Alabama fun runs
20 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Alabama.
Novelty course: 5 · Holiday and seasonal: 5 · Food and drink: 3 · Iconic tradition: 3 · Animals: 2 · Costume and theme: 1 · Quirky format: 1
- Food and drink National Shrimp Festival 5K/10K Run The official run of the National Shrimp Festival, Alabama's 250,000-visitor beach party, dating back to a 1977 five-miler.
- Food and drink Nitty Gritty Costume 5K A costume 5K that ends with all the grits you can eat, held alongside the Prattville YMCA's Great Grits Cook-Off.
- Costume and theme Kid One Transport Trick or Trot 5K Birmingham's Halloween costume 5K through the Lakeview District, with awards for best team, kid and pet-and-owner costumes.
- Iconic tradition BTC Vulcan Run Birmingham's classic 10K, named for the city's iron Vulcan statue, has run every November since the 1975 Bicentennial Run.
- Novelty course First Solar HEROES 5K A 5K at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center whose course loops around the Pathfinder space shuttle and a Saturn V rocket.
- Holiday and seasonal Crisis Services of North Alabama Turkey Trot 5K One of Huntsville's biggest Thanksgiving trots, with almost 3,000 registrants in 2025 and now in its fourth decade on the UAH campus.
- Holiday and seasonal Galaxy of Lights 5K Race A timed night 5K on foot through Huntsville Botanical Garden's Galaxy of Lights before the drive-through season opens.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run – Auburn, AL Auburn’s stop on the Arthritis Foundation’s national holiday run, where teams turn out in festive costumes and jingle bells to raise money for arthritis research.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run – Birmingham, AL Birmingham’s stop on the Arthritis Foundation’s national holiday run, where teams turn out in festive costumes and jingle bells to raise money for arthritis research.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Jog 5K & Santa Stroll Fun Run Auburn's holiday 5K starts and finishes at Toomer's Corner, with runners told to bring Santa hats and ugly sweaters.
- Quirky format Mardi Gras 5K Prediction Run A Joe Cain Day 5K in downtown Mobile where the prize goes to whoever best predicts their own finish time, with watches banned.
- Novelty course War Eagle Run Fest Half marathon, 5K and kids mile that tour Auburn's campus and Toomer's Corner before finishing on the 50-yard line of Jordan-Hare Stadium.
- Novelty course Perdido Beach Resort Half Marathon, 5K & Fun Run Runners cross the Perdido Pass Bridge and finish on the sand, then go straight to a 'Bubbles on the Beach' champagne brunch.
- Iconic tradition Azalea Trail Run Mobile's springtime road-race institution, run beneath live oaks during azalea season for nearly five decades.
- Animals Birmingham Zoo Run 3K A 3K fun run through the Birmingham Zoo followed by an after-party on the lawn and early zoo admission.
- Novelty course CMP 5K Range Run & 1K Fun Run A certified 5K on the paths of the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Talladega park, past its 600-yard electronic rifle range, pistol bays and archery range.
- Iconic tradition Cotton Row Run Huntsville's Memorial Day 10K, with a "Fab Five" who have run all 46 editions.
- Novelty course MGM Runway 5K A closed-course 5K on Montgomery Regional Airport's taxiway and runway, beside an active runway where planes land and take off.
- Animals Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo 5K A 5K run/walk held with Opp's Rattlesnake Rodeo, one of the South's oddest small-town festivals.
- Food and drink Tuscaloosa Krispy Kreme Challenge Run a mile, eat a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts, run a mile back; eating is optional unless you want the cash prizes.