5k Runs in the North West 2026-2027
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The North West's 5k runs: 125 5K races in 2026 and 2027, from Manchester and Liverpool to the Lakes, with dates, venues and links to enter. Liverpool's Santa Dash in early December, thousands of red suits setting off from the Pier Head, is the region's best-known 5K and a fair sign of how the distance is treated here: as a day out first and a race second. Manchester's parks host timed 5Ks through the year, the riverside meadows at Chester and Blackpool's promenade give quick, flat courses, and the Lancashire and Cheshire clubs put a 5K next to most of their 10Ks.
5k runs by city
Look close to home: Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Blackpool, Chester, Lancaster, Bolton and Carlisle.
What to expect from a North West 5k
The big-city 5Ks are chip-timed on measured courses and draw fields in the thousands, while out in the Ribble Valley and the Lakes a 5K is more likely to be a village fun run with a hill in it and a cake stall at the finish. Race for Life is a fixture in Manchester, Liverpool and the Lancashire towns from May to July, the summer evening series around Manchester keep the midweek diary busy, and the Fylde coast races on into the autumn. The minimum age at most of these events is low enough for whole families to run together, and Couch to 5K groups from the local clubs turn up in force at the spring races. To catch a 6K, a 4K or a mile as well, nudge the distance slider at the top of the page.
Other distances in the North West
Head for the 10k runs calendar for the North West when it is time to go longer, or take in every distance on the full running calendar for the region alongside the half marathon calendar, the marathon calendar and the trail running calendar. The UK-wide 5k runs calendar gathers all the regions together.
Get new running races (and updates) in your inbox every month.