Utah fun runs
31 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Utah.
Holiday and seasonal: 10 · Novelty course: 5 · Mud and obstacle: 5 · Costume and theme: 4 · Quirky format: 4 · Food and drink: 2 · Iconic tradition: 1
- Costume and theme HAUNTED Salt Lake City Half & 5K A costumed downhill half down Emigration Canyon through a 'Spook Alley' tunnel and graveyard to a pumpkin-arch finish.
- Costume and theme HAUNTED Provo Half & 5K A costumed half marathon down Provo Canyon on Halloween morning itself.
- Food and drink Pie Lovers Fun Run A pre-Thanksgiving 5.6K, with the extra distance meant to make room for pie, ending in a pie-eating contest.
- Holiday and seasonal Earn Your Turkey A Thanksgiving run held since 1982, where finishers can win turkeys and pies for the holiday table.
- Holiday and seasonal Runtastic THANKFUL Billed as Utah's largest turkey trot, with pumpkin pie and hot chocolate waiting at the Thanksgiving Point finish.
- Holiday and seasonal Hungry Hustle Ugly Sweater 5K An ugly-sweater 5K where each kilometer has its own theme, from tinsel and snowballs to candy canes and a selfie stop with Santa.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run – Salt Lake City, UT Salt Lake City’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.
- Food and drink Reindeer Run (Cider Sleigh 5K/10K) A holiday-costume 5K/10K that starts and ends at a Salt Lake cidery, with hot cider at the finish and rewards for the most festive outfits.
- Holiday and seasonal Utah Santa Run – Gardner Village Everyone runs in an included Santa suit, fueled at milk-and-cookie aid stations staffed by volunteer elves.
- Holiday and seasonal Utah Santa Run – Utah County A twilight Santa-suit loop around Salem Pond, past its floating Christmas light display.
- Holiday and seasonal Runtastic FRIGID 5K & Penguin Plunge A January 5K followed by an optional plunge into the icy water of Utah Lake.
- Novelty course Zion Half Marathon A half marathon along the Virgin River from Virgin to a finish in Springdale at the south entrance of Zion National Park.
- Mud and obstacle Zion Spartan Trifecta Weekend A new Spartan Trifecta weekend for 2027 in Hurricane, Utah, near Zion National Park’s red-rock country.
- Quirky format Ragnar Trail Zion Ragnar’s most popular event (it sold out in 2026), an overnight trail relay on red-dirt trails next to Zion National Park’s east entrance, with a resort-style village.
- Quirky format Running with Ed A costumed relay through Park City whose signature leg climbs the 700-plus stairs beside the Utah Olympic Park ski jumps.
- Mud and obstacle Muddy Dash – Salt Lake City A beginner-friendly 5K mud run with obstacles and mud pits at Golden Spike Event Center, followed by an after-party.
- Novelty course Speedgoat The Summit A 5.6K that climbs more than 900 meters straight up Snowbird to Hidden Peak, followed by a tram ride back down.
- Mud and obstacle Utah Spartan Trifecta Weekend A Spartan Trifecta on Mount Ogden at Snowbasin, a 2002 Winter Olympics venue, with a 3,000-foot vertical climb and a gondola ride afterward.
- Novelty course Bryce Canyon Half Marathon A half marathon that drops about 1,850 feet from Ruby's Inn through Bryce Canyon National Park on Scenic Byway 12 to Cannonville.
- Iconic tradition Canyonlands Half Marathon & 5 Mile Run Moab's half marathon has run along the Colorado River canyon since 1976; its first edition had 22 finishers, one of them a dog.
- Holiday and seasonal Deseret News Marathon (Deseret News Classic) Utah's Pioneer Day races run down from the canyons and finish along the Days of '47 Parade route, ahead of crowds the organizer puts near 100,000.
- Quirky format Dusk to Dawn Relay + Ultra Teams run laps on the Bonneville Salt Flats from sunset to sunrise, with astronomy-club sky tours and a pancake breakfast at dawn.
- Holiday and seasonal Eggs Legs Half Marathon, 10K & 5K Runners decorate their own shirts, and the finish turns into an Easter egg hunt with the Easter Bunny.
- Holiday and seasonal Freedom Run (America's Freedom Festival) Thousands run part of Provo's Grand Parade route in red, white and blue on Independence Day morning, with an Uncle Sam on stilts on hand.
- Novelty course Grand Circle Trailfest A three-day trail running festival with one race each in Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos, on a mesa rim facing Zion, and through Antelope Canyon’s slot canyons on Navajo Nation land.
- Quirky format Ragnar Trail Soldier Hollow A new 2026 trail relay at Soldier Hollow, the Nordic venue for the 2002 and 2034 Winter Olympics, with nearly 25,000 feet of total climbing.
- Novelty course Salt Flats Endurance Runs Races start on the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway, the salt where land-speed records are set.
- Mud and obstacle Terrain Race – Salt Lake City An entry-level obstacle course race with mud and walls at Golden Spike Event Center, aimed at first-time obstacle racers as well as competitive waves.
- Mud and obstacle The Dirty Dash (Utah) A Utah-born mud run held on Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic Nordic venue.
- Costume and theme Thelma and Louise Half Marathon A women-focused trail weekend named for the film 'Thelma & Louise,' set in Moab's red-rock backcountry.
- Costume and theme Witch Run Half Marathon, 10K & 5K Runners in included witch hats start and finish at Gardner Village during its annual Witch Fest.