1. Kentucky Pumpkin Smash 5K & Kid’s Fun Run
This race is arguably the most cathartic combo since peanut butter met chocolate. Run first, then take out your aggression on a pile of pumpkins. After the race, pumpkins get dropped from ladders and smashed to bits, turning your everyday 5K into an anger management session.
3. SeaWorld San Diego Howl-O-Sprint 5K Run
Running through SeaWorld after dark while dressed as your favorite creature sounds like the plot of a fever dream. The course winds through the park's Halloween decorations while actual sea creatures judge your costume choices from their tanks.
4. Colorado Bear Creek Bear Run
This trail race takes runners through actual bear territory, donning bear costumes. You’ll jog past trees and chipmunks while having the lingering fear that an actual bear might show up and outpace you. If it does, just remember — you don’t have to be the fastest runner, just faster than the guy in the fuzziest suit.
5. New York City Marathon
No fall race list is complete without the Super Bowl of running. Fifty thousand runners take on all five boroughs while millions cheer, high-five and sip their drinks from the sidelines before it all ends at the world’s most famous finish line in Central Park.
6. Istanbul Marathon
Running from Asia to Europe in a single race sounds like something from an '80s action movie montage, but the Istanbul Marathon makes it reality. The course crosses the Bosphorus Bridge with ancient mosques, modern skylines and enough scenery to make every other race feel like a strip mall parking lot.
7. Maryland “We Got Your Six” Running Festival
This military-themed run honors veterans while giving civilians a reason to feel just a bit more tactical than they probably are. It’s the perfect moment to summon your inner Tony DiNozzo and yell “On your six, boss!” mid-run while trying not to trip over your own confidence.
8. Great Ethiopian Run 10K
One of the liveliest and most colorful races on the planet, tens of thousands of runners sing, dance and sprint through Addis Ababa at 7,700 feet, where the air’s thin but the energy’s anything but. Think the energy of a concert, the altitude of a ski trip and the crowd of a T-Swift tour.