Get the free 'Transit' app (with GCRTA's EZfare) before you land and buy tickets in-app with your bank card — don't count on tapping a foreign contactless card straight onto the bus or rail validator.
Getting to the start
RTA Red Line - West Park station (~14510 Lorain Rd), about 2 miles from the venue; RTA bus Route 86 (Rocky River Dr-Bagley) runs directly along Rocky River Drive past the venue.
Start/finish at Saint Joseph Academy, 3470 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland, OH (West Park neighborhood).
RTA bus 86 stops on Rocky River Drive near the school.
Unlike most races in this batch, this is an urban Cleveland race with genuine transit access via RTA bus route 86 on Rocky River Dr,
plus the Red Line rapid roughly 2 miles away at West Park station.
Getting to the finish
Same as start (Saint Joseph Academy)
Urban course through Cleveland and nearby suburbs, returning to Saint Joseph Academy.
IC card
SmartRT (GCRTA smartcard)
Ticket vending machines/kiosks at Red Line stations, HealthLine stations, and the Customer Service Center at Tower City;
funds can also be loaded at participating VanillaDirect retail locations.
Not accepted at the gates — get the local card above
Alternative: Day Pass $5.00 (single ride $2.50) —
Worth buying if taking 3+ rides in a day, since it caps at the day-pass cost automatically for smartcard/app users under the new account-based ticketing system.
More details
In June 2026 GCRTA launched account-based ticketing (powered by Masabi) with fare capping,
but riders tap-and-ride using the GCRTA SmartRT smartcard or by scanning a phone via the Transit/EZfare app —
official sources do not describe riders tapping a bare foreign contactless bank card directly on the reader.
Cash is accepted on buses;
cards are only usable at station kiosks/TVMs to load fare.
Stations & transport near the venue
Cleveland is served by GCRTA,
which uses the EZfare system: pay by tapping a contactless debit/credit card or mobile wallet (Apple/Google Pay) directly at the farebox or bus reader,
or buy fares in advance via the Transit app —
no separate transit card purchase needed.
That said, "Run The Land" trail events are typically held in Cleveland Metroparks well outside downtown transit routes,
so car access is the practical option for race day itself.
