Description

St. Edward State Park is a gem of the Washington State Park system, due to the natural beauty of its natural forest areas and undeveloped waterfront along Lake Washington, its proximity to the Eastside and Seattle population centers, and its well-maintained amenities, including historic buildings, convenient parking, pleasant picnic areas, a phenomenal children's play structure, and many miles of wonderful trails for hiking, biking and running.

Run entry includes a tech T-shirt.

Course Options

There are two course options:

• Half Marathon (13.1 miles, 21.1 km), with 2150 feet of elevation gain*
• 10 km (actually 10.1 km, 6.3 miles), with 1060 feet of elevation gain*

Both courses make use of the same basic loop, which tours most of the park trails. The 10k course is one loop, and the Half Marathon is two loops.

The start is in the meadow just East of the parking area and the park offices. The route is mostly on the forest trails but also tours the grassy areas surrounding the historic seminary buildings to connect the forest trail loops. There is a nice mix of wider, straighter trails and narrower, winding trails. The course loop has two big hill climbs, but there are many flat or rolling sections, too.

* Distances were measured using a measuring wheel, and climb was measured using a detailed contour map. The distance is most likely within 1% of actual, and the climb within 10%.