Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
Ekiden (駅伝) is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on roads.
Grandma's Marathon (Grandma's) is an annual road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the city of Two Harbors on Scenic Route 61 and continues along Lake Superior into the city of Duluth. The finish is located in Canal Park, near Grandma's Restaurant, which is next to the highly visible Aerial Lift Bridge.
The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently with a half marathon and a 5 km race. The 2007 race included the first-ever satellite running of the event, run simultaneously in Fallujah, Iraq.
The Ottawa Race Weekend is an annual weekend of road running events held the last weekend of May in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The two-day running event includes seven races, including the Ottawa Marathon, all of which start and end at Ottawa City Hall. The marathon was first held in 1975, and is categorized as an Elite Label Road Race by World Athletics. Over 40,000 participants take part in the races each year.
The Dallas Turkey Trot is an annual turkey trot footrace over an 8.2 miles (13.2 km) course through the city of Dallas, Texas (USA). There is also a 5k fun run/walk. Participants may choose to register for the 5k as a timed or untimed runner.
The Peachtree Road Race is an American 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta. After being held on Independence Day from 1970 to 2019, the race was cancelled temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic after originally being set for Thanksgiving. It is the world's largest 10k race, a title it has held since the late 1970s. The race has become a citywide tradition in which over 70,000 amateur and professional runners try to register for one of the limited 60,000 spots. The event also includes a wheelchair race, which precedes the footrace. In recent years, the race also has a special division for soldiers stationed in the Middle East. The race attracts some of the world's elite 10K runners and has served as both the United States' men's and women's 10K championship.
The Crim Festival of Races is an annual road running event with several races and walking events. The original distance was 10 miles and is the marque race as "The Crim" with its infamous Bradley Hills and blue line to keep runners on course. The Crim has been held in August in Flint, Michigan since 1977. It draws runners from around the world from countries such as Kenya, Russia, and Ukraine. The race attracts approximately 50,000 people each year. The festival is one of the Flint Parade of Festivals.
Freihofer's Run for Women is an annual five-kilometer road running competition for women that is usually held in late May or early June in Albany, New York, United States. First held in 1979, the race has grown into a sizable event that holds IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and had 3,927 participants at the 2010 edition. The 2011 edition garnered 5,000 entries, four-fifths of whom were distance runners.
The Illinois Marathon is a for-profit marathon which was held for the first time on April 11, 2009 in Champaign, Illinois. This was to be the first marathon ever held in Champaign. The course is very flat and it was expected to produce fast times, with only 85 feet (26 m) of elevation change. Race weekends have been held annually on the fourth weekend in April since 2009, with the only cancellation to date being the 2020 Race Weekend as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The races offered are:
Lawyers Have Heart 10K Race, 5K Run and Fun Walk is an annual event that raises money for the research and community education programs of the greater Washington D.C. region affiliate of the American Heart Association (AHA). The event brings together law firms, in house counsel, government attorneys, legal vendors, residents, parents, children and athletes of all levels of experience, to raise awareness and public consciousness regarding heart disease and stroke. Since its inception in 1991, Lawyers Have Heart has raised over $13 million to benefit the AHA and further its mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. LHH is now one of the largest annual philanthropic endeavors supported by the greater DC legal community and has grown to become the area's largest 10K race. The event has a fundraising goal of $1.5 million for the 2023 event taking place on Saturday, May 20 at 8:00 AM in Washington, D.C.
Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt 10-to-12-mile-long obstacle courses. It was co-founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. The obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and heights.
Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying difficulty, ranging from 3 miles to ultra-marathon distances of 50k+.
The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of five kilometres (3.107 mi). Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 metres track running event by stating the distance in kilometres, rather than metres.
Beach Dash is a 5K obstacle race on a beach that was formerly run by Red Frog Events. The rights to the name and race were sold to an Australian event company because of its failure in the United States.
Obstacle course racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometers which incorporate elements of track, road and/or cross country/trail running. Courses may include climbing over walls or up ropes, monkey bars, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water or mud, crawling under barbed wire, and jumping through fire. Since the beginning of modern OCR in 1987, the sport has grown in popularity such that more than 2500 events are held annually across the world and several run organizing companies are commercially successful.
Zombies, Run! is a 2012 mobile fitness game co-developed and published by British studio Six to Start and Naomi Alderman for iOS and Android platforms. Set around Abel Township, a small outpost trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, players act as the character "Runner 5" through a series of missions during which they run, collect items to help the town survive and listen to various audio narrations to uncover mysteries.
The Color Run is an event series and five kilometer paint race, inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi, that is owned and operated by The Color Run LLC, a for-profit company. It takes place in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The untimed event has no winners or prizes, but runners are showered with colored powder, made of food-grade corn starch, at stations along the run.
The Walt Disney World Marathon is an annual marathon held every January in Bay Lake, Florida by runDisney. The race has been held since 1994. The marathon is part of a weekend race series that also includes a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon, as well as a number of challenges involving one or more of these races.
Rugged Maniac, also known as the Mud Run, was an annual obstacle course race, which was hosted in multiple cities across the United States and Canada in 2010-2023. Participants completed a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) course with obstacles that included muddy water slides, crawling through tunnels, jumping over logs set on fire, and scaling large, curved walls. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban invested in Rugged Maniac, after meeting them on season 5 of the hit ABC reality show Shark Tank.
