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Cougar Mountain Trail Run falls on Halloween this year

The Cougar Mountain Trail Run hits October 31 this year, giving new charge to a costume tradition started by former RD Jack Rosenfeld, with trophies from WolfMother Workshop.

<h6>Seattle Fitness Magazine · 26 Oct 2026</h6><ul><li><strong>23rd</strong>annual edition</li><li><strong>4</strong>distances</li></ul><h2>Cougar Mountain&#x27;s Halloween race</h2> <p><b>The Cougar Mountain Trail Run lands exactly on Halloween this year.</b></p><p>The race has run a costume tradition for years, started by former race director Jack Rosenfeld. New RD Rich Bennett is keeping it going, with trophies from Redmond-based WolfMother Workshop up for best individual costume and best group costume across any distance.</p><p>Roselle Kingsbury, an SRC Brooks team member, put it plainly: &quot;SRC has become my adopted track-and-trail running family. I can&#x27;t say enough about how much it means to see my teammates, clubmates and family regularly at Wednesday workouts and at Cougar races.&quot;</p> <h2>A tradition with a new date</h2> <p><b>The costume contest is not new.</b></p><p>The 2025 pre-race email, signed by then-race director Gretchen Walla, named Rosenfeld as the one who started it: &quot;Previous RD Jack Rosenfeld started the tradition of wearing costumes because this race is so close to Halloween and we are keeping that tradition going!&quot; What changes in 2026 is the calendar: the last Saturday in October lands on Halloween itself, and the trophies now come from WolfMother Workshop, a Native woman-owned, family-operated business in Redmond that makes custom awards for trail races.</p><p>Founder Sara Jean van Ingen described her work to the American Trail Running Association last November: &quot;I am drawn to aesthetics that are classic, wild, odd, dirty, scary, dainty, clashy, D.I.Y. (do it yourself), punk, and mix it all together in my own style.&quot;</p> <h2>Four distances, fern-lined trails</h2> <p><b>The race runs through Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, near Bellevue, on fern-lined single-track across rolling hills, marshes and wetland habitats.</b></p><p>Four distances are on offer: 5K, 7.6 miles, 19.5 miles, and 50K. The 7.6-mile also doubles as the Cougar Cup, a mixed cross-country team competition open to any group or club, with teams of four to six signing up race morning.</p><p>This is the 23rd annual edition, per the organizer. Since the series began, Seattle Running Club and Northwest Trail Runs have donated more than $254,000 to King County Parks, according to the official series website.</p> <h2>Saturday, October 31</h2> <p><b>The race starts at Sky Country Trailhead, Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.</b></p><p>Online registration closes October 28 at 11:59 PM PDT; day-of registration opens at 7:00 AM. The 19.5-mile and 50K go off at 8:00 AM, the 7.6-mile at 9:00 AM, and the 5K at 9:30 AM.</p><p>All four distances show open on RunSignup as of October 26. SRC members get a 20% discount via a code in the club&#x27;s email newsletter. Runners should bring a refillable water container; the race is cup-free. No dogs on course, per USATF sanctioning rules.</p>
Seattle Fitness Magazine · 26 Oct 2026
  • 23rdannual edition
  • 4distances

Cougar Mountain's Halloween race

The Cougar Mountain Trail Run lands exactly on Halloween this year.

The race has run a costume tradition for years, started by former race director Jack Rosenfeld. New RD Rich Bennett is keeping it going, with trophies from Redmond-based WolfMother Workshop up for best individual costume and best group costume across any distance.

Roselle Kingsbury, an SRC Brooks team member, put it plainly: "SRC has become my adopted track-and-trail running family. I can't say enough about how much it means to see my teammates, clubmates and family regularly at Wednesday workouts and at Cougar races."

A tradition with a new date

The costume contest is not new.

The 2025 pre-race email, signed by then-race director Gretchen Walla, named Rosenfeld as the one who started it: "Previous RD Jack Rosenfeld started the tradition of wearing costumes because this race is so close to Halloween and we are keeping that tradition going!" What changes in 2026 is the calendar: the last Saturday in October lands on Halloween itself, and the trophies now come from WolfMother Workshop, a Native woman-owned, family-operated business in Redmond that makes custom awards for trail races.

Founder Sara Jean van Ingen described her work to the American Trail Running Association last November: "I am drawn to aesthetics that are classic, wild, odd, dirty, scary, dainty, clashy, D.I.Y. (do it yourself), punk, and mix it all together in my own style."

Four distances, fern-lined trails

The race runs through Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, near Bellevue, on fern-lined single-track across rolling hills, marshes and wetland habitats.

Four distances are on offer: 5K, 7.6 miles, 19.5 miles, and 50K. The 7.6-mile also doubles as the Cougar Cup, a mixed cross-country team competition open to any group or club, with teams of four to six signing up race morning.

This is the 23rd annual edition, per the organizer. Since the series began, Seattle Running Club and Northwest Trail Runs have donated more than $254,000 to King County Parks, according to the official series website.

Saturday, October 31

The race starts at Sky Country Trailhead, Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

Online registration closes October 28 at 11:59 PM PDT; day-of registration opens at 7:00 AM. The 19.5-mile and 50K go off at 8:00 AM, the 7.6-mile at 9:00 AM, and the 5K at 9:30 AM.

All four distances show open on RunSignup as of October 26. SRC members get a 20% discount via a code in the club's email newsletter. Runners should bring a refillable water container; the race is cup-free. No dogs on course, per USATF sanctioning rules.

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