Cycling & running events in Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, 2026

Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Training Notes

Running: Locals run the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail when they want easy base miles and no thinking. The Lackawanna River Heritage Trail gives you 22 miles of stone dust trail, and the river trail from Olive St down is good. Blakely to Mayfield works for a brainless out and back up the valley. The out and back covers 56 km. Dunmore cemeteries still get steady local miles. and Barrier Breakers keep group runs and training moving. Steamtown Marathon 2026, Heroes of All Kinds 5K, and Show Your Stripes 5K anchor the calendar.

Cycling: Locals ride the trail system when they want Z2 and use NEPA Velo when they want company. NEPA Velo’s Monday Night Ride leaves at 6 pm from the Marvine Trail Head and stays non-drop with regrouping stops. The route uses city roads and the trail system down to Taylor or up to Archibald. The route includes 3 km unpaved. State game lands #141 along Route 93 has gravel roads that are rideable. Ransom Road, Back Mountain, Bear Creek, and Giants Despair hold the better climbing and winding-road work.

Season: May through fall works best for steady running, long rides, intervals, and gran fondo prep. Summer sends riders south on the D&L trail from the Black Diamond trailhead, and runners keep using the Heritage trail, Lake Scranton, Nay Aug Park, and McDade Park loops. North Pocono near Moscow works when trail legs need more bite, while Dick and Nancy Eales preserve stays more hike than run because it is too rocky for running. Winter changes the rhythm for both sports. The D&H trail gives runners and cyclists a 22-mile stone dust line from Carbondale north, and locals keep winter miles simple, steady, and mostly Z2.