About cycling & running in WashingtonWashington Training Notes
Running: Locals run the Mall when they want easy miles with a view. The Mall loop is 7 miles by Lincoln, FDR, and MLK. Rock Creek Trail gives you about 10 paved miles when Z2 needs shade. Beach Drive closes about 4 miles to cars on weekends and holidays, so intervals feel cleaner there. The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail gives you 15+ miles with no stoplights. Potomac River Running Store, Georgetown Running Company, Nike Georgetown, and Pacers Running Company keep group runs moving. The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler is the big anchor event.
Cycling: Locals ride the Mount Vernon Trail when they want a simple paved 17-mile spin in Northern Virginia. Cascade Bicycle Club keeps the wider Washington scene busy with Free Group Rides 365 days a year across the Puget Sound region. US Bicycle Route 10 gives base-mile types over 400 miles from the Idaho border to Anacortes. Duthie Hill and Tiger Mountain are the singletrack calls when the dirt is wet enough to grip. US Bicycle Route 10 runs 89 miles with 2,300 feet of climbing. West Tiger 3 Loop is the hard cyclocross-brain workout.
Season: April puts runners on the Ellipse for Cherry Blossom season, and May through October is the best long outdoor block. Washington D.C. summers run hot and humid, so locals move runs early, keep Rock Creek Park in the rotation, and save exposed Mall work for shorter efforts. Seattle dirt usually gets good by mid-June to mid-July, and the driest days in Seattle land between July 15th and August 15th. Winters in Washington D.C. are generally snow-free, so running stays steady, while riders in the Northwest just get ready to ride wet.
