Vermont fun runs
22 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Vermont.
Food and drink: 9 · Novelty course: 4 · Holiday and seasonal: 3 · Quirky format: 2 · Color, glow and night: 1 · Mud and obstacle: 1 · Animals: 1 · Iconic tradition: 1
- Food and drink 5K Cider Donut Dash at Billings Farm A foliage-season 5K on mowed paths through a working dairy farm's pastures, with live music on the course and a cider donut and cider at the finish.
- Food and drink Rail Trail & Ale 5K A Halloween-season costume 5K on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail in the Northeast Kingdom, ending with lunch and an ale poured by a local pizza shop.
- Food and drink Heady Trotter 4-Miler @ the Alchemist A 4-miler that starts and finishes on the lawn of the Alchemist, maker of the cult IPA Heady Topper, with a can of Heady at the finish and a music and beer festival.
- Food and drink Middlebury Maple Run Bills itself as 'Vermont's sweetest half marathon', with maple syrup for top finishers and a free post-race breakfast.
- Holiday and seasonal Ghostly Gallop Trail 5K A Halloween-costume trail 5K on the 'Laura's Tears' trail at a Milton golf course, for $15.
- Holiday and seasonal GMAA Turkey Trot 5K A roughly 50-year-old Burlington tradition with a suggested $5 donation entry, run on UVM's cross-country course, where only the top 10 times are recorded.
- Holiday and seasonal Zack's Place Thanksgiving Turkey Trot Vermont's largest Thanksgiving trot (1,600+ in 2024) loops through historic Woodstock village toward Billings Farm while a band plays from a flatbed truck.
- Color, glow and night Morrisville Festival of Lights 5K A December night run on a snow-packed rail trail lined with lights and luminaries; headlamps are required and glow sticks encouraged, with s'mores and cocoa at the riverside finish.
- Quirky format Spartan Death Race Spartan founder Joe De Sena’s multi-day endurance ordeal in the Vermont woods, held in winter and summer editions.
- Quirky format Ragnar Trail Vermont Overnight trail relay at Mt. Ascutney with camping, glamping and Ben & Jerry’s in the village.
- Mud and obstacle Vermont Spartan Event Weekend Spartan’s home-turf Beast and Ultra on Killington’s ski slopes, billed as “Joe’s backyard” where the series began.
- Novelty course Apple Harvest 10K An out-and-back from Shelburne Town Beach past apple orchards to a covered-bridge turnaround; Shelburne Orchards opens for picking and cider donuts on race day.
- Novelty course Ascutney Mountain Race A 3.7-mile run straight up Mount Ascutney's paved auto road, about 2,300 feet of climbing, held since 2001.
- Food and drink Brain Freezer 5K Challengers run half a 5K, eat a full pint of Vermont-made ice cream at Water Works Park, then finish the race.
- Novelty course Covered Bridges Half Marathon A point-to-point half marathon from Pomfret to Quechee that passes four covered bridges and goes through two of them.
- Novelty course Delta Dental Race To The Top Of Vermont Runners, hikers and cyclists all climb the historic Mansfield Toll Road, 4.3 miles and 2,564 vertical feet, to Vermont's highest peak.
- Food and drink Fairfax Egg Run Finishers are served omelets made to order.
- Food and drink Freezy Cheeks 5K Series RunVermont's three-race midwinter 5K series with open start windows; registration includes a beer at a Burlington brewery such as Zero Gravity.
- Animals IronPooch Bolton Valley Dog-and-human trail, canicross and obstacle races on Bolton Valley's ski trails, with canine medics on course and detours around every obstacle.
- Iconic tradition M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay Vermont's largest single-day sporting event, where 2-person and 3-5 person relay teams share a two-loop course past Church Street and Lake Champlain in front of about 20,000 spectators.
- Food and drink Vermont Dairy Festival Milk Run A 10K through northern Vermont dairy country during the 70-year-old Vermont Dairy Festival; it is the 'Milk' leg of Franklin County's Sap, Milk and Egg Triple Crown.
- Food and drink Vermont Maple Festival Sap Run Aid stations hand out shots of pure maple syrup, age-group winners get syrup, and the race finishes in the middle of the Vermont Maple Festival.