So this year, get something on the calendar—something like the events below that bring
out your competitive side, are epic enough to make you really reach for bragging rights,
or ones that bring you tighter with a group. Use this list to get stoked and get started.

Big Sugar Gravel

Whether it’s for the adventure, the nature contact, or its accessibility, everybody’s riding gravel now, including pros in the Tour de France. The exploding number of gravel races in the US mean lots of opportunities to challenge your agility (and quads) in events with notoriously friendly vibes. Big Sugar Gravel in the Ozark Mountains will challenge you to 25, 50, or 100 miles, with plenty of elevation gain. October 18; bigsugargravel.com; various distances; prices depend on distance.

Green Beret Fitness

Go rucking with Operation One Zero, in Provo, Utah. This beginner-friendly race-with-weight navigates your through a 10-mile course along the Provo River. As the trek goes on, the challenge grows just as much mental as physical. Or pull your weight through Green Beret Fitness events across the country, designed to push the kind of strength that’s built in military training. July 12; greenberetfitness.com; $65.

IU Health 500 Festival Mini Marathon

Pound the same pavement legends Mario Andretti, Al Unser, and A.J. Foyt once dominated. Find your top speed along the course of the IU Health 500 Festival Mini Marathon in Indiana, where you complete a lap on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before crossing the finishing line in downtown Indy. May 3; indymini.com; $89.

Oahu Pentathlon

If you’re bored by one sport—or even three—the Oahu Pentathlon is the ultimate versatility challenge. Start at sunrise and circumnavigate the island’s 135 miles with a 2-mile swim, 16-mile run, 12-mile paddle, 10-mile carry, and 95-mile bike—by sunrise the next morning. Go solo or divide it into a team event. August 9; oahupentathlon.com; $156-$332

Rim to Rim Run

Quad-busting downhills. Extreme temperature shifts. Narrow ledges. A nearly 5,000 feet of elevation change each way. The iconic Grand Canyon rim-to-rim run offers a 20.6- or 23-miler, depending on which way you go, and takes in-shape runners 8 to 13 hours. Next Level: Go rim-to-rim-to-rim in a day. Most people do it DIY; you can also raise money for charity via Run2Revive and do it as a group. September 19-22 and 26-29; Run2revive.org; $1995 + $2,000 in fundraising.

Fjallraven Classic

The 3-day, 30.5-mile Fjallraven Classic Trek in the Colorado Rockies is as solid, eco-friendly and no-nonsense. Fjallraven provides maps and water stops. You go at your own pace and carry everything you need from 9,000 feet to almost 12,000 and back through untamed territory. You’ll need to be fit, but the reasonable daily mileage means slower trekkers can join, too. Limited spots mean you’re only sharing trails with about 80 people. experience.fjallraven.com; $200.

Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen

Test your hill training by completing 13 (baker’s dozen) of the city’s toughest climbs in the Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen bike race. Shortish ones (1/4 mile) offer no-mercy 13- to 20-percent grades. The race caters to both mountain goats and mere mortals with categories for serious racers and more casual competitors. October, 2025; bikereg.com; $65-$75

Hood to Coast Relay

Test your running and walking endurance with eight to 12 of your fittest buddies in the “Mother of all Relays,” the Providence Hood to Coast Relay. The 41-year-old racecourse leads teams through the Oregon backroads from the base of Mount Hood (198 miles) or Portland (128 miles) all the way to the coastline. August 22-23; hoodtocoast.com; $1,776 to $2,483 per team, depending on distance.

Special Olympics Plane Pull

Assemble a team to heft a 140,000-pound Boeing 737 across a tarmac as fast as you can, in support of Special Olympics. Pro tip: Practice on a sled, first. Various locations; specialolympics.org/programs to find a chaper near you; $1,000 per team.

Pinot Paddle

You’re going to want to prioritize arm day and core training to make it through Pinot Paddle, a two-day river ride through Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Don’t worry, there are wine tastings along the way. Mid-July; willamette-riverkeeper.org/pinot-paddle; $500 per person

The Beer Mile

Drink a beer before every ¼ mile and still run your fastest. Film yourself doing it at mostly locally organized events to get selected for the Beer Mile World Championships; likely in Europe this year. beermile.com.

Pond Skim

Go over the top of a frigid pond at the bottom of a ski slope at these classic springtime events at ski areas including the Sun Valley Resort, Sugarbush, Mammoth Mountain, and Vail.

JFK Runway 5K

Run on the tarmac at one of the country’s busiest airports (no live traffic areas included, fear not). JFKRunwayRun.org

Man Against Horse

Can you run faster than a horse for 13.1, 25, or 50 miles in Prescott, AZ? The horses are on a bit of a losing streak right now; this might be your moment. Managainsthorse.com

Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival

It’s February in Vermont, so why not carve a 2-lane pool into the ice in Newport, VT and hold a swim meet there? No neoprene allowed. Kingdomgames.co Kingdomgames.com/Memphremagog-winter-swimming-society

Corn Maze 5K

The biggest corn maze 5K in the country in Spring Grove, IL, tests your cornering and nav skills with 250 turns. Allcommunityevents.com.