PORT ANGELES — Peninsula Adventure Sports has announced its 2025 race lineup, packed with outdoor challenges that showcase the natural beauty and rugged terrain of the Olympic Peninsula.
This year’s calendar features races for adventurers of all levels, from gravel cyclists to ultrarunners and multi-sport athletes.
In 2024, Peninsula Adventure Sports hosted more than 3,000 racers and their friends and family to explore everything that the Olympic Peninsula has to offer, and donated thousands of dollars to local non-profit organizations that help with the races.
Registration is open now for all races with the exception of Little Hurt and Salt Creek 24, which will open in January.
• The Frosty Moss Relay — March 15.
This 80- and 30-mile relay race takes place along the Olympic Discovery Trail and Olympic Adventure Trail. March is the green season on the peninsula, so racers will not want to miss the lush forests along Lake Crescent inside Olympic National Park, the Elwha River, the Waterfront Trail in Port Angeles, the Dungeness River park in Sequim and Sequim Bay State Park.
Race Director Lorrie Mittmann likens the race to an “all-day running party” or “running road trip.” The 80-mile distance has teams of up to five people for 15 race legs from the Sol Duc Valley to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal campus in Blyn. There is an after-party sponsored by 7 Cedars Resort that includes food, awards, door prizes and more.
If a team isn’t ready to tackle the 80-mile race, they can get their feet wet in the Mini Moss Relay for teams up to eight people. Other options including running the Mini Moss course solo as a 50K ultramarathon.
“Now is definitely the time to get signed up and start training. This race is the perfect motivation to get outdoors in the winter,” Mittmann said.
Mittmann also thanked race committee members Tom St. Amand, Michell Gentry, Shannon Cosgrove and Tim Tucker.
Teams are also encouraged to recruit a second team, pairing runners with runners from the other team during training.
“That way your peeps will always have a buddy on the trail, even as the pack gets spread out as the day goes by,” Mittmann said.
Additional 2025 Races Include:
• The Olympic Adventure Trail (OAT) Run — April 12.
The OAT Run is a 12K, half marathon, and 50K trail race on the Olympic Adventure Trail just west of Port Angeles. The point-to-point courses (12K and half marathon) and out-and-back (50K) are followed by a post-race party at Extreme Sports Park with a bonfire, hot food, beer garden and door prizes. This race sells out every year.
• The Gravel Unravel Series
This endurance cycling event is designed for those who wish to challenge their physical abilities to the maximum while enjoying the lushness of Olympic National Forest. Participants can ride short (25 to 35 miles), medium (45 to 55 miles), or long (65 to 80 miles) distances on a combination of paved and unpaved surfaces.
There are both competitive and non-competitive Gran Fondo style divisions. The Gravel Unravel is organized in partnership with the Quilcene Museum / Worthington Park as well as LaVogue Cyclery in Hoquiam. There are two races in the series: The Bon Jon Pass Out in Quilcene on June 14, and the Why-Not-Chee at Wynoochee Lake on July 26.
• The Great Olympic Adventure Trail (GOAT) Run — Sept. 6.
The GOAT Run is a half marathon, marathon, and 50K trail race. The point-to-point courses take place on the single-track Olympic Adventure Trail, finishing at pristine Lake Crescent inside Olympic National Park. This race sells out every year.
• The Big Hurt — Sept. 27.
The Big Hurt is a four-leg test of endurance, strength, and tenacity showcasing the beauty of the North Olympic Peninsula. Racers can compete solo or as part of a relay team to complete a mountain bike in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains, a kayak in the Port Angeles inner harbor, a road bicycle on rural roads west of Port Angeles, and a 10K run on the waterfront trail.
The Big Hurt is a logistically complicated race and is organized by Big Hurt committee members Mittmann, Scott Tucker, Tom Michowski, Kirsty Massingham, Vicki Heckman, Bruce Munro and Steve Bentley
This year Big Hurt will be limited to 75 Iron Division (solo) racers and 75 teams, so people are urged not to delay.
• The Little Hurt — Sept. 28.
The Little Hurt, in partnership with Peninsula College, is a multi-sport event designed to expose youth from pre-K to 8th grade to competitions that include multiple sports and encourages participation in healthy activities. Pre-K and K bike and run, accompanied by their parent or guardian. First- through eighth-graders row on rowing machines, run, and bike.
Mittmann thanked Little Hurt committee members Gentry, Sean Halberg, Emily Johnston and Rick Ross for making this event possible for both local and visiting youth. There will be information circulated through the school systems for more info.
• The Salt Creek 24 – Oct. 25-26
The Salt Creek 24 is the newest offering by Peninsula Adventure Sports, with its inaugural event in 2023. Located at the Salt Creek Recreation Area in Port Angeles, runners and/or walkers will circle the park on a 1.3-mile loop for 24 hours, either solo or as part of a relay team. While the clock will be running for 24 hours, this event is designed to allow athletes to challenge themselves by their own design — they can lap the course when they want, as many times as they like.
There is also a parallel event which is the Striped Peak Last Runner Standing. Runners start and end at Salt Creek Recreation Area, with racers summitting neighboring Striped Peak every hour until only one racer remains. The course is extremely challenging with a 3.75-mile course that has more than 1,000 vertical elevation per summit. In 2024, 13 racers competed, and the winner finished 17 summits of Striped Peak for just over 66 miles total, and just under 20,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain.
Salt Creek 24 can also optionally be done as a fundraiser. Racers can choose any charity they want. Individual participants or relay teams can collect pledges per lap for their chosen charity, or in the case of the Last Runner Standing, pledges per summit, and all of the donations are processed through the online registration system so that racers do not need to collect money and transfer it to their charity. In 2023 and 2024, racers raised more than $7,000 for local and regional charities.
People can contact Lorrie Mittmann at contact@peninsulaadventuresports.org if you want to set up an organization as a Charity Partner.
Peninsula Adventure Sports thanks its community partners North Olympic Healthcare Network for their continued support of healthy activities for the community, and Port of Port Angeles for providing storage for race supplies. The races are also supported by local municipal lodging tax committees.
Registration is now open for all events at www.PeninsulaAdventureSports.com.
For questions, sponsorship opportunities, or to volunteer, people can contact Peninsula Adventure Sports owner Lorrie Mittmann at contact@peninsulaadventuresports.com
