Running Running Events in West Midlands 2026–2027

It's time to have some fun... Choice of 5K (ish), 10K (ish), Half Marathon and Marthon distances. Come and join us for the 8th Yabba Dabba Doo fun run at Chase Water Country Park. This multi lap event is great for people aiming to increase their distance and runners will complete as many 5K laps as they wish around the beautiful reservoir. The route is signed and the course is flat, fast, and hard underfoot with a mixture of hard stone, and pathways. There will also be aid stations full of lots of goodies to keep you going and each finisher will receive a Yabba Dabba doo medal. Fancy dress is highly encouraged! We will have use of Chasewaters facilities which include a cafe/toilets / Children’s park as well as the stunning views in the park. Want to make a day of it after the run, there are also water sports and steam train on site. Race HQ - The Visitor Centre, Chasewater Country Park, Pool Lane, Burntwood, Staffs, WS8 7NL

This an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal, flapjack and beer and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you. There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends. The 3.3-mile lap at Coombe Abbey Park means your race can be just over 5k or, given the relatively flat nature of the course, potentially 50+ miles! You decide how many laps you are going to do on the day within the 6-hour time limit. If you're looking to cover a marathon distance you'll need to complete 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps.

Run Alton Towers 10K, 5k & Junior Race on 14th November 2026 Join us at the UK’s biggest theme park for a brilliant morning of racing and rides. The Run Alton Towers 10K and Junior Race take you on a unique route inside Alton Towers Resort, with a finish you will remember and theme park entry included in every place. Celebrate your run with a full day of fun on the rides after you cross the line. Set on smooth, fully marked paths within the resort, the course is designed for flow and enjoyment. Expect clear signage with KM flags and mile markers, friendly marshals at key points, and a lively event village atmosphere to keep the energy high from start to finish.

Run Alton Towers Half Marathon & 5K on 15th November 2026 Take on the Half Marathon or 5K inside the UK’s largest theme park and enjoy a full day at Alton Towers Resort after your run. With theme park entry included in your place, this is a special race-day experience for first-timers, PB chasers, and families alike. You will follow a clearly signed route around the resort with KM flags and mile markers throughout. Our marshal team will help guide you and cheer you on all the way to the finish under the RunThrough gantry. Celebrate your achievement with the rides and a well-earned photo at the finish.

Situated in South Coventry, at the War Memorial Park. A venue that's hosted many sporting & entertainment events. A flat, pb rated event.  Course Record: Male: Eddie Lynch 32:35 Birmingham University (2024) Female: Jodie Stimpson 34.47 (2013) - 1105m plus 3 laps. potential pb course starting and finishing in Coventry WMP. - Accurately measured course - CHIP TIMING - Bespoke Medal & Spot Prize - Trophies first 3 runners - Directions: British Rail: Coventry - Bus Routes: - Changing facilities, toilets and baggage. - First Aid - Water at various parts of the course - Terrain: Pathway - Results published on www.mccpromotions.com; - Ample parking available - On-Day Registration - Charity: Acorns Children Hospice -

Ryton Pools Country Park (Nr. Coventry) is run and managed by Warwickshire County Council. The W3W for the location is here Parking costs up to £5 depending on how long you stay. There is a cafe and toilet block next to the HQ on site. Ryton Pools Country Park (CV8 3BH) is 15 minutes south of Coventry and 15 minutes from Junction 16 of the M1. The closest train stations are Rugby and Coventry. There aren’t any crocodiles at Ryton Pools are there? Well…!! We’ll be joined on the day by our friends at Roald Dhal’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, and Marvin the Marvelous Crocodile is their mascot. We have donated a limited number of places to them for people who may wish to raise funds for them. Click here for information regarding these limited fundraising places. We will also be donating 7.5% of the entry fees to the Crocodile Challenge to Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity (Registered Charity No. 1137409). As is the case with all of our events you are able to make a one-off donation on sign up if you wish to contribute to fund their amazing work too. What’s a 6 hour event? It is an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal and Big Bear drink and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you. There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends. Can I run with my dog? Yes!! We’ve had great success at events with canicross and we’re pleased to add this event too. You must keep your leads short and be considerate of the other runners. We’ll start the canicross runners off with the main field. If your dog won’t respond well to this consider starting a few minutes later or don’t bring your dog. It’s important that the dogs, you and the other runners have a pleasent day! Please read our general canicross rules here. Please make sure you enter the canicross specific race when you click on the enter button above. Course description Ryton Pools is relatively flat with a few little rises that you might not notice much on the first lap, but you might do at the end of 6 hours! Underfoot is crushed stone with a very small section of single track and a few areas that are a little looser than others. It is a very runnable course set around pools and open pasture. It’s a bit of a favorite which is why we’re returning for the 6th year in a row!   What does it cost? We operate a tiered pricing approach. The earlier you enter, the cheaper the event but never ever will you pay a booking fee! Before 21/12/2026 £38 From 21/12/2026 £43 Unaffiliated entrants pay £2 extra. Why not join your local running club or sign up the Big Bear Brigade and save 10% off entries for ever! How far is the race? You decide! The 3.3-mile out and back loop at Ryton Pools Country Park means your race can be just over 5k or, given the relatively flat nature of the course, potentially 50+ miles! You decide how many laps you are going to do on the day within the 6-hour time limit. If you're looking to cover a marathon distance you'll need to complete 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps. Do I have to raise money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity or run for a charity? No… BUT! We have a great partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. They provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children. There are currently over 200 Roald Dahl Nurses caring for more than 40,000 seriously ill children. This is our big annual fundraising event for the charity, we’re donating 7.5% of your entry fee straight to the charity, we’ve donated free places to them and we’re encouraging you to donate directly to them when you sign up. We want to help them towards making sure every seriously ill child has a Roald Dahl Nurse. Of course there is no obligation to do any of this, this is still a Big Bear Event and we’ll look after you like a hero as always. If you want to find out a little more about our partnership click here. Has the event been run before? Yes! It’s been our traditional “season opener” since 2018. You can find the previous results here. I’m unsure what to expect at a 6 hour event? We’ve made some videos to try and help newcomers understand Big Bear Events and 6 hour events a little more here. We’ve got lots of videos on our You Tube channel that might help you see what we’re all about! I’ve heard you do nice medals. What will it look like? Once it’s in our hands we’ll share the design with you! I’m not that fussed by a medal… In that case our partnership with Earth Runs will be perfect! Rather than give you a medal you don’t really want (and to help reduce waste) we’ll give you a Big Bear Tree Token. Not only will a tree be planted for each token given out but the token is also full of wildflower seeds for you to grow at home! Is there a gpx of the route? The route gpx can be found here. The route may be subject to last minute changes and there will be plenty of markings up on race day so you do not need to have this - but I know some of you like to anyway! Is this event suitable for Rucking? Definitely! Read all about how we do rucking here (or if you’ve no idea what rucking is find out here too!) I still have questions… Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here. I still have questions… Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here. Where is it? Ryton Pools Country Park (Nr. Coventry) is run and managed by Warwickshire County Council. The W3W for the location is here Here is a short video of the venue Parking costs up to £5 depending on how long you stay. There is a cafe and toilet block next to the HQ on site. Ryton Pools Country Park (CV8 3BH) is 15 minutes south of Coventry and 15 minutes from Junction 16 of the M1. The closest train stations are Rugby and Coventry. There aren’t any crocodiles at Ryton Pools are there? Well…!! We’ll be joined on the day by our friends at Roald Dhal’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, and Marvin the Marvelous Crocodile is their mascot. We have donated a limited number of places to them for people who may wish to raise funds for them. Click here for information regarding these limited fundraising places. We will also be donating 7.5% of the entry fees to the Crocodile Challenge to Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity (Registered Charity No. 1137409). As is the case with all of our events you are able to make a one-off donation on sign up if you wish to contribute to fund their amazing work too. What’s a 6 hour event? I’ve made a short video here to try to explain a little. It is an event that enables all abilities of runner to run together (or hike/walk!). Ultimately you can run as many 5k laps as you wish in the time limit. You can run one lap in 20 minutes, pick up your medal and Big Bear drink and go home! Alternatively you can head out on your 15th lap at 14:55 and finish in 6:30 having covered over 50 miles! It’s completely up to you. There is no pressure from us, but we’ll also see if you want one more lap! The format is great for people looking to run further than they’ve ever done before, do a long training run for future events or to enjoy a sociable event with your friends. Can I run with my dog? Yes!! We’ve had great success at events with canicross and we’re pleased to add this event too. You must keep your leads short and be considerate of the other runners. We’ll start the canicross runners off with the main field. If your dog won’t respond well to this consider starting a few minutes later or don’t bring your dog. It’s important that the dogs, you and the other runners have a pleasent day! Please read our general canicross rules here. Please make sure you enter the canicross specific race when you click on the enter button above. Course description Ryton Pools is relatively flat with a few little rises that you might not notice much on the first lap, but you might do at the end of 6 hours! Underfoot is crushed stone with a very small section of single track and a few areas that are a little looser than others. It is a very runnable course set around pools and open pasture. It’s a bit of a favorite which is why we’re returning for the 6th year in a row! What does it cost? We operate a tiered pricing approach. The earlier you enter, the cheaper the event but never ever will you pay a booking fee! Before 21/12/2026 £38 From 21/12/2026 £43 Unaffiliated entrants pay £2 extra. Why not join your local running club or sign up the Big Bear Brigade and save 10% off entries for ever! How far is the race? You decide! The 3.3-mile out and back loop at Ryton Pools Country Park means your race can be just over 5k or, given the relatively flat nature of the course, potentially 50+ miles! You decide how many laps you are going to do on the day within the 6-hour time limit. If you're looking to cover a marathon distance you'll need to complete 8 laps and a half marathon will be 4 laps. Do I have to raise money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity or run for a charity? No… BUT! We have a great partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. They provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children. There are currently over 200 Roald Dahl Nurses caring for more than 40,000 seriously ill children. This is our big annual fundraising event for the charity, we’re donating 7.5% of your entry fee straight to the charity, we’ve donated free places to them and we’re encouraging you to donate directly to them when you sign up. We want to help them towards making sure every seriously ill child has a Roald Dahl Nurse. Of course there is no obligation to do any of this, this is still a Big Bear Event and we’ll look after you like a hero as always. If you want to find out a little more about our partnership click here. Has the event been run before? Yes! It’s been our traditional “season opener” since 2018. You can find the previous results here. I’m unsure what to expect at a 6 hour event? We’ve made some videos to try and help newcomers understand Big Bear Events and 6 hour events a little more here. We’ve got lots of videos on our You Tube channel that might help you see what we’re all about! I’ve heard you do nice medals. What will it look like? Once it’s in our hands we’ll share the design with you! I’m not that fussed by a medal… In that case our partnership with Earth Runs will be perfect! Rather than give you a medal you don’t really want (and to help reduce waste) we’ll give you a Big Bear Tree Token. Not only will a tree be planted for each token given out but the token is also full of wildflower seeds for you to grow at home! Is there a gpx of the route? The route gpx can be found here. The route may be subject to last minute changes and there will be plenty of markings up on race day so you do not need to have this - but I know some of you like to anyway! Is this event suitable for Rucking? Definitely! Read all about how we do rucking here (or if you’ve no idea what rucking is find out here too!) I still have questions… Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here. I still have questions… Then why not join our Big Bear Events Facebook group and ask our ever so experienced runners in there or email us directly here. We want you to enter with the confidence you’ll have a great (if not tiring!) day so are happy to answer any question we’ve not covered off here.

From Run Fanatics

Swiftathon brings together the fun of a live tribute-style pop show with the buzz of a 5K or 10K run. Whether you’re a seasoned runner, a complete beginner, or simply love era-inspired pop anthems, Swiftathon is designed to be welcoming, accessible and full of feel-good energy from start to finish. Run, jog, walk or dance your way around the course through one of the city’s most iconic parks, with music keeping the atmosphere high every step of the way. Whether you’re chasing a PB, running your first 5K, or just here for the pop vibes, Swiftathon is all about enjoying every step. We’re taking the tribute-style performance out of the usual music venue and into the park for the whole family to enjoy, combining live entertainment, a DJ, on-course music guides, professional photography and finisher’s medals to create a fully immersive themed race experience.