Colfax Marathon has a new "scenic" route.

The 15th anniversary Colfax Marathon in May will have a radically different course for its half-marathon component that will be more scenic and exciting for runners and spectators.

It also will eliminate street closures east of City Park, something that surely will please residents of those neighborhoods.

The old half-marathon course ran east from City Park to Aurora on Montview Boulevard, requiring closures of that street and about a dozen blocks of Colorado Boulevard. The new course will head downtown from City Park while retaining the popular loop through the Denver Zoo. Only one other race in the U.S. runs through a zoo, organizers say.

The new route of the Colfax half marathon announced Tuesday takes runners west rather than east from City Park. (Provided by Colfax Marathon)

“That zoo mile, we would never touch that,” said race director Andrea Dowdy. “People love that.”

Eliminating the miles east of the park means the course will no longer take runners through Aurora Fire Station No. 1, which was another extremely popular feature of the old course, but it will incorporate Denver Fire Station No. 1 at Colfax and Speer instead. Dowdy promises firefighter fives as runners trot through the station, as was the case in Aurora.

Outside of the miles in City Park, the new route heads west on Colfax, followed by a short section on the Cherry Creek bike path. Heading into downtown from there via Lawrence Street, it returns to City Park via 17th Street and 17th Ave. The downtown miles will be shared by runners doing the marathon.

The marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay and Urban 10 Miler will take place May 17. A 5K will be held in City Park the day before.