Washington fun runs
67 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Washington.
Holiday and seasonal: 18 · Novelty course: 14 · Food and drink: 12 · Iconic tradition: 7 · Quirky format: 5 · Costume and theme: 4 · Color, glow and night: 4 · Mud and obstacle: 3
- Food and drink Airfield Estates 5K Vineyard Run A harvest-season vineyard 5K with grape tasting along the course, a dog division in the awards, and a pre-race aircraft flyover at a winery named for its WWII airfield.
- Holiday and seasonal Moses Lake Athletics Club Pumpkin Run An all-terrain 5K through a pumpkin patch, corn maze, orchards and wheat fields at Turner Pumpkin Junction in the Columbia Basin.
- Holiday and seasonal Zombie Run 5K A county-run Halloween 5K where volunteer zombies lurk along a forested trail and chase the runners.
- Food and drink The Stein Dash A 5K at the Washington State Fair grounds where runners carry a tasting stein and fill it at three on-course beer stops, finishing into Oktoberfest NW.
- Costume and theme Arlington's Oktoberfest 5K Sasquatch Stroll A 5K that opens Arlington's Oktoberfest, where runners show up in lederhosen or Sasquatch gear and finish with beer garden entry.
- Costume and theme Boots & Boogie 5K A Western-meets-Halloween costume 5K on park trails, hosted by a mounted cowgirl drill team, where boots and cowboy hats are encouraged.
- Holiday and seasonal Scary Run An evening Halloween costume run along the Columbia River where costumed monsters and zombies lurk on the course to chase participants.
- Food and drink Washington Brewery Running Series Seattle-area beer-run season with an Elysian Capitol Hill stop, a stair-climb beer run and a Halloween costume beer run.
- Holiday and seasonal Run Scared 10K, 5K and 2 Mile A Halloween costume run on the Seward Park peninsula with a candy corn tasting bar, treasure hunt and costume contest.
- Holiday and seasonal BRRC Thanksgiving Turkey Trot A free, untimed Thanksgiving figure-eight through Manito Park where thousands of Spokane families show up with food bank donations instead of entry fees.
- Holiday and seasonal Fowl Play 5K A Thanksgiving morning turkey trot starting at the Front Street Gazebo in Leavenworth's Bavarian village as Christmastown lights go up.
- Holiday and seasonal Thanksgiving Day Apple Cup 5K A Green Lake turkey trot where runners pick a side in the Huskies-vs-Cougars Apple Cup rivalry and race in purple or crimson (or a turkey costume).
- Color, glow and night Jamestown Glow Run/Walk A dusk 5K/10K from the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe campus, lit up for the holidays, out and back on the Olympic Discovery Trail by headlamp.
- Holiday and seasonal Seaport Striders Santa Run A $5 Santa fun run where everyone gets a free Santa hat and jingle bells, and the only awards are for best costumes.
- Food and drink The Electric Cookie Run An after-dark December loop of Green Lake in holiday attire that ends with a light-up medal and cookies from Seattle bakeries.
- Holiday and seasonal Anacortes Santa Run Every runner gets a full Santa suit for a 5K around Cap Sante Marina, and the winners take home a gallon of eggnog.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run Bellingham Arthritis Foundation holiday 5K where runners tie jingle bells to their shoes and race in festive costumes.
- Holiday and seasonal Santa Runs Tacoma A December holiday half, 10K and 5K along Tacoma's Ruston Way waterfront to Dune Peninsula, known locally for its Santa medals.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle Bell Run Seattle Arthritis Foundation holiday 5K where runners tie jingle bells to their shoes and race in festive costumes.
- Novelty course Lampson Cable Bridge Run A December holiday run that starts when Santa sounds the horn and crosses the Columbia River on the Cable Bridge from Kennewick to Pasco, finishing in a crane yard.
- Holiday and seasonal Christmas Eve Ugly Sweater & Elf Dash 5K A Christmas Eve morning 5K in ugly sweaters and elf costumes, with a kids' Elf Dash through a lane of holiday inflatables and Santa's arrival at the park.
- Holiday and seasonal Resolution Run 5K and Polar Bear Dive A New Year's Day 5K with an optional plunge into Lake Washington about 100 yards before the finish, taken by roughly 60% of runners.
- Quirky format Conconully Outhouse Races Teams push homemade outhouses mounted on skis, each with a helmeted rider on the toilet, down snow-covered Main Street in a tiny Okanogan town.
- Food and drink SKECHERS Hot Chocolate Run Seattle Chocolate run that starts and finishes at Seattle Center beside Climate Pledge Arena, under the Space Needle.
- Holiday and seasonal Kirkland Shamrock Run A wear-the-green St. Patrick's run along Lake Washington Boulevard with views across the lake to the Seattle skyline.
- Holiday and seasonal Runnin' O' the Green Bellingham's city-run St. Patrick's 5K and 8K, a long-standing spring kickoff for the local running community.
- Holiday and seasonal St. Patrick's Day Dash Seattle's largest single-distance fun run, born in the 1980s as a race between bars, fills downtown streets with green-clad and costumed dashers.
- Novelty course Big Climb Seattle A stair race up 69 floors and 1,311 steps inside Columbia Center, the tallest skyscraper in Seattle.
- Mud and obstacle Seattle North Spartan Event Weekend Spring Spartan race on a 900-acre former Nordstrom-family Arabian horse farm where three rivers meet.
- Color, glow and night Bubble Run Seattle Seattle-area foam 5K held at the Washington State Fairgrounds.
- Mud and obstacle Seattle Spartan Trifecta Weekend Spartan's 2026 North American Championship weekend, run on evergreen trails between Puget Sound and the Cascades.
- Iconic tradition Apple Blossom Run A 30-plus-year festival run that clears the route for the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival's Grand Parade in the 'Apple Capital of the World.'
- Novelty course Base 2 Space The one day a year the public can climb the Space Needle's open-air staircases, 832 steps to the 520-foot observation deck.
- Food and drink Beat The Blerch Created by The Oatmeal webcomic, the race stocks aid stations with birthday cake and Nutella, puts couches on the course and has a costumed Blerch chasing runners.
- Novelty course Beat the Bridge for Breakthrough T1D Runners race to cross Seattle's University Bridge before it is raised mid-race; anyone too slow waits for the drawbridge to come back down.
- Iconic tradition Bill Burby Inspirational 5K Run/Walk A 44-year-old island race that opens Vashon's century-old Strawberry Festival, with runners heading uptown afterward for strawberry shortcake and the parade.
- Iconic tradition Chuckanut Foot Race Bellingham's trail-running tradition since 1968: a 7-mile point-to-point on the Interurban Trail from Fairhaven to Larrabee State Park, with strawberry shortcake at the finish.
- Novelty course Corn Maze Craze A race through the corn maze at Bob's Corn & Pumpkin Farm before it opens to the public, with the 7K looping the maze twice.
- Food and drink Donut Dash A county-run 5K on the Foothills Trail in Orting where every finisher gets a doughnut from local Legendary Doughnuts.
- Holiday and seasonal Edmonds 4th of July 5K An Independence Day 5K that finishes on the Edmonds parade route as crowds gather for the town's Fourth of July parade, with a costume contest before the start.
- Color, glow and night FoamGlow Seattle Night 5K through glow-in-the-dark foam zones under blacklights, billed as over a million cubic feet of foam.
- Novelty course Galloping Gertie Half Marathon, 10K & 5K All three distances run onto the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, named for 'Galloping Gertie,' the original span that famously collapsed in 1940.
- Iconic tradition Jefferson Healthcare Rhody Run Port Townsend's Rhododendron Festival race, run for 45 years, based at the historic coastal artillery post of Fort Worden.
- Color, glow and night Kaiser Permanente Seafair Torchlight Run An evening 5K on the Seattle waterfront that runs the parade route just ahead of the Seafair Torchlight Parade, with crowds already lining the street.
- Iconic tradition Leavenworth Marathon A marathon and half through Washington's Bavarian-themed village on the opening weekend of Leavenworth Oktoberfest.
- Novelty course Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathons (Tunnel Marathon Series) Runners carry headlamps through the 2.3-mile Snoqualmie Tunnel, a pitch-dark former railroad tunnel under the Cascades, with a pinpoint of daylight ahead.
- Iconic tradition Lilac Bloomsday Run A 12K that fills downtown Spokane with tens of thousands of runners, walkers and costumed participants every first Sunday in May, climbing the notorious Doomsday Hill.
- Costume and theme Metaline Falls Bigfoot 5K Race & LittleFoot Kids Run A 5K that kicks off a tiny northeastern Washington town's Bigfoot Festival, running past the historic Cutter Theatre and along the Pend Oreille River.
- Novelty course Mount Rainier Half Marathon, 10K & 5K Hill Climb At Crystal Mountain ski resort, the 5K climbs about 2,300 feet straight up the slopes with a gondola ride down, while the 10K and half start at the summit facing Mount Rainier.
- Novelty course Owl Together Now An evening 3-mile run around Point Defiance's Five Mile Drive that finishes on the main promenade inside Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.
- Quirky format Planters Days Bed Race Five-person teams push a bed down a Woodland street, stopping for mandatory pajama changes and a full 'fire drill' lap around the bed before racing back.
- Quirky format Ragnar Road Northwest Passage Overnight road relay from the Canadian border at Peace Arch to Whidbey Island, crossing Deception Pass.
- Quirky format Ragnar Trail Rainier Trail relay at Crystal Mountain ski resort with Mt. Rainier views and a gondola ride in the middle of the race.
- Food and drink Rattlesnake Hills Wine Runs Marathon-to-5K races through the Rattlesnake Hills wine region of the Yakima Valley, ending at an after-party with wine, food trucks and a souvenir glass.
- Costume and theme Run & Walk with Pride Seattle Frontrunners' Pride Month run and walk around the Seward Park peninsula, followed by a lakeside DJ party, with proceeds to LGBTQIA+ nonprofits.
- Food and drink Run or Wine 5K & 10K A 5K or 10K along the Sammamish River Trail that ends with drink tickets at Woodinville wineries, breweries and cideries.
- Novelty course Run the Dam A road race that crosses the top of Grand Coulee Dam, one of the largest concrete structures in the world, and runs through the walls of the coulee.
- Novelty course Seattle Mariners Diamond Dash 5K/1K A 5K that winds through every level of T-Mobile Park, home of the Mariners, before finishing on the warning track.
- Food and drink Shuck & Share 5K+1 Run/Walk A slightly-longer-than-5K ('5K+1') run on the Sunday of OysterFest, the Washington State Seafood Festival and West Coast Oyster Shucking Championship.
- Novelty course Skagit Valley Tulip Run A 40-year-old spring race held on the grounds of Skagit Regional Airport during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, a few miles from the bloom fields.
- Quirky format Ski to Sea Race A seven-leg relay that starts on the snow at Mt. Baker Ski Area and finishes on the beach at Bellingham Bay, with teams skiing, running, cycling, canoeing and kayaking.
- Novelty course Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon / 10K / 5K Runners cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and finish with a lap of the warning track inside Cheney Stadium, home of the Tacoma Rainiers.
- Mud and obstacle The Ultimate Ram OCR Challenge A homegrown 5-mile, 30-plus-obstacle course race in the woods around Riverside High School north of Spokane, with competitive waves racing for prize money.
- Food and drink Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5K Seattle's hometown doughnut chain Top Pot fills a Green Lake 5K with doughnuts, and even its pre-race training runs end with free doughnuts and coffee.
- Iconic tradition Viking Fest Road Race A waterfront 5-miler that opens Poulsbo's Viking Fest, the 'Little Norway' town's celebration with a lutefisk-eating contest and Viking parade.
- Food and drink Wilridge Wine Run 5K A Friday-evening cross-country 5K through the vines of Wilridge, the first certified organic and biodynamic winery in Washington, with wine at the finish.
- Novelty course World's Longest Beach Run A 5K run or walk on the sand of the Long Beach Peninsula, which bills itself as the world's longest natural beach at 28-plus unbroken miles.