Good Fun Run themes match the season and give you a story for the shirt, the course and the prizes. Popular school themes include Color Run, Glow Run, Superhero, Space, Monster Dash in October, Turkey Trot in November, Frosty Fun Run in winter and Shamrockin' in March. Pick the theme first, then tie your incentives to it.
A theme costs little and does a lot of work: it names the shirt, decorates the course and gives the principal's stunt a reason. For seven of these written up as complete events, some with school stories, read 7 Fresh Fun Runs for Schools.
Once you have a theme, our Fun Run fundraiser guide walks through the rest of the plan, and our Fun Run ideas page has the stations and challenges to build around it.
Fall Fun Run themes
Monster Dash or Spooky Sprint
Concept: A Halloween run in costume, with spooky music on the course and a spooky-twist snack at the finish.
Incentive: A classic spooky movie with popcorn for the top classes.
More: Festive fall fundraisers
Turkey Trot
Concept: A Thanksgiving run the week before break, with families invited to walk the last lap. Some schools call it a Gobbler Gallop.
Incentive: The principal in a turkey costume, or a pie in the face at the goal.
Schools that ran it: Desert Vista Elementary's principal wore an inflatable turkey costume at drop-off and pick-up. Saguaro Creek raised $18K at its first-ever Turkey Trot. Read the Turkey Trot stories
Trot Wars
Concept: A space-battle Turkey Trot where students compete on teams.
Incentive: A new planet challenge each week of the lead-up.
School that ran it: St. John Vianney School ran Trot Wars with team competition and six weeks of planet challenges. Source
Glow Run
Concept: A run after dark with glow sticks on a lit course. Late fall's early sunsets make it easy to schedule, and evening timing lets working parents come.
Incentive: Glow wristbands at the first milestone.
Schools that ran it: Forestville Road Elementary runs a Glow Run with Get Movin'. Pershing School (K-8) held one in the gym during recess, with middle schoolers as helpers (source).
Winter Fun Run themes
Frosty Fun Run
Concept: Students run in snowman, elf or reindeer costumes to holiday music.
Incentive: A hot chocolate party for everyone at the end.
Jingle Jog
Concept: A warm-weather holiday run through foam, with garlands on the course and Santa hats with sunglasses.
Incentive: A popsicle party, or a school-wide foam finale at the goal.
Winter Wonderland
Concept: The track or gym decorated with lights and snowflakes, with scarves, hats and light-up accessories. It works as a walk or a run.
Incentive: Fuzzy socks at a student milestone, and a classroom hot cocoa party.
Spring Fun Run themes
Dr. Seuss Dash
Concept: A reading-meets-running event in early March, around Dr. Seuss's birthday, with character cutouts and dress-up days.
Incentive: A book-character dress-up day when the school hits its goal.
Shamrockin' Fun Run
Concept: A St. Patrick's Day run in green, with shamrocks, rainbows and pots of gold on the course.
Incentive: Each class fills a pot with gold coins as it gives, and the school slimes the principal at the goal.
Cottontail Chase
Concept: A spring run with a bunny trail in each classroom, marked with a carrot at every milestone.
Incentive: The Golden Carrot for the first class to reach the finish.
Egg Drop Dash
Concept: A spring run where plastic eggs appear as milestones are reached, each holding a surprise reward.
Incentive: Pajama day or crazy hair day, revealed when the egg opens.
Spring Sprint
Concept: A spring Fun Run built around one announced 48-hour giving push.
Incentive: Extra recess or a dance party if the push hits its target.
Color Run
Concept: White shirts and several stations where volunteers toss non-toxic colored powder.
Incentive: A group color toss finale, with the principal as the target.
Schools that ran it: Antelope Canyon Elementary ran a Color Run under a first-time fundraising chair. At Hood-Case Elementary's Color Run, students pied the principal (source).
Bubble Run
Concept: Bubble machines and giant wands at the start, finish and key points on the course.
Incentive: A bubble war with the principal for students who reach the top goal.
School that ran it: Laurel Elementary's Leapin' Lions Bubble Run: bubbles at key points on the course and giant wands; students who hit the superstar goal had a bubble war with the principal. Source
Tropical Luau
Concept: An end-of-year run with leis, beach music and grass-skirt decorations.
Incentive: A popsicle or fruit party for classes that reach their goal.
Any-time Fun Run themes
Futuristic Fun Run
Concept: Neon, metallic and astronaut outfits, with a pool-noodle "laser" field and a portal finish line.
Incentive: Glow wristbands and holographic stickers, with a Laser Lunch Party for the whole school.
Space Shark
Concept: A space theme with a shark twist: space decorations, a space-themed lunch reward and a daily challenge calendar.
Incentive: Milestone rewards: lunch with the principal in a 'Space Lounge' for students who raised an extra $25 over a weekend, and an express carpool pass for students who reached $100.
School that ran it: South Lake Elementary raised a record $45,000 at its third annual Space Shark Fun Run, using a FundHub Challenge Calendar. Source
Superhero Fun Run
Concept: Capes and masks, comic-style signs and a city skyline, with firefighters, police officers or nurses cheering on the course.
Incentive: The principal arrives in costume to start the first wave.
Decades Run
Concept: Each grade takes a decade for costumes and the playlist during its wave.
Incentive: Staff dress in the decade of the winning class.
50 State Challenge
Concept: A travel theme where students try to collect a donation from every state, and a map lights up as each state arrives.
Incentive: A snack cart for classes, or a principal stunt when all 50 states are in.
More: The 50 State Challenge
Obstacle or Ninja Run
Concept: Climbing walls, balance beams, crawl tunnels and rope swings instead of plain laps.
Incentive: Staff take a turn on the course in front of the school.
Schools that ran it: Val Vista Academy raises $30,000 or more each year with its annual event, and Copper Mesa Elementary raised over $31,000 at its first. Source
Video Game Race
Concept: A racing or platform-game theme where every lap is a level.
Incentive: Classes move up a racetrack poster as donations come in.
Character Dash
Concept: A run built around favorite movie characters, with themed music and costumes.
Incentive: A character lunch for every student who reaches the first milestone.
School that ran it: Heath Elementary held a Disney Dash Fun Run with themed music, stickers and medals. Source
Mascot Run
Concept: Name the run after your school mascot and let the mascot lead the first lap.
Incentive: A lap with the mascot for classes that hit their goal.
Go for the Gold
Concept: A sports-games theme where each class is a team with its own colors and cheer.
Incentive: Gold, silver and bronze medals at the student milestones.
How to make a theme stick
Use the theme everywhere at once: the shirt, the kickoff assembly, the course decorations and the playlist. Then tie the incentives to the story, so the prizes feel like part of the event rather than an add-on. Our Fun Run prize guide covers how to set the tiers.
FundHub lets you set up the milestones and whole-school unlocks for any theme with the Incentive Tracker, and your free Personal Event Coach, a former PTO/PTA volunteer, can help you choose a theme that fits your season and grades.
Found your theme?
Talk it through with a Personal Event Coach, or book your date and start planning.
Frequently asked questions
Which Fun Run theme should our school choose?
Color and Glow Runs are common choices; superheroes, space and decades work well too. Color and Glow are easy to explain, look great in photos parents share, and work for every grade. Superhero, space and decades themes need little more than costumes, music and decorations.
How do you choose a Fun Run theme?
Start with the season and your date, then your grade levels and your goal story. A Turkey Trot fits November, a Glow Run fits late fall evenings, and a Color Run fits warm spring days. Choose a theme you can carry through the shirt, the course and the prizes.
Can we use Disney or video game characters for our Fun Run theme?
As a spirit theme, yes. Students can dress up and you can play themed music. Don't print licensed logos or characters on shirts, banners or signage without permission from the owner. Create your own artwork instead, such as your mascot in a themed costume.
What are good Fun Run themes for winter?
Frosty Fun Run, Jingle Jog and Winter Wonderland are good winter themes. Frosty Fun Run uses snowman, elf and reindeer costumes and ends with hot chocolate. Winter Wonderland decorates the track or gym with lights and snowflakes. Jingle Jog is a foam run for warm-weather schools.