Ohio fun runs
50 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Ohio.
Holiday and seasonal: 14 · Food and drink: 11 · Novelty course: 11 · Iconic tradition: 4 · Animals: 3 · Mud and obstacle: 2 · Costume and theme: 2 · Quirky format: 2 · Color, glow and night: 1
- Food and drink Donut Worry Run Happy 5K A 5K that starts and ends at Brewnuts, the Gordon Square shop known for beer-infused donuts.
- Holiday and seasonal Circleville Classic 5K A 39-year-old 5K run on the final day of the Circleville Pumpkin Show, Ohio's 119-year-old pumpkin festival.
- Holiday and seasonal Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Halloween 5K A costume 5K that runs through the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo the weekend before Halloween.
- Holiday and seasonal ORRRC Ghost 'n Goblin 5K A weeknight Halloween 5K with a costume contest, now in its 41st year.
- Novelty course Run the Rock A November half marathon and 5K around Kelleys Island, a Lake Erie island reached by ferry, run after the summer crowds have left.
- Food and drink SKECHERS Hot Chocolate Run Columbus A chocolate-themed race through the Arena District, Victorian Village and Short North, ending with fondue and hot cocoa.
- Holiday and seasonal Cleveland Turkey Trot Cleveland's 45th Thanksgiving race starts downtown at East 9th and Lakeside, with a costume contest and dogs welcome at the back of the pack.
- Holiday and seasonal ORRRC Turkey Trot Nearly 8,000 people fill historic downtown Miamisburg every Thanksgiving for a 5-mile run and walk run by the local running club.
- Holiday and seasonal The Original Columbus Turkey Trot Columbus's original Thanksgiving race, in its 40th year, uses a 4-mile course that turns around in front of the Ohio Stadium Horseshoe.
- Holiday and seasonal Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race Cincinnati's 117th Thanksgiving Day Race finishes on the field at FC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium, with finishers shown on the stadium's big screen.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run – Cleveland, OH Highland Hills’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 – Columbus, OH Columbus’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 Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Ugly Sweater 5K A new ugly-sweater 5K through the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in early December.
- Holiday and seasonal Legendary Lights 5K/10K A late-afternoon 5K or 10K that ends at Clifton Mill's Legendary Lights display of about 4 million bulbs, with admission to the light show included.
- Holiday and seasonal KidsLinked Run the Lights A pre-dawn 3- or 6-mile run through Butch Bando's Fantasy of Lights, a light display that is otherwise drive-through only.
- Holiday and seasonal Run Santa Run 5K (Mentor) Every registrant gets a Santa hat, blanket and bag, so the field arrives looking like a crowd of Santas.
- Holiday and seasonal OhioHealth First On The First 5K A late-morning New Year's Day 5K at Otterbein University that finishes with a taco party from Yabo's Tacos.
- Novelty course The 5th Line 5K A winter 5K that finishes at center ice inside Nationwide Arena, with two Columbus Blue Jackets tickets in every registration.
- Iconic tradition St. Malachi Church Run/Walk Billed as Cleveland's original St. Patrick's Day race, now in its 48th year, with bagpipers and Irish dancers along the route and a beer ticket for the Ohio City Hooley afterward.
- Iconic tradition Flying Pig Marathon Weekend Cincinnati's pig-themed marathon weekend nods to the city's 'Porkopolis' meatpacking past and sends runners across the Ohio River into Kentucky and back.
- Novelty course Hall of Fame Half Marathon & Relay A half marathon that starts and finishes at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with a medal shaped like a championship ring.
- Novelty course U.S. Air Force Marathon A marathon held inside Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that finishes beside historic aircraft at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
- Mud and obstacle Cleveland Spartan Trifecta Weekend Northeast Ohio’s Spartan Trifecta at an off-road park the series has used since 2019, with all four distances up to a 50K Ultra in one weekend.
- Food and drink Baileys & Bacon 5K A brewery 5K that rewards finishers with a maple bacon donut and coffee spiked with Baileys.
- Food and drink Bockfest 5K Opens Cincinnati's Bockfest with a 5K, a medal that doubles as a bottle opener, two beer tickets and a Skyline Chili cheese coney.
- Animals Cheetah Run 5K A 5K that weaves through the Cincinnati Zoo past its cheetahs, lions and giraffes, back after a six-year hiatus.
- Color, glow and night Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Glow Run 5K A night 5K through the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo while it is lit up for the Asian Lantern Festival.
- Novelty course CollegeAdvantage Redlegs Run The Reds' charity race finishes inside Great American Ball Park near home plate, and the kids' run is on the warning track.
- Novelty course Columbus Clippers 5K Runners tour the Scioto Mile and finish at home plate inside Huntington Park, the Triple-A Clippers' ballpark, and get a replica jersey.
- Food and drink Columbus Donut Run & Walk A donut-themed run and walk at Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Columbus riverfront, with donuts at the finish.
- Food and drink Dewey's Pizza Run to Raise Dough A pizzeria's charity run where the medal is shaped like a pizza and finishers get a slice and a drink.
- Costume and theme Draft Day 5K at Put-in-Bay A Browns-fan 5K on Put-in-Bay timed to NFL Draft weekend, with a race jersey, mug and lunch included.
- Iconic tradition Dublin Irish Festival 5K An evening 5K through Historic Dublin that kicks off the Dublin Irish Festival, followed by a post-race party and concert.
- Novelty course FORE! Miler An evening 4-miler through Dublin that finishes on the 18th green at Muirfield Village, the course that hosts the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament.
- Food and drink Garfield's Ice Cream Run 5K A summer 5K that ends with ice cream at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, the 20th president's Lawnfield home.
- Food and drink Hebron Pie Festival 5K A village-festival 5K where every finisher takes home a whole pie.
- Novelty course Hocking Hills Trail Run Running since 1978, this trail race links Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls and Ash Cave in Hocking Hills State Park, and finishers get a handmade pottery medallion.
- Novelty course Inside the Park Home Run A 4-mile race that climbs the concourse ramps of Progressive Field, home of the Guardians, and finishes on the baseball field.
- Iconic tradition Lakeside 5K Raccoon Run A 46-year-old summer 5K through the gated Lake Erie Chautauqua resort of Lakeside that finishes at the historic Hoover Auditorium.
- Quirky format LCC Donut Dash 5K A small-town 5K where every donut a runner eats takes two minutes off their finishing time.
- Food and drink Oktoberfest Zinzinnati 14K/7K Brewery Run A 14K or 7K past the sites of Cincinnati's 19th-century breweries that finishes inside Oktoberfest Zinzinnati.
- Food and drink Pickerington Oktoberfest Beer Mile A beer mile run in heats of 16 at Combustion Brewery during Pickerington's Oktoberfest, with a relay heat and a wooden finisher medal.
- Quirky format Ragnar Trail Ohio An overnight trail relay through shaded forest at Dillon State Park, which also has a white-sand lake beach, near Zanesville.
- Novelty course Rock Hall Half Marathon A half marathon, 10K and 5K that start and finish at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with live music along the lakefront course.
- Animals Run Wild 5K A 5K through the Columbus Zoo that ends in the Zoombezi Bay wave pool, followed by a pool party just for runners.
- Costume and theme Shawshank Hustle A 4.6-mile race from the Ohio State Reformatory, where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed, through downtown Mansfield and back.
- Mud and obstacle The Gauntlet 5K Trail & Mud Run A locally run 5K mud and obstacle course on the Chenoweth Trails, a homegrown alternative to the touring mud brands.
- Food and drink The Gibsonburg Beer Mile A beer mile held as part of a small village's homecoming festival, raising money for the local volunteer fire department.
- Novelty course The Ohio State 4 Miler About 13,000 runners race 4 miles around campus and finish on the 50-yard line inside Ohio Stadium.
- Animals Toledo Zoo Dart Frog Dash A race through the Toledo Zoo, including its Tembo Trail African exhibits, named for the zoo's poison dart frogs.