Iowa fun runs
23 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Iowa.
Food and drink: 9 · Holiday and seasonal: 5 · Iconic tradition: 3 · Novelty course: 2 · Costume and theme: 1 · Quirky format: 1 · Color, glow and night: 1 · Mud and obstacle: 1
- Food and drink Backpocket Beer Mile Four laps, four beers (5% ABV minimum) chugged in a beer zone, with a penalty lap for anyone who can't hold one down.
- Holiday and seasonal Hot Cider Hustle – Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids’s stop on a Midwest fall race series built around hot apple cider at the finish and cold-weather fleece swag.
- Costume and theme Keystone Iowa Zombie Apocalypse 5K Costumed zombies lurk along a small-town 5K trying to rip the flag-football flags off runners' belts.
- Food and drink Iowa Brewery Running Series Iowa brewery 5Ks from Dubuque to Des Moines, including a Halloween run at a pinball-and-arcade bar.
- Holiday and seasonal Monster Dash 5K & Lil' Monsters Fun Run A late-afternoon Halloween costume 5K on the trails of Raccoon River Park with a pre-race costume contest and big finisher medals.
- Novelty course Living History Farms Race A 5-mile off-road race through an open-air history museum: splashing through streams and plowed fields past three historic farms and an 1876 town.
- Food and drink Bacon Run Finishers get a pound of uncooked bacon, Bacon Bucks and early entry to Ottumwa's BaconTown food festival.
- Holiday and seasonal The Des Moines Turkey Trot Iowa's largest Thanksgiving race, where runners decide mid-course whether to finish the 5K or keep going for 5 miles around the State Capitol.
- Holiday and seasonal Santa Run 5K Every registrant gets a full Santa suit with beard to run in and keep, then the herd of Santas heads to SingleSpeed Brewing for a Christmas party.
- Quirky format Market to Market Relay Iowa Teams of six to eight pile into vans and relay about 75 miles from Jefferson's bell tower to downtown Des Moines in costume, sunup to sundown.
- Iconic tradition EMC DAM to DSM A point-to-point half marathon that starts on top of Saylorville Dam with the downtown Des Moines skyline on the horizon, run since 1980.
- Food and drink Deal's Orchard Spiked Apple 5K A two-lap cross-country 5K through an apple orchard where you can tell the timer you'd rather quit after one lap for the hard cider party.
- Food and drink Ditmars Wine Run 5K A two-lap cross-country 5K through the Loess Hills orchard and vineyard at Ditmars, finishing with a pour of wine.
- Food and drink Donut Run 5K Every donut eaten at the aid stations takes time off your finish, but under the 'Chucky rule' anyone who loses their donuts resets to zero.
- Food and drink Frozen Fun Run The 5K of Le Mars Ice Cream Days in the self-styled Ice Cream Capital of the World, with volunteers handing out free Bomb Pops on course.
- Iconic tradition Grand Blue Mile A downtown road mile down Grand Avenue where recreational runners share the evening with the USATF national road mile championship.
- Novelty course Great River Bridge Race Once a year Burlington lets runners cross the cable-stayed Great River Bridge over the Mississippi, normally closed to pedestrians.
- Food and drink Harvest Festival Champagne 5K A lakeshore 5K with complimentary champagne at the turnaround and the finish, and prizes for best pet costume.
- Iconic tradition Quad-City Times Bix 7 A 7-mile race that opens by charging up Davenport's steep Brady Street Hill, with Olympians and Bill Rodgers in the same field as walkers.
- Color, glow and night Runderwood: Underwood Lights the Night A small-town glow run on the eve of the Fourth with a foam party before the start and a glow-foam party at the finish.
- Food and drink The Des Moines Donut Mile Eat a glazed donut hole before each quarter-mile lap while spectators are invited to blast you with water guns.
- Holiday and seasonal University of Okoboji Winter Games 5K Fun Run A January 5K from the State Pier of Arnolds Park Amusement Park during the tongue-in-cheek 'University of Okoboji' Winter Games and polar plunge.
- Mud and obstacle Wild Boar Challenge A homegrown 5-plus-mile obstacle race on a Madison County ranch with 16-plus obstacles, some designed by participants.