My family is planning a trip to Seattle to visit family and I found the Cougar Mountain Trail series will be having an event that weekend. Does anyone know anything about these races? Elevation? Course makeup? Types of trails? My wife is also a fairly new trail runner and her first question was wether or not there will be "SWAG" for runners. I told her I really didn't care, but she wanted to know. Any help would be appreciated.
Endless trails
I think that area is EatDrinkRunWoman and John M.'s neck of the woods, they might know
more.
Uh oh... now what?
Betsy or Matt would be better suited to answer...
The series itself (has a video of the trail):
http://www.nwtrailruns.com/content/scott-cougar-mountain-trail-run-series-1
Another blurb:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2013/April/04-30-Cougar-trail-runs.aspx
and The Seattle Running Club
http://www.seattlerunningclub.org/Events/Cougar/cougarmtn1.html
As for elevation -- it isn't high enough to be concerned.
As for elevation change -- sort of depends on the weekend you are interested in--see the maps for the day/dates you will be there.
Sorry for not being more help. We don't go towards the city very often.
rgot
Thanks for that. We were kind of looking at the 10 mile option. I would be fine doing the 20 but she isn't there yet.
If we don't end up doing that race what would be another park/trail that we should go to?
Betsy or Matt would be better suited to answer... The series itself (has a video of the trail): http://www.nwtrailruns.com/content/scott-cougar-mountain-trail-run-series-1 Another blurb: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2013/April/04-30-Cougar-trail-runs.aspx and The Seattle Running Club http://www.seattlerunningclub.org/Events/Cougar/cougarmtn1.html As for elevation -- it isn't high enough to be concerned. As for elevation change -- sort of depends on the weekend you are interested in--see the maps for the day/dates you will be there. Sorry for not being more help. We don't go towards the city very often.
Thanks for that. We were kind of looking at the 10 mile option. I would be fine doing the 20 but she isn't there yet. If we don't end up doing that race what would be another park/trail that we should go to?
Send me a PM with more about dates, travel times, ..
LOVE those trails, but they catch people off-guard if they're not used to trail running. Pretty much all twisty-turny single track, with not a lot of flat. That said, they climbs aren't particularly steep/challenging. No swag, but they're typically well supported with aid stations (although again, those new to trail running may be caught off guard since the stations aren't every 1-2 miles!).
Other trails to consider:
Redmond Watershed, http://www.redmond.gov/cms/one.aspx?pageId=4175
Bridle Trails, http://www.bridletrails.org/
Discovery Park, http://www.seattle.gov/parks/environment/discovery.htm
Carkeep Park, http://www.seattle.gov/parks/environment/carkeek.htm
Awesome!!! Thanks so much EDRW. My wife is "inexperienced" on the trails so we might just go for a run and "experience" the upper Northwest for a day.
The trails at Bridle Trails and Redmond Watershed are definitely more newbie friendly. They're wider, more well groomed and less steep. When will you be coming?
We will be there July 9-16. My sister in law lives there and wanted to take our 5 & 7 year old girls for a "spa" day or something like that and wanted to give us a day where we could explore. My wife is really getting into running and wants to try the trails (I may have finally converted her) and what better place. We are coming from Iowa where the nicest trail in the area is not in the state
If you're staying in Seattle you should definitely check out Discovery Park. The loop trail is just under 3 miles and is also very smooth and wide. Plus you get a fantastic view of the water and the Olympic mountain range when you run along the bluff.