Grinch Gallop

Grinch Gallop is run in Van Alstyne, Texas, on December 19, 2026, as a single festive 5K starting at 8:00 a.m. The event is built around the Grinch story, and participants are free to run, jog or walk the distance at whatever pace suits them. Costumes are part of the appeal, with entrants encouraged to turn up dressed as characters from the tale rather than in standard race kit.

Five kilometers on the road in late December is an accessible target even for someone who has not raced all year, and the walk-friendly format removes any pressure to hit a time. Runners who do want to push can use it as a sharpener between winter base weeks: a couple of sessions of 1-kilometer repeats in the fortnight beforehand will do the job. An 8:00 a.m. gun rewards an early, unhurried warm-up.