Jakob Ingebrigtsen launches his own road races in Sandnes – Athletics Weekly

Norwegian event will be called RUNFEST 2026 and will bring together both the world’s best middle-distance runners and recreational runners

A new running festival will be held in Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s home town of Sandnes, Norway, on September 24-26 next year.

RUNFEST 2026 has the slogan “let’s run and have fun – together” and will feature races over 1500m, 5km, 10km and 21km.

“This is a dream that my brothers and I have had for a long time,” he says. “Runfest should be a celebration of the joy of running, both for young and old. It will be a street run festival and a community festival where the world’s best runners are part of the show, but where everyone can participate — both recreational runners and those with lots of experience.

“Running has given me so much, and I hope we can create a race in Sandnes that runners from all over the world talk about and want to be part of, and that can motivate even more people to lace up their running shoes in the coming year.”

Organisers include Team Ingebrigtsen, Spring Runclub, Nike, Fabel Ignite and the Blink Festival organisation.

Registration opens: September 26, 2025, at 10am.

RUNFEST 26 will be a three-day folk festival and will include…

• Professional conference: Lectures, panel discussions, and debates will be arranged on topics such as physical and mental health, motivation, innovation, and social responsibility in sports. The professional responsible for the conference is Yngvar Andersen, who is known as an inspiring communicator of the value of a physically active and healthy lifestyle.
• City Festival: concerts, street food, street art and other activities for everyone in the city.
• After-Run Party: Enjoy music and DJs, as well as social meeting places and activities for runners and spectators.