About cycling & running in St. JosephSt. Joseph Training Notes
Running: Locals keep running close to the parks, the river, and the old neighborhoods. Civic Center Park anchors marathon day, and the St. Joseph Marathon starts and ends behind it with 5K, 10K, half, and full options. Pony Express Museum gives the Pony Express 5k a familiar start and finish. Bode Ice Arena hosts the Hat Trick Trot 5K. The course runs 5 km of singletrack and climbs 42 m and drops 27 m. ” note still feels right on interval days.
Cycling: Horizon Cycling sits at the center of the riding scene, and the shop has been around since 2012. St. Joseph Bicycle Club gives riders a local resource, and St Joseph Trail Alliance keeps showing up on the dirt. Locals ride gravel on the 20 Miler, Southern Buchanan County 100k, Easton Road Ride, Kansas Bluff Route, and Horizon Gravel Gran Fondo 100K. RIGA-P03 runs from St Joseph to Marysville on 124 miles of paved, bidirectional road, and it gains 2,807 m before losing 2,808 m. The south connects riders toward the Rock Island Trail and Katy Trail.
Season: Autumn keeps the best training window honest, because Missouri weather can turn unpredictable. Summer is when people build base miles and do a scavenger hunt ride in late summer or early fall. Corby Pond keeps the mountain bike group meeting nearly every Tuesday evening throughout the year. December brings the Christmas Light Ride, so bikes do not fully disappear when winter hits. Horizon Cycling opens the doors for a February maintenance open house, and locals use that stretch for repairs, Z2 rides, treadmill miles, and short trail checks when the dirt allows it.
