Lake Padden Relay

The Lake Padden Relays or solo run is a wonderful way to get active with your friends and family!  You may run this race solo, four times around the 2.59 mile course, or you may have a team of up to four people.  You can change your team members day of race if needed.

If you’re a solo runner looking for a teammate or two, try posting on the Greater Bellingham Running Club Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/954860861214071/ to find potential team mates.

Registration
Online registration will open June 6, 2025 and closes August 22, 2025 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.  There is day of registration, but it is highly recommended that you register ahead of time as total participant numbers are limited by City permits.  Pacific Multisports is providing chip timing and registration services.

Team Categories
There are five Team categories: Family (all team members related), Female, Male, Nonbinary, and Mixed. See below for more information about team logistics. There is also a Solo category for folks running all four laps.

Several teams from the WWU Cross Country team have raced the past few years. If they compete again this year (and we certainly hope they will!), they will be placed in a Collegiate team category.

Fit School Lake Padden Relay Training Program
Click on the following link and follow Fit School’s training program for the Lake Padden Relay:
CLICK HERE

Itinerary – Day of Race
8:30-9:40am: Day of race registration will be available if spots are still available. All runners will need to be present when picking up their bibs and they will be required to sign a waiver before the start of the race.
9:45-9:50am: Pre-race briefing – this will have important information about the course including the transition areas, make sure to listen closely.
10:00am: Race Starts!

Registration Costs:

GBRC members:
Solo: Free!
Team: Free! (ALL members of the team must be GBRC members)

Non-GBRC members:
Solo run: $15
Team: $30

Please note: if anyone on the team is not a GBRC member, they must register as a non-GBRC member.

Registering Day of Race Costs – Prices Increase!

(Day of Race) GBRC members:
Solo: Free!
Team: Free! (ALL members of the team must be GBRC members)

(Day of Race) Non-GBRC members:
Solo run: $20
Team: $40

Please note: There are no entry refunds, exchanges, transfers, or rollovers.

An email will be sent out to all participants and team managers with race day information Friday August 23rd. You can email Deb Donovan (deb.donovan@gbrc.net) for a copy of the email.

The race may need to be cancelled in the event that running would be hazardous to runners’ health. For example, this could be due to smoke levels, heat advisories, or extremely windy conditions. The race directors will carefully monitor conditions in the days before the race and will communicate with runners as necessary. No one wants to cancel a race, but runner safety is our priority!

The course consists of four 2.59 mile laps counter clockwise around the lake on grass and trails, starting by the picnic shelter (east entrance). The course is mainly flat and over half wooded, with one brief steep upgrade and three rolling hills all in the woods on the southwest side of the lake. You can find more info on Lake Padden Park here. The course for this event follows the Primary Trail loop (minus Padden Gorge) as detailed on this map [PDF].

Lake Padden Park is approximately three miles southeast of Bellingham. Take I-5 exit 246 for the northbound traffic or 252 for the southbound arrivals.

Team Name: As long as we can print it you can use it. Be inventive!

2-3 Person Teams: Any team who wants to compete with two or three members are welcome to split the four loops among the team members. All teams will be placed in the same division as the four person teams.

Attire: Dress up! Be creative! Please be aware this is a family friendly event but we encourage participants to have fun while the run!

Team Categories: There is a Solo category as well as five Team categories: Family (all team members related), Female, Male, Nonbinary, and Mixed. We recognize that many families are wonderfully complex and the spirit of the Family category is for multigenerational folks who live or have lived together to be able to compete together.

Age Group Category: Your category will be determined by the average age of group members. For example:

• If you are on a four person team and your ages are 35, 40, 30, 46, your average age would be 151 divided by 4 = 37.75. This team would be in the 30-39 age group.
• If you are on a three person team and your ages are 20, 56, 60, your average age would be 136 divided by 3 = 45.33. This team would be in the 40-49 age group.
• If you are on a four person family team and your ages are 10, 12, 39, 41, your average age would be 102 divided by 4 = 25.5. This team would be in the 20-29 age group.

Awards: Ribbons are awarded three places deep in each team/age category.

You can contact the race team at lakepaddenrelay@gbrc.net or individual coordinators at:

• Deb Donovan, GBRC Permit Manager and Race Director – deb.donovan@gbrc.net
• Larry Kwiatkowski, GBRC Vice President and Race Director – larry.kwiatkowski@gbrc.net

Would you like to volunteer?

• Megan Moerke, GBRC Volunteer Coordinator – megan.moerke@gbrc.net