Cycling & running events in Blacksburg, 2026

Blacksburg NRV Training Ground

Running: Locals run the Huckleberry Trail when they want an easy connector between Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and the path gives about 7 miles for steady Z2. Christiansburg Run Club keeps the week moving from 407 Roanoke Street, the Montgomery County Court House, RunAbout Sports, and Radford University Track. Blacksburg Striders put Saturday trail miles at Pandapas Pond. The trail gives you 10 km with 42 m of gain. Hokie Half Marathon and 5K, Downtown Sundown 5K, and the Draper Mile are the anchor race names locals know.

Cycling: New River Valley Bicycle Association riders have the good stuff: secondary roads, public forestland, gravel, singletrack, and enough climbing to make base miles honest. Locals roll the Huckleberry Trail for an easy spin, take SAYG into Merrimac for recovery, and use Harding-Cedar, Dry Run, Norris Run, and Tabor-Sandy-Blacksburg when the legs need work. Harding-Cedar runs 7 miles and gains 2000+ ft, while the Butt Mountain / Salt Pond Mountain Gravel Loop stays between 3,000 ft and 4,200 ft. The route starts 4 km from Blacksburg and gains 2,497 m.

Season: The local notes do not pin down best months, so locals read the season by events, daylight, and route choice. Summer puts the 44th Annual Draper Mile entirely on Draper Road with Steppin' Out Festival, and runners keep using morning runs, pub runs, track, and Pandapas trail time. Cyclists use warm days for gran fondo-length road miles, gravel loops, and mountain routes toward Mountain Lake, Clover Hollow, Poor Mountain, and the Walker Mountains. Winter changes the game, and Sugar Run + Guinea Mtn becomes the move west of the New River for sunshine away from the arctic Blacksburg wind.