MANITOU SPRINGS — The coffin racing phenomenon that draws thousands to Manitou Springs year after year is celebrating its 30th running with ghosts, ghouls, and goblins continuing to make this spectacle truly 'spook'tacular.
The Halloween-centric sprint involves teams of five first constructing mobile caskets (well in advance) before running head-to-head down Manitou Avenue while pushing their now occupied coffins (occupied with a living teammate) 585 feet towards the finish line.
It might simply be the most unique, autumnal affair to be held on the Front Range.
The otherworldly occasion has its roots in the unfortunate tale of Emma Crawford, who lived and died in Manitou Springs during the late 1800s.
Emma Crawford came to Manitou Springs in 1889, searching for a cure for her tuberculosis in the area’s famed cold-water mineral springs. She fell in love with the charming mountain town, and her dying wish was to be buried on top of Red Mountain. Unfortunately, Emma succumbed to her illness in 1891. Her lover, a civil engineer on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, named William Hildebrand, honored her wishes. With the help of eleven other townspeople, William carried Emma’s coffin up the 7,200-foot slope and buried her near the summit of Red Mountain. In 1929, after years of harsh winters and spring rains, Emma and her coffin came racing down the mountainside. The young children who happened upon her remains found only the casket handles, a nameplate, and a few bones.
If you're looking for even more sights and sounds from this infamous event, follow the links below for our previous years of coverage:
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