Pull out that old saxophone or snare drum, grab those game-day pompoms tucked away in the closet, dress up in your favorite cheering apparel and head out to East Colfax Avenue in Aurora by 6 a.m. May 20 to cheer on the Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon runners.

The marathon is an ideal opportunity for early risers to get out of the house, night owls to stay up a little longer and local businesses to promote what they do with cheering employees clad in company T-shirts.

Come out to Java Fest at Fletcher Plaza, just west of The Aurora Fox, or any of three other official Motivation Stations set up along the Aurora stretch of Colfax Avenue that morning. Visit www.coloradocolfaxmarathon.org and click on The Course, then Course Entertainment, for details on the Motivation Stations.

The marathon participants will depart from the Aurora Sports Park beginning at 5:55 a.m. with the wheelchair participants, with the slowest runners completing the eight-mile stretch of Colfax Avenue in Aurora by about 8 a.m. While the sports park cannot accommodate spectators that morning, citizens are encouraged to go to Java Fest or one of the other three Aurora Motivation Stations to cheer on the participants.

For groggy "cheerleaders" who need a bit of caffeine and live music to get the blood flowing, Aurora's Java Fest will provide the perfect vantage point beginning at 6 a.m. at Fletcher Plaza, 9898 E. Colfax Ave., with the funky sounds of Denver band Bop Skizzum and plenty of free coffee.

Following the end of Bop Skizzum's set at 7:45 a.m., the fourth annual festival will continue until 1 p.m. with more live music from Denver musicians Wendy Woo, déjà vu and Xiren, and belly dancer Aphrodite. Other activities will include an Ethiopian coffee ceremony at 10 a.m., a market, handwriting analysis, chair massage, Bocce ball, croquet, life-size chess and more. Admission, activities and samplings are free.

For more information on Java Fest, call 303-326-8FUN or visit auroragov.org/java. For more information on the Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon, visit www.coloradocolfaxmarathon.org.