Oregon fun runs
58 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Oregon.
Holiday and seasonal: 19 · Food and drink: 9 · Novelty course: 9 · Costume and theme: 5 · Iconic tradition: 4 · Quirky format: 4 · Color, glow and night: 3 · Animals: 3 · Mud and obstacle: 2
- Food and drink Oregon Brewery Running Series Twenty-nine-plus casual 5Ks a year, each starting and finishing at a different Oregon or SW Washington brewery, cidery or winery, with a pint at the finish.
- Color, glow and night The Color Run Portland Color-powder 5K on the grounds of Portland International Raceway.
- Novelty course Great Columbia Crossing 10K Run/Walk The only day each year pedestrians may cross the Astoria-Megler Bridge, North America's longest continuous truss bridge, from Washington into Oregon.
- Novelty course Silver Falls Trail Runs Trail races on the Trail of Ten Falls in Oregon's largest state park, where the course runs behind waterfalls.
- Holiday and seasonal 5K Zombie Run (Roseburg Optimist Club) Zombies stationed in zones along the course try to pull runners' flags, and medals note whether you finished 'healthy' or 'infected.'
- Animals Columbia Gorge Marathon & Half (Dog Leg Half) The 'Dog Leg Half' lets runners do the half marathon with their dog through the fall-colored Columbia River Gorge.
- Holiday and seasonal Regatta Run/Walk 5K A flat 5K on the morning of the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, where paddlers race hollowed-out giant pumpkins across Lake of the Commons.
- Holiday and seasonal Run For Your Life – Eugene (Zombie 5K) More than 100 volunteer zombies hide along the Alton Baker Park course for this Halloween-season 5K.
- Holiday and seasonal Ashland Monster Dash Run for Education A family Halloween costume run in Lithia Park benefiting Ashland's public schools.
- Holiday and seasonal The Great Pumpkin Run (formerly Run Like Hell) Portland's long-running Halloween costume race, renamed for 2026, follows the Springwater Corridor and finishes with candy at Sellwood Park.
- Holiday and seasonal Giddy Up 5K/5 Miler Ranch Run (Halloween Edition) A Halloween-day run across Pole Creek Ranch with views of the Three Sisters, ending at a party in a corral nicknamed 'Elkatraz.'
- Novelty course Battle to the Pacific Trail races at historic Fort Stevens, where a 12-mile ruck challenge carrying a 35-lb pack (weigh-in required) follows an Army ruck-march standard.
- Holiday and seasonal Les Schwab HTC Turkey Trot A Thanksgiving-eve evening 5K through the Sunshine Division Winter Wonderland light display at Portland International Raceway, before it opens to the public.
- Food and drink I Like Pie Thanksgiving Fun Run An untimed Thanksgiving loop with pi-themed distances (1.3, 3.14 and 5.3 miles) that ends in pie at Riverbend Park.
- Animals ORRC Turkey Trot at the Zoo Thanksgiving 5K that finishes inside the closed-to-the-public Oregon Zoo, where your bib is your zoo ticket.
- Holiday and seasonal Mistletoe Miler An untimed holiday 3-miler from Bend Brewing Company with themed photo stops, timed so runners finish in time for the Bend Christmas Parade.
- Holiday and seasonal Ho Ho 5K Finishers get Hostess Ho Hos and Sno Balls, plus free Christmas trees and a running fruitcake tradition.
- Holiday and seasonal Oregon's Ugliest Sweater Run An ugly-sweater 5K in Alton Baker Park with discounts for groups of 'elves.'
- Holiday and seasonal Holiday Half (Half, 15K, 10K, 5K) A December race on Swan Island with carolers along the course and a gingerbread-cookie aid station for every distance.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bells Run Runners grab giant candy canes at points along the Willamette River paths and trade them in for prizes at the finish.
- Holiday and seasonal First Run (New Year's Eve & New Year's Day) Start the 10K or 5K at 11:59 PM on New Year's Eve, then run the same course again at 10 AM on New Year's Day if you want.
- Holiday and seasonal Newport Resolution Run & Plunge A New Year race that ends with an optional plunge into the Pacific at South Beach (or Yaquina Bay if surf is unsafe).
- Holiday and seasonal Polar Bear Run A January high-desert 5K/10K run since 2009, with a cafe and beer garden at the finish.
- Mud and obstacle Hagg Mud 50K & 25K (Hagg Lake Mud Runs) Since 2001, a February trail race known for the mud, run as one or two loops around Henry Hagg Lake.
- Holiday and seasonal Shamrock Run Fest presented by Toyota Oregon's largest running event turns downtown Portland green every St. Patrick's weekend, and has done so since 1979.
- Iconic tradition Pear Blossom Run Medford's 50-year-old spring run kicks off Pear Blossom Festival parade day, with the 10-miler heading out past Hanley Farm.
- Food and drink Bend Beer Chase A one-day, 57-mile relay where every exchange point is hosted by a local brewery with optional beer samples, ending with a costume leg and a riverside beer festival.
- Quirky format SELCO Pole Pedal Paddle A six-leg race from Mt. Bachelor to Bend's Old Mill District: alpine ski, Nordic ski, bike, run, paddle and a final sprint.
- Quirky format Cascade Lakes Relay A 216-mile overnight relay from Diamond Lake near Crater Lake, across the Oregon Outback and around Mt. Bachelor, finishing in Bend.
- Quirky format Ragnar Trail South Cascades Team trail relay looping out of Willamette Pass ski area past alpine lakes and Pacific Crest Trail views.
- Food and drink Abbey Road Farm Wine Run The Brewery Running Series' only wine run: a 5K on an 82-acre Yamhill-Carlton vineyard farm during its Silobration festival.
- Novelty course Bachelor Ascent presented by All Conditions Gear Every distance, including a straight-up Vertical Ascent 5K, climbs to Mt. Bachelor's 9,000-foot volcanic summit.
- Iconic tradition Bigfoot 10K (Fall Foot Races) Bend's oldest footrace, run since 1976, drops about 500 feet from Century Drive into the Old Mill District.
- Color, glow and night Blacklight Run Portland After-dark glow-powder 5K on Portland International Raceway, starting 15 minutes after sunset.
- Novelty course Bridge to Brews The 10K and 8K cross four Willamette River bridges (Broadway, Steel, Morrison, Hawthorne) and finish at a beer and cider festival.
- Color, glow and night Bubble Run Portland Foam-filled family 5K on the grounds of Portland International Raceway.
- Holiday and seasonal Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon, 10K & 5K Every finisher gets a hot quesadilla at a Cinco de Mayo fiesta finish along the Willamette.
- Food and drink Cupid's Chocolate Chase presented by Euphoria Chocolate Company A Valentine's 5K/10K with a two-person team competition, where every finisher gets a handcrafted chocolate from Eugene's Euphoria Chocolate.
- Costume and theme Dragonslayer Fantasy Dash & Strut A fantasy-costume 5K (knights, villains, superheroes, even Sasquatch) through Gabriel Park's trails, with Villain Zones and a Heroes Village.
- Food and drink Gear Grants Pancake Run A 5K or 10-mile river-path race that ends with a pancake breakfast, raising money for running gear for people who need it.
- Novelty course Grand Prix Run fueled by BODYARMOR Run or walk the same 1.964-mile, 12-turn Portland International Raceway circuit the IndyCar drivers race on that weekend.
- Novelty course Mt. Ashland Hill Climb A 13.3-mile climb of more than a vertical mile, from Lithia Park downtown to the Mt. Ashland summit, with lunch and beer at the top.
- Mud and obstacle Mud, Sweat & Blooms 5K A dog-friendly mud 5K with 15+ obstacles, a dunk tank and a mechanical bull at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.
- Novelty course Newport Celebration Run On July 4, runners get rare access to the 1,300-foot NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific pier on Yaquina Bay.
- Animals Oregon Humane Doggie Dash Thousands of dogs and their people walk and run Waterfront Park in Oregon Humane's biggest fundraiser, which turns 40 in 2027.
- Costume and theme Oregon Trail Game® 5K, 1 Mile & Kid's Fun Run Runners make Oregon Trail computer-game choices along the course (ford or float the river, or die of dysentery) and get a game score along with their chip time.
- Food and drink Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon Revived Willamette Valley half and 5K through Dundee Hills vineyards, finishing with an in-person wine festival at Stoller Family Estate.
- Iconic tradition OTC Butte To Butte presented by Rexius Track Town's Fourth of July tradition since 1973, running point-to-point from near Spencer Butte to near Skinner Butte through Eugene.
- Costume and theme PJ's to Pancakes Fun Run/Walk (West Linn Old Time Fair) A pajama fun run that ends at the Lions pancake breakfast at West Linn's 70-year-old Old Time Fair.
- Food and drink Portland Donut Mile Four laps and four Krispy Kreme glazed donuts on the Duniway track; each donut must be eaten before its lap, and vomiting earns a penalty lap.
- Iconic tradition Prefontaine Memorial Run A hilly 10K over one of Steve Prefontaine's old training routes in his hometown, finishing on the high-school track named for him.
- Quirky format Providence Hood to Coast & Portland to Coast Relay Billed as the world's largest long-distance relay, teams run and walk from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to the beach at Seaside.
- Holiday and seasonal Run Love Run (R❤️R) A Valentine's race on the Oregon Coast where every finisher gets a custom glass-blown medal and a red rose.
- Food and drink Run Willamette 5K and Kids Fun Run A 5K through Willamette Valley Vineyards' estate vineyard in the Salem Hills, ending with a glass of wine and a bottle credit.
- Novelty course Singing Sands 5K Fun Run (Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest) A beach 5K on the sand at Tolovana during the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest, which has run since 1964 and is a designated Oregon Heritage Tradition.
- Costume and theme Space Alien Fun Run (McMenamins UFO Festival) A roughly 3-mile alien-costume run at McMinnville's UFO Festival, where runners blend in with the 'aliens' or dress as space warriors.
- Holiday and seasonal St. Patrick's Day Dash Central Oregon's biggest St. Patrick's run follows the Deschutes River and ends at a Post-Dash Bash with green beer and costume prizes.
- Costume and theme Starlight Run presented by Windermere Real Estate An untimed, costume-heavy 3-mile run on the Grand Floral Starlight Parade route, minutes before the parade itself steps off.