Arlington rides, runs raise money for camp, clubs and more

Published 8:30 pm Monday, March 14, 2016

ARLINGTON — Hundreds of runners and riders are expected to converge on North Snohomish County this weekend for two annual events based out of Arlington.

The McClinchy Mile bicycle ride and the River and Rails Run are scheduled back-to-back. The run is on Saturday and the bike ride is on Sunday.

The River and Rails Run starts at Haller Park, 1100 West Ave. Runners can do a 5k or 10k race along the Centennial Trail. Registration costs $25 and opens at 8:45 a.m. on race day for those who haven’t registered online at arlingtonrunnersclub.org/register.

The event is put on by volunteers in the Arlington Runners Club and raises money for Royal Family Kids Camp, an organization that hosts summer camps for local foster children.

The Arlington Runners Club hosts races throughout the year, club president Devin Brossard said. This is the 11th annual River and Rails Run.

“It’s a fun race,” he said. “It’s an out-and-back on the Centennial Trail, so it’s one anyone can do regardless of age or ability because it’s a nice flat, paved trail.”

The club has about 30 members but the races usually draw at least 150 people. So far, more than 100 runners have registered for River and Rails.

The 10k starts at 10 a.m. and the 5k starts 10 minutes later. There are trophies for the fastest man and woman and ribbons for winners in different age groups.

The McClinchy Mile bike ride, put on by the BIKES Club of Snohomish County, has start times from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday. Bicyclists can register in person during that window or online at bikesclub.org/mcclinchy. It costs $35.

There are three routes riders can take. The shortest is a 34-mile ride to Stanwood. There also is a 48-mile route toward Granite Falls and Machias and a 52-mile route up toward Skagit County, which is an extension of the Stanwood ride. Ambitious riders can do up to 100 miles if they ride to Machias and back, then up to Skagit County and back.

“They’re all loop rides that end up back in Arlington,” said Kristin Kinnamon, president of the BIKES Club. “You can kind of piece it together.”

There are food stops along the way and support teams for problems like equipment failure.

The ride starts at Haller Middle School, 600 E. First St. Helmets are required and the ride ends at 4 p.m.

“People ride at their own pace, and most of them are done long before then,” Kinnamon said.

The McClinchy Miles has been hosted each year since the 1980s. The annual ride raises money for the BIKES Club.

“We use the money for the club but we also do grants,” Kinnamon said.

The group has helped buy books about bicycling for school libraries, donated to Centennial Trail work and given to Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop.

The ride usually draws about 300 people, depending on weather. One snowy ride drew 89 people a few years ago while sunny weather has been known to bring out more than 500, Kinnamon said.

The ride is named after Stuart McClinchy, a founding member of the club, and always takes place around St. Patrick’s Day.

“We never cancel due to conditions, but we have had snow, rain and sometimes sunshine,” organizers wrote on the event’s webpage. “It’s the luck o’ the Irish.”

Last year, the McClinchy Mile followed a route up Highway 530 toward Darrington for the McClinchy Mile Oso Strong Ride, a fundraiser to support rebuilding the Whitehorse Trail between Arlington and Darrington. It raised $1,000 for the trail project. Rainy weather deterred a lot of riders on the day of the event, Kinnamon said.

This year, bicyclists are directed on the same routes the McClinchy Mile has used since 2005. Before that, the ride started in Monroe rather than Arlington. Kinnamon plans to lead a separate ride up toward Oso on Saturday for people who want to turn McClinchy into a weekend-long event.

“The routes are really scenic,” she said. “When we ride along the Stillaguamish River toward Stanwood, you can see eagles and snow geese, potentially. Out toward Granite Falls, they’re really rural roads and really beautiful.”

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.