Any runner who has earned a medal or two will know that there is always a special atmosphere at the end of the best running events. Usually you can only stick around for an hour or so to luxuriate in that atmosphere and enjoy connecting with your fellow runners—but at a running festival, you can enjoy that feeling for a lot longer as the party continues into the night.
There will also usually be music, food and drink to enhance the party atmosphere, and because running festivals are usually set in beautiful locations, the runs you do will be especially scenic and focus on enjoyment of your surroundings rather than smashing a PR.
We’ve picked out a selection of the best running festivals from around the world, with events to suit all kinds of runners including ultramarathon trail runners and track run spectators.
Love Trails
Enjoy four days and nights of trail-running action around the gorgeous Gower Peninsula and Brecon Beacons in South Wales. The range of runs is extensive; the shortest is a 5K and the longest an ultramarathon, and running is just one of the activities on offer—there are also opportunities to go kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, climbing and more. The trail runs are a mix of guided trips and marked-course events, and some of the UK’s leading trail and ultramarathon runners will be giving talks to inspire you to get out there.
Buy tickets for Love Trails Festival
Atjan Wild Islands
This five-day event in the Faroe Islands includes four trail races, with distances ranging from 10K to an ultramarathon. The rugged island scenery is sure to thrill those keen on escaping busy cities in particular. Outside of running, those brave enough have ample opportunity for wild swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, and once the day is done festival-goers congregate around the campfire for live music and dancing.
Buy tickets for Atjan Wild Islands
Keswick Mountain Festival
Running is just one of the activities available at this event in the Lake District in the north of England, with hiking, cycling, swimming and full triathlons also on offer. You can run a 5K, 10K, half marathon or 50K ultramarathon, and there is also a mountain run up Skiddaw in which you climb over 3500ft. There is live music in the evenings, along with talks and workshops to help you get even more out of the mountains.
Buy tickets for Keswick Mountain Festival
UTMB
The biggest event on the ultramarathon calendar, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France now comprises eight races including the big one itself which is over 100 miles and requires participating in other ultramarathons plus luck in a lottery. There are much shorter and easier events to consider though, like ETC, which is 9.3 miles long (though still packs in almost 4000ft of climbing). Even if you don’t enter an official event, simply being in Chamonix to enjoy the festival atmosphere surrounding UTMB and do some solo runs will be enough of a thrill.
Night Of The 10K PBs
A wild night of 10,000m racing at a track on Hampstead Heath in north London, with a frenzied atmosphere on the sidelines where spectators embrace the #Lane3BeerNCheer ethos demanded by the event. You have to be very fast to qualify to enter the races themselves, which run from the afternoon to the evening and are capped off by men’s and women’s elite races, but this is one festival where it’s almost more fun to not run, but simply to enjoy the atmosphere and cheer on the runners. You don't need to book tickets to spectate, just turn up.
More info about Night Of The 10K PBs
Anchorage Runfest
This two-day event in Alaska features a big slate of races, with distance ranging from a mile up to a 49km ultramarathon. There’s a marathon and a marathon relay option on the Sunday, and runners can double up on events by doing a mile race on the Saturday before something longer on the Sunday. Along with the runs, there’s a movie night in the week before the races, showcasing the Trails In Motion Film Tour, which has films about trail- and ultra-running.
