About cycling & running in St. John's
St. John’s Training Notes
Running: St. John’s runners get a city that makes base miles feel coastal fast. Bowring Park gives you a clean 4k loop when you want steady Z2. Quidi Vidi Lake, Long Pond, Octagon Pond, and Neil’s Pond keep the weekday routes simple. Signal Hill and the East Coast Trail bring the rugged stuff. The East Coast Trail takes runners to the easternmost point in North America. The route runs 14 km and gains 186 m. Locals build the club feel around shared routes and race days. Mummers Run 2026, Outpost 8k, ECT 15, and ECT 50 Ultra Marathon give the calendar its anchor event energy.
Cycling: St. John’s riders have 67 routes to mess with, from short spins to monster days. St. One route runs 9 km and climbs 4,806 m, so nobody calls it coffee ride material. Another route is 1 km with 318 m of ascent for cleaner intervals. One more route is 9 km and stacks 1,556 m of ascent. Virginia River trail is a local favourite, and that stretch is borderline XC mountain bike trails but still doable on a gravel bike. Petty Harbour from Kilbride, Biscayn Cove from Pouch Cove, and Signal Hill are where the legs get tested. Saint John Cycling and Ordinary Spokes keep the cycling scene connected.
Season: June and August are the sweet months, and most people cycle then. Summer runners use Bowring Park, Quidi Vidi Lake, Long Pond, and the East Coast Trail when the footing and daylight cooperate. Summer riders push gravel on Virginia River trail, Kelly’s Brook trail, and the T’Railway, then add Petty Harbour or Signal Hill when they want climbing. St. St. John's winter changes the game with rugged terrain, wind, and long stretches of cold. Patrick Foran still rides year-round, and Patrick Foran uses side streets, trails, and roads for the daily commute. Locals keep winter running and cycling more practical, more layered, and more route-aware.
