Wisconsin fun runs
40 seasonal, themed and one-of-a-kind fun runs in Wisconsin.
Holiday and seasonal: 13 · Food and drink: 9 · Novelty course: 4 · Color, glow and night: 4 · Quirky format: 3 · Iconic tradition: 2 · Mud and obstacle: 2 · Costume and theme: 2 · Animals: 1
- Quirky format Door County Fall 50 A 50-mile point-to-point down the Door County peninsula from Gills Rock to Sturgeon Bay, run solo or as 2-5 person relays during peak fall color.
- Holiday and seasonal Downtown Janesville Zombie Run An evening downtown zombie run with costume contests for people and their dogs.
- Holiday and seasonal Haunted Hustle A Halloween race weekend with a half marathon, 10K, 5K, a Zombie Walk 5K and a costumed dog jog.
- Holiday and seasonal Hot Cider Hustle – Shorewood Shorewood’s stop on a Midwest fall race series built around hot apple cider at the finish and cold-weather fleece swag.
- Holiday and seasonal Hot Cider Hustle – Green Bay Green Bay’s stop on a Midwest fall race series built around hot apple cider at the finish and cold-weather fleece swag.
- Holiday and seasonal Zombie Zoom A Halloween-morning 5K in Two Rivers with zombie face painting before the start.
- Novelty course Road America Walk/Run A 4-mile run around the Road America motorsports circuit.
- Holiday and seasonal Birdie Derby (formerly Berbee Derby) The Madison area's long-standing Thanksgiving morning race, renamed from the Berbee Derby.
- Holiday and seasonal Festival Foods Turkey Trot Wisconsin's statewide Thanksgiving trot, with 36,000+ participants across host cities including Lambeau's tailgate village and the Brewers' ballpark.
- Color, glow and night Run for the Lights A late-afternoon run through Irvine Park timed so runners finish as the Christmas Village lights switch on.
- Color, glow and night Ugly Sweater 5K A dusk ugly-sweater 5K through the La Crosse River Marsh that finishes among the Rotary Lights holiday display.
- Holiday and seasonal Run Santa Run 5K Madison Runners pick a Santa, elf or penguin costume and take over downtown Madison for an afternoon holiday 5K.
- Holiday and seasonal Fleet Feet New Year's Day Dash A long-running New Year's Day 5-miler from a Madison-area running store.
- Iconic tradition SNOW Fun Run A January resort run-and-party at Grand Geneva that began in 1980 at the Playboy Club on the same grounds.
- Novelty course Frozen Assets 5K A 5K run entirely on the frozen surface of Lake Mendota, billed as the only race of its kind in North America.
- Holiday and seasonal Lucky Leprechaun 7K A St. Patrick's 7K where runners can opt to literally crawl the last 100 yards to the beer, and the medal doubles as a bottle opener.
- Quirky format Wisconsin Wife Carrying Championship Carriers haul a partner over a 278-yard sand, grass and water-hazard course; the winners take home the carried person's weight in beer plus $5 a pound.
- Color, glow and night Storm the Bastille 5K A 9 p.m. downtown night run that kicks off Milwaukee's Bastille Days at a 42-foot Eiffel Tower replica.
- Novelty course Birkie Trail Run & Trek A fall trail-running festival on the American Birkebeiner ski trail, North America's largest cross-country ski race route.
- Color, glow and night Bubble Run – Madison A non-competitive 5K through stations of colored bubble foam at Alliant Energy Center, ending in a bubble dance party.
- Food and drink Burrito Biathlon A run-and-eat 5K with a mid-race burrito, revived in 2026 after an 11-year hiatus.
- Quirky format Cedarburg Winter Festival Bed Races Five-person teams push decorated bed frames on runners across the frozen mill pond at Cedarburg's Winter Festival.
- Food and drink Cheesehead Chase A summer race in Plymouth, the self-styled 'Cheese Capital of the World', with a Cheese Curd dash for little kids.
- Food and drink Chili Bowls & Running Soles A spring 5K with chili at the finish and hidden chili tokens on the course that earn extra swag.
- Iconic tradition Crazylegs Classic Tens of thousands run from the UW campus to a finish on the Camp Randall Stadium field, named for Badgers legend Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch.
- Mud and obstacle Down & Dirty Trail Run A 1.5-mile trail run with more than 10 mud pits on the ski hill at Fort McCoy.
- Costume and theme Famous Racing Sausages 5K & 10K A ballpark race named for the Brewers' Famous Racing Sausages mascots, starting and finishing at American Family Field.
- Mud and obstacle Farm-Fit Challenge An obstacle course on a working dairy farm, with calf feeding and tire flips between the hay bales.
- Food and drink Grafton Donut DASH A donut mile on a high school track: eat four donuts and run four laps in heats of 15.
- Holiday and seasonal Jingle in July – Wisconsin A midsummer, Christmas-in-July version of the Jingle Bell Run, held at a craft brewery outside Madison.
- Food and drink Locust Street Beer Run A 1.6-mile Riverwest street-festival race with four beer stops, where winners only count if they drank their beers.
- Costume and theme Lumberjack Run A 5K/10K from the Lumberjack Bowl during the Lumberjack World Championships, with prizes for the best lumberjack and lumberjill costumes.
- Food and drink Mama K's Cookie Run A cookie-fueled Labor Day weekend 5K on Oconomowoc's Village Green.
- Food and drink Milwaukee Beer Run 5K & .05K Run a 5K, or the joke '.05K' of 54 yards, then enter Oktoberfest at the Bavarian Bierhaus.
- Novelty course Packers 5K Run/Walk Run down the Lambeau Field players' tunnel and around the stadium's field-level track, then finish on a replica 50-yard line.
- Animals Samson Stomp & Romp A January run through the Milwaukee County Zoo honoring Samson, the zoo's famous silverback gorilla.
- Holiday and seasonal Splash and Dash 5K & Polar Plunge A New Year's Day 5K on Racine's lakefront followed an hour later by a plunge into Lake Michigan.
- Food and drink Wisconsin Cheese Run A cheese-themed 5K run, ruck or walk that closes Wisconsin's food-themed Yum Run Series.
- Holiday and seasonal Wisconsin Dells Thirsty Shamrock 5K A St. Patrick's 5K in downtown Wisconsin Dells that hands out green donuts and green beer.
- Food and drink Wisconsin Pickle Run A pickle-themed spring 5K in Wales, the second stop of Wisconsin's food-themed Yum Run Series.