Steamboat Springs — The dusting of leaves all over town must mean the summer running season has reached its end. With the winter months bearing down, the Steamboat Springs Running Series will hold its final points race of the season Saturday with the Emerald Mountain Trail Run.

The 12K race (officially 7.75 miles) takes runners up and down Emerald Mountain, starting at the base of Howelsen Hill. The course features 1,500 feet of elevation gain, most coming in the early portions of the race.

For those not wanting to tackle the full extremes of Emerald Mountain, there is an optional 12K hike, 5K trail run, and one-mile kids’ fun run.

Pre-registration ended Thursday, but there will be day-of-registration from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. near the start of the race Saturday. The untimed walk/hike begins at 8 a.m., with the 12K and 5K runs starting at 9 a.m. The kids’ fun run will start at 9:10 a.m.

For those already registered, there will be a chance to pick up bibs Friday night at Twisted Trails in downtown Steamboat from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. You can also late-register at that time.

The post-race awards ceremony is scheduled to start no later than 10:30 a.m. at the base of Emerald Mountain. Since it’s the final race of the summer series, the overall series champions will be recognized following the event.

Steamboat resident Penelope Freedman has a chokehold on the overall series title with 154 points. The top male is fellow Steamboat resident Watkins Fulk-Gray, who is second overall with 110 points. Overall awards will also be given to each age group winner.

Fulk-Gray won the 2014 Emerald Mountain Trail Run with a time of 53 minutes, 45 seconds. Steamboat’s Heather Gollnick was the top female last year in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 23 seconds.

The race is organized by the Emerald Mountain School, with proceeds benefitting scholarship programs for the school.

For more information, visit runningseries.com.

To reach Austin Colbert, call 970-871-4204, email acolbert@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @Austin_Colbert