About cycling & running in OlympiaOlympia Training Notes
Running: Locals run Olympia with a small-scene feel, and the best easy run is still the Ancient Olympia ruins when November keeps things low season. The route covers 53 miles and gains 732 feet, so it works as a steady aerobic loop, not just a look-around jog. Olympia Workouts meets at Olympia High School Track for Sprint Drills and Conditioning, Sprint Conditioning & Sprint Repeats, and a quality training session. Girl's Nite Running meets Mondays at Marathon Park, and Club Oly uses South Sound Running and Marathon Park. Guerilla Running Weekly Runs, Run Like a GRRRL, Oly Trail Runners, and South Sound Running Run Group keep the weekly options full. The anchor race list starts with 5th Olympic Day Run Ancient Olympia, 2nd Olympia Night Run – Run Under Zeus, and Ημιμαραθώνιος Ολυμπίας.
Cycling: Locals ride gravel here, and the tone is more base miles and gran fondo prep than crit chaos. The Chehalis Western Trail gives easier gravel rides, and Capitol Forest with Delphi Road gives the tougher gravel adventure when the legs want climbing. The XL Summit Loop covers 2 km and climbs 1,976 m. XL Summit Loop, Mima Mounds Gravel Loop, and Lake Nahwatzel to Lake Cushman via High Steel Bridge are where the climbing days stack up. The brief names no dedicated cycling club, so riders key off group gravel routes like OMBRC Beginner Gravel and Kennedy Creek Group Gravel Ride. The anchor event note is whynot Legacy Katakolo 2026 - Adults Aquathlon.
Season: November gives Olympia its cleanest running window, because the ruins are quiet and the low-season loop feels easy to own. Summer runners get Oly Summer X-C Training every weekday at 9:00 AM from June to August at Olympia High School track. Cyclists keep the same gravel menu in summer, with Chehalis Western Trail for Z2 and Capitol Forest or Delphi Road when intervals need bite. Winter shifts runners toward Polar Bear Athletics Company training from November through February. Winter keeps cyclists honest on gravel roads, because smooth and secluded roads can still mean real elevation when the route points at Mima Mounds, Capitol Forest, or the Skokomish River Trail.
