is the start, the finish and the best people-watching, with the alleys and bridges a close second. Get there before the 9 AM wave for a spot along the rail.
