Seward Solstice Run

12/16/2023

4.2mi & 10k

Saturday, December 16, 2023

9:30am Start

Seward Park, Seattle, WA

Situated on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Washington, Seward Park provides perhaps one of the greatest contrasts in Seattle: 100+ acres of old growth forest, just minutes from the city center. The run route follows a loop that is almost entirely in the forest, so there is ample opportunity to enjoy what the Friends of Seward Park fondly call “The Magnificent Forest,” with graceful Western Red Cedar and towering Douglas Fir, along with a lush tapestry of other native plants. You may even hear a Pileated Woodpecker pecking out a nest or rooting for a meal in an old tree trunk.

Join us for a 4.2-mile or 10k trail run at Seward Solstice, the fourth event in the Winter Trail Series.

Want to keep motivated all winter long? Use the series registration page to sign up for more than one Winter Trail Series event at once!

2023-24 WINTER TRAIL SERIES

NOV 4 – CARKEEK COOLER
5k & 10k, Carkeek Park, Seattle, WA

NOV 18 – RAVENNA REFRESHER
4k, 8k, 12k, Ravenna Park, Seattle, WA

DEC 2 – REDMOND REINDEER ROMP
5-mile & Half Marathon, Redmond Watershed Preserve, Redmond, WA

DEC 16 – SEWARD SOLSTICE
4.2-mile & 10k, Seward Park, Seattle, WA

DEC 31 – ABSOLUTION RUN
4-mile & 8-mile, St. Edward State Park, Kenmore, WA

JAN 20 – FROST EAGLE
5-mile & Half Marathon, Soaring Eagle Park, Sammamish, WA

FEB 3 – INTERLAKEN ICICLE DASH
5k & 10k, Interlaken Park, Seattle, WA

SERIES SWAG

Do you love earning swag?

Consistency pays off! Participate in 4 or more of the Winter Trail Series events in the 2023-2024 season listed above and you’ll earn a free Winter Trail Series dry bag!

SERIES COMPETITION

Are you competitive?

Your best 4 performances in the Winter Trail Series will rank you in the series standings!
If you want to do fewer events, that’s okay! Series events are open to everyone.
You may register for events individually, or use Series Registration to sign up for more than one event at once for your own convenience. Using Series Registration is not required to be part of the series competition.
If you complete any of the 2023-24 season Winter Trail Series events, you are automatically entered.
Points will be awarded separately to runners in the Female and Open categories. The top runner in each category earns 100 points. After receiving points for placement within the Female and Open categories, participants will then be divided into their age category for the series competition. (You may be the fastest in your category without scoring 100 points, if you are not the overall Female or Open winner).
The series rewards those with the most points, regardless of what distances they ran.
The 1st place runner in the Female category and 1st place runner in the Open category in each event score 100 points, 2nd place scores 95, 3rd scores 92, 4th scores 90, 5th 89 and so on. Places 64th and lower score 30 points. (Everyone is welcome to compete in the Open category.)
In the event of a tie, each runner’s highest point score is used for the tie-breaker. If two runners have identical highest point scores, then the next highest point scores are compared until the tie is broken.
The top series participants receive special recognition and free entry to a future trail run.
A runner must have at least three scores to be eligible for awards.
Awards will be presented in the following categories: Female, Open, Masters Female 40+, Masters Open 40+, Youth Female 12/under, Youth Open 12/under, Junior Female 13-19, Junior Open 13-19

Results & Photos
Registration
Youth Runner Discount
Schedule
Costume Contest
Course Description
Directions & Parking
Apparel
Safety, Etiquette & Dogs

Results & Photos

2023 Results & Photos by Agustin Sanchez

2022 Results & Photos by Agustin Sanchez

2021 Results & Photos by Somer Kreisman

2019 Results & Photos by Taryn Graham

2018 Results & Photos by Takao Suzuki

2017 Results & Photos by Takao Suzuki

2016 Results & Photos by Yukata Suzue

Registration

	Open (through 8/11)	Early (through 11/9)	Regular (through 12/14)	Day-of-Event
4.2-mile	26.00	30.00	36.00	45.00
10k	31.00	36.00	41.00	50.00

Use the dark green registration button on the right to register for multiple Winter Trail Series events at once. Register for two races to get a 5% discount on your entry fees, three races to get a 10% discount, and four or more races to get a 15% entry fee discount. The light green button on the left links to registration just for this race.

Online pre-registration closes Thursday, December 14 at 11:59pm.

Day-of-event registration is available by cash, card or check made payable to Northwest Trail Runs.

See the registration confirmation list to check your registration details or see who else is registered.

Youth Runner Discount

Runners in elementary, middle, or high school—and any runners under 20 years old—are eligible to receive a $10 discount on online pre-registration prices for all Northwest Trail Runs events. You don’t need to enter a code; the discount is applied automatically based upon your date of birth. Northwest Trail Runs is a founding member of USA Track & Field and American Trail Running Association’s Youth Trail Initiative.

Runners under 20 registering at the event may also receive $10 off day-of-event registration (if available).

PC: Agustin Sanchez

Schedule

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16
8:30am – Check-in and day-of-event registration opens
9:20am – Pre-start briefing
9:30am – Start
11:10am – Cutoff for runners to start their last lap
12:00pm – Course closes

PC: Agustin Sanchez

Costume Contest

One of our cherished traditions at Seward Solstice Run is the costume contest!

Strap on those antlers, tie on some jingle bells, and don your fake beards for a chance to win a free entry to a Northwest Trail Runs race of your choice. We’ll choose one runner from each distance as the winners.

Course Description

The loop route starts out on the wide and smooth main trail, which is flat-to-rolling before dipping downhill toward the tip of the peninsula. Just before the main trail emerges from the forest onto the waterfront promenade, the course takes a left turn onto the smaller trails that climb and traverse the Western side of the peninsula. A few-hundred-meter segment of this return stretch features a twisty-turny section, with several small fallen trees to leap over and some roots and other bumps to negotiate. This will give most runners a breather as they slow down a bit before the trails get wider and straighter again toward the end of the loop.

View a PDF of the course map here (Thanks to Cascade Orienteering Club for use of their detailed park map.)

Aid Station
There will be an aid station adjacent to the start/finish point, so 4.2-mile runners will pass it once during their run, and 10km runners will pass it twice.

Aid stations offer water, electrolyte drink, and some carbohydrate-rich or salty foods, such as cookies, pieces of energy bar, gels, chews, chips, bagel, fruity candy, fig bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and/or bananas.

Directions & Parking

The start/finish will be located close to the second parking lot. When entering the park, pass the first parking lot on your left (near the beach and pottery studio) and continue up the hill on Seward Park Rd. until you see a parking lot on the right.

Google Map

Apparel

NOTE: There will be no on-site shirt sales at this event. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.

You can add the 2023 Northwest Trail Runs apparel to your race registration and pick them up at the event, check them out at the event, or order them here and have them shipped.

You don’t see your preferred size? Email us!

$18.10 + tax – short sleeve tech shirts, in unisex, women’s cuts & youth

$22.70 + tax – long sleeve tech shirts, in unisex and women’s cut

$18.10 + tax – short sleeve cotton blend shirts, unisex; $27.20 + tax – cotton hoodie, unisex

Safety, Etiquette & Dogs

GENERAL SAFETY
The trails will be open to other users during the event, including pedestrians with pets, and cyclists. Participants are responsible for their own safety while participating, and the organizers are neither qualified nor equipped to render medical care in the event of a serious injury. In case of an emergency, call 9-1-1. You are encouraged to bring a cell phone with you as a safety precaution, if you wish.

PASSING ETIQUETTE
Where the trails are narrow, please let other participants pass you if they want to get by. It is a passing runner’s job to tell the person in front that they wish to pass.

HEADPHONES
If you’d like to listen to music while you’re on the course, please use headphones or earbuds, so that runners around you can’t hear it. Others may prefer a quieter event experience or may have different musical tastes. Runners playing music in the open air may be asked to choose between turning off the music or leaving the event.

Also, keep the volume low enough that you can hear someone talking to you in a normal voice, for example, another runner saying they would like to pass on your left.

DOGS
Our events are USATF sanctioned and subject to USATF policies, and so dogs are not allowed to accompany runners on the course.

COVID-19 & RESPIRATORY VIRUS SAFETY
Outdoors settings are among the safest, due to the open air dissipating virus particles to greatly reduce the risk of transmission. However, fall and winter are virus season, so we encourage you to take simple precautions:

Please stay home if you are sick (with any contagious respiratory virus); we’ll happily give you a credit toward another race or a full refund
Get your flu and COVID-19 shots when possible
Mask wearing is generally not required at our events, but you are welcome to wear a mask if you feel it is best for your own health
At times when viruses are going around, keep a six foot distance from others when it is practical, or at least avoid being in close proximity for a long time in still air
Limit touching of shared surfaces and items, and clean your hands before and after
We encourage you to wear a mask when riding a shuttle bus

Thank you for helping us keep our events safe and fun for you and everyone else!

PC: Takao Suzuki