Squak Mountain Trail Run 50K Half Marathon & 12K

For all three races, runners follow out-and-back routes that start and finish at the aid station near the radio facility inside the Squak Mountain State Park Natural Area, which lies just south of Issaquah on Southeast May Valley Road. At more than 2,000 feet above sea level, the mountain offers quite a challenge for runners in any of the three race distances, all of which take runners on loop routes that wind both down and back up the mountain before bringing them in to the finish back at the aid station. Along the way, runners will get to see a little piece of the history of the Seattle and northwest Washington area, as the land for the park was donated back in 1972 by the Bullitt family, a prominent Seattle family who are locally famous for founding King Broadcasting and Pacific Northwest magazine. The land that now makes up the park was once the family’s summer home, and the fireplace from the home is all that remains — and today it’s a popular hiking destination for park visitors. As this is a mountain trail race, runners will definitely want to be ready for the challenges of the up-and-down terrain — the half marathon features an overall elevation gain of 4,100 feet.