PORT ANGELES — There is still space available for entrants in the second annual Spruce Railroad 5K and 10K, the fourth race of the year in the Run the Peninsula series.
The race takes place from the Spruce Railroad Trailhead through the McFee Tunnel and then back to the trailhead.
The title sponsor of the race is the Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette and the presenting sponsor is Olympic Medical Center. The event is put on by the Port Angeles Marathon Association, the same group that manages the North Olympic Discovery Marathon in June in Port Angeles.
The race will begin at 9:30 a.m. About 400 people are expected to participate. People still wishing to sign up can do so online at www.runthepeninsula.com. Registration closes at 9 a.m. Saturday. The cost is $40 to participate in Saturday’s race and $35 to run a virtual race.
There is no parking at the Spruce Railroad Trailhead from 6:30 a.m. to noon Saturday because space is very limited.
Participants can be dropped off at the east side of the Lyre River Bridge on East Beach Road and make a short walk to the starting line.
Shuttles also will be provided to all participants and spectators who park in Joyce. Shuttles will start running over the Piedmont-Joyce Road at 7:30 a.m. and will run throughout the event. The buses will depart approximately every 15 minutes. People are urged to give themselves plenty of time to get into the race and pick up their packets.
People participating in the race can be dropped off up the road. People planning to ride a bicycle on the trail Saturday are urged to wait until the afternoon after the race has wrapped up.
The first Spruce Railroad Trail run in 2024 was special because a big windstorm came through the area the night before, covering the trail in a carpet of leaves and fall colors. The forecast this year calls for a slight chance of rain and partly sunny Saturday.
Proceeds from this event go to the Peninsula Trails Coalition to help build and maintain the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Run the Peninsula is a five-race series that also includes the Elwha River Bridge Run in February, the Sequim Railroad Bridge run in April, the NODM Marathon in June, the Spruce Railroad Run and the popular Jamestown S’Klallam Glow Run in the early evening in December.
Competitors in the first Spruce Railroad Trail 5K/10K in 2024 run down a leaf-covered path along Lake Crescent. (Matt Sagen/Cascadia Films)
