Tennessee fun runs
33 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Tennessee.
Food and drink: 8 · Holiday and seasonal: 6 · Costume and theme: 5 · Novelty course: 5 · Mud and obstacle: 4 · Iconic tradition: 2 · Color, glow and night: 2 · Animals: 1
- Animals Mutt Strut 5K A dog-rescue 5K where dogs run alongside their people through Overton Park's old-growth Old Forest.
- Food and drink Century Farm Haunted Wine Run 5K A Halloween-themed two-loop 5K through the vines at a West Tennessee winery, ending with a wine pour and a medal that doubles as a wine stopper.
- Mud and obstacle Tough Mudder Nashville Tough Mudder’s last U.S. stop of 2026, on the Tennessee farm with cow pastures and creek crossings that also hosts Spartan Nashville.
- Costume and theme Howl-O-Ween Hustle 5K A new Halloween costume 5K run inside the Memphis Zoo before the gates open to the public.
- Costume and theme Spookasaurus (formerly Kooky Not Spooky) A deliberately low-key Halloween costume race along the Tennessee River with candy-stocked aid and Hocus Pocus–named distances.
- Novelty course 7 Bridges Marathon Chattanooga's race weekend names each distance by how many Tennessee River bridges it crosses, from the 2 Bridges 5K to the 7 Bridges Marathon.
- Costume and theme Smoky Mountain Very Scary 5K A Halloween-eve night 5K in the 'quiet side' of the Smokies whose out-and-back course goes through a 'scary tunnel'.
- Holiday and seasonal Dancing Lights of Christmas 5K Fun Run An evening run through two million lights synchronized to holiday music, finishing at Santa's Village with hot chocolate.
- Holiday and seasonal Dollywood's Light the Way 5K An 11 p.m. 5K that finishes inside Dollywood among the park's millions of Smoky Mountain Christmas lights.
- Novelty course Speedway in Lights 5K An evening 5K through Bristol Motor Speedway's holiday light show that runs up and back the Bristol Dragway and finishes on the high-banked oval's backstretch.
- Holiday and seasonal Music City Turkey Trot Nashville's Thanksgiving trot starts and finishes at Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, and welcomes leashed dogs.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run – Knoxville, TN Knoxville’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.
- Novelty course Jingle Bell Run – Nashville, TN Nashville’s Jingle Bell Run starts at Cornelia Fort Airpark, a former airfield along the Cumberland River that is now a greenway park.
- Iconic tradition St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend Every distance detours through the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital campus, where patients and families cheer runners on.
- Holiday and seasonal NeedLink Nashville's Rudolph's Red Nose Run 5K A 45-year-old Nashville holiday 5K with costume awards for individuals, groups and pets, raising money to keep families warm in winter.
- Holiday and seasonal Santa Hustle Johnson City Northeast Tennessee’s Santa Hustle starts and finishes at Johnson City’s minor-league ballpark, with runners in Santa hats and beards.
- Food and drink SKECHERS Hot Chocolate Run Nashville A chocolate-themed race from Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park past Broadway’s honky-tonks, with a fondue finish.
- Color, glow and night Bubble Run – Nashville A non-competitive 5K through stations of colored bubble foam at Music City Raceway, ending in a bubble dance party.
- Novelty course Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon A half marathon and 5K from Townsend, a gateway town to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Mud and obstacle Nashville Spartan Event Weekend A Spartan course across a working Tennessee farm with cow crossings, woods and a 12-foot-wide creek, 35 minutes from Nashville.
- Food and drink Bell Buckle RC-MoonPie 10 Mile & 5K Run A 10-miler that opens Bell Buckle's RC Cola-MoonPie Festival, after which floats toss MoonPies to the crowd along Main Street.
- Color, glow and night Bubble Run – Memphis A non-competitive 5K through stations of colored bubble foam at Mullins Station Event Field, ending in a bubble dance party.
- Food and drink DoNot Stop Half Marathon (5K/10K) – Nashville A donut-themed race where Baker's Dozen Challenge runners eat 12 donut holes at aid stations and a full donut at the finish.
- Food and drink Donut Mile Challenge The family version of a beer mile: four laps of a track with one donut to finish before each lap.
- Mud and obstacle Marine Mud Run A Marine-designed 3-mile off-road mud run whose proceeds go to Toys for Tots.
- Food and drink MoonPie Move Chattanooga A 5K and 10K in the MoonPie’s hometown of Chattanooga, where finishers get MoonPies and a MoonPie Stout from Naked River Brewing.
- Mud and obstacle Mudder's Day Madness Mud Run 5K & Fun Run A Mother's Day-weekend mud run with 20 obstacles on the trails of Montvale, where costumes are celebrated.
- Iconic tradition Mule Kick 5K & 1-Mile Trot The official Mule Day race, run the morning of Columbia's Mule Day parade and mule-pulling contests.
- Food and drink Nashville Oktoberfest 5K Bier Run A 5K through Nashville's historic Germantown that ends with a free 20-ounce beer and entry to the city's oldest and largest festival.
- Food and drink Oak Barrel Half Marathon A half marathon looping through Jack Daniel's hometown and past the distillery, known for a finisher award cut from a whiskey barrel.
- Novelty course Run Dollywood Fall Race Weekend Dollywood's own race weekend sends runners through the theme park among the rides, including an 11 p.m. 5K during Harvest Festival.
- Costume and theme Smoky Mountain Bigfoot 5K & Fun Run A Sasquatch-themed 5K starting beside a giant Bigfoot statue at a Townsend brewery, with 'Squatch sightings' promised on course.
- Costume and theme Trash Panda, an Awesomesauce Event A raccoon-themed trail race on Chattanooga's Raccoon Mountain with laser-burned wooden medals personalized for each finisher.